The Texas Rangers wasted little time in narrowing in on a suspect in a shooting death early Thursday morning.
34-year-old Maria Antoinette Nealy was arrested around 12:30 a.m. Friday and charged with murder and a illegal weapons charge in connection with the death of 33-year-old April Angel Longoria at a San Antonio duplex.
The fatal shooting happened about 4:30 a.m. Thursday at a duplex off Harry Wurzbach Road near Rittiman Road. Terrill Hills Police were first on the scene and discovered Longoria shot to death inside the apartment. No weapon was found at the scene.
Terrill Hills Police called in the Texas Rangers to take over the investigation, who immediately began questioning two witnesses who were inside the apartment. Nealy was said to have left the scene before authorities arrived.
One of the witnesses said that Nealy was sitting on a bed in the next room playing with a gun when it went off, with the bullet going through the wall and hitting Longoria in the chest, according to the arrest report. One of the witnesses said that Nealy had a look of “surprise” on her face when the gun went off.
A witness said Longoria said “that hurt” before falling to the ground and bleeding out from her wound.
According to the arrest report, Nealy told the two witnesses before leaving to tell police “an unknown man was possibly coming over to the apartment in the morning.” One of the witnesses cleared things up saying that he was told to say by Nealy.
The Texas Rangers got permission to search the cell phone of one of the witnesses and found numerous Facebook messages from Nealy on the morning after the shooting. One message said “I’m so sorry this was all an accident” and “…l didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
Nealy also wanted the witness to let her know when police had gone, followed by numerous phone calls to his cell, according to the arrest affidavit.
Investigators discovered that Nealy is a convicted felon and has an active warrant for a parole violation stemming from a Smuggling of Illegal Aliens Offense.
Nealy is being held in the Bexar County Jail on $250,000 bond.
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