The city of San Antonio will tear down a Southwest Side warehouse that it said had become a “revolving door” of criminal activity.
The 7-acre property at 5000 W. Military Drive consists of a warehouse and four mobile homes the city deemed dangerous. It had been a longtime headache for San Antonio law enforcement.
The San Antonio Police Department saw nearly 30 cases originate there over the last two years, including those involving assaults, shots fired, drug overdoses and stolen vehicles. Texas Child Protective Services had been called to the property.
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Owner Rosie Garcia and her son, Henry Garcia Jr., testified that they did not bear responsibility for the alleged criminal activity on the property, once home to Knockout Automotive Repair.
Rosie Garcia said “undesirables” coming in and out of the property were responsible for the stolen vehicles and other materials.
“It’s certainly not me at all,” she said.
On April 13, the Building Standards Board, a quasi-judicial panel that hears repair and demolition cases on behalf of the city, voted unanimously to have all the structures on the property demolished.
The vote was a step above what was requested by code enforcement, which asked that the city knock down only the mobile homes. People had been living inside the mobile homes, something that wasn't allowed under the property's current zoning. The board voted to demolish the warehouse on the property because of its known association with illegal activity.
Eric Burns, an assistant attorney for the city of San Antonio, explained that not demolishing the warehouse would continue “the status quo of that property continuing to receive stolen materials.”
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The owner's family had given people permission to live in the mobile homes on the property, the city said.
These units were fed power by extension cords running from the warehouse. There was no running water or sewer service, although code enforcement officials said someone was attempting unpermitted plumbing work to the mobile homes.
Each of the windows on the four mobile homes was boarded up, and the only natural light that came in was from cracks that separated the floor from the wall, the city said.
Henry Garcia Jr., whose late father owned the property, explained that after Henry Garcia Sr. died, it became “overwhelming” to maintain 5000 W. Military Drive and other properties his father owned.
He told the board he wanted to kick out the people and get rid of the mobile homes himself; he just needed more time.
“I extend my apologies to law enforcement, code division and to the board for it getting to this point,” Henry Garcia Jr. said.
He explained that he had no idea that the mobile homes — structures that had been on the property for at least a decade — were illegal.
However, city code enforcement testified that Garcia was told about the illegal activity and mobile homes as recent as September 2022. Since noting it, the conditions on the property have worsened.
Building Standards Board Member Evelyn Brown was skeptical about how much the Garcia family knew and when.
“I’m sorry. I don’t trust what you’re saying,” Brown said. “You’re saying one thing and another and that’s kind of hard to believe.”
timothy.fanning@express-news.net
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April 18, 2023 at 09:44PM
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San Antonio to tear down criminal hot spot on the Southwest Side - San Antonio Express-News
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