A gang member charged with capital murder for firing an assault rifle into a crowd at an East Side car wash in January — killing two people and wounding five others — was previously identified in a drive-by shooting two months earlier that wounded two men outside a bail bonds business owned by Mayor Ivy Taylor’s husband, Rodney.

But police said they didn’t charge Jacquay Howard, 31, a reputed member of the Crips gang, in the drive-by, even though a witness identified him in a photo lineup and was willing to testify in court. The two shooting victims and Rodney Taylor wouldn’t cooperate or file complaints, so police let the case go cold.

“Generally, unless it’s an instance of family violence, if we don’t have a complainant, generally we don’t file charges,” Police Chief Anthony Treviño said. “If you don’t have a complainant that’s willing to come forward, the case is useless.”

Susan Reed, a former Bexar County district attorney who was in office until January, faulted police for not bringing the case to her. Police counter that Reed never accepted such cases. The new DA, Nico LaHood, said he would pursue this sort of case, and that the culture between the Police Department and his office needs to change.

Ivy Taylor, who became the city's first African-American mayor when she was appointed last summer and is in a June 13 runoff race for the position, wasn’t at the business during the incident. She said criticisms by police that she or her husband should have filed charges of criminal mischief in the drive-by are unjustified.

Rodney Taylor did not respond to a request for an interview.

In an interview at her City Hall office, the mayor said the police criticism has left her more than irritated.

“Irritated is probably an understatement,” she said. “I basically see it as being politically motivated.”

And a racial element to the criticism, she added, “is obvious.”

The mayor provided new details of the drive-by that occurred around noon on Nov. 3, 2014, in the 700 block of North New Braunfels Avenue. She said her husband was sitting inside a gold Nissan Altima registered to her, waiting for his client. When the client arrived, she said, they walked inside the bail bonds business.

Moments later, gunshots rang out, and Rodney Taylor and his client hit the floor. Bullets shattered the rear window of the Altima, tore holes in its interior and exterior and struck the business.

“I’m just grateful that my husband was alive because he was in that car,” Ivy Taylor said. “He was in the car moments before the shooting.”

Bullets also struck two men who were walking along the avenue, Jermont McCloud, 18, and Brian Parker, 19. One was shot in a leg, the other in the abdomen. Both survived the attack, described as gang-related by a homicide detective familiar with the case but unauthorized to speak to the media.

Reached on the phone, Parker said he did not know who shot him, or why.

For months, whispers in political circles claimed Rodney Taylor had somehow hindered the case against Howard. The rumors began circulating after Ivy Taylor announced her candidacy Feb. 16. The mayor has taken a tough stance with the police union, which endorsed her opponent.

On May 9, the same night Ivy Taylor earned enough votes to challenge Leticia Van de Putte in the June 13 runoff, police union boss Mike Helle accused the mayor and her husband of disregarding a duty to file charges against Howard, thereby disabling an investigation that could have snared the suspect sooner.

“There are a lot of people in Homicide who are upset,” Helle said. “They had a chance to get him off the streets, and there was a complete lack of cooperation with the Police Department, and months later this guy commits a horrific double homicide.”

‘Hesitant to file’

During the drive-by investigation, detectives asked Rodney Taylor to sign a form stating his property was “wrongfully damaged/destroyed without my consent” and “I desire to prosecute the party or parties responsible.”

“He came in and it was explained to him that we had an independent witness who identified the shooter, and we needed him to sign paperwork,” the detective said. “He said, ‘I’ll have to talk to my wife. I’ll get back to you.’ And he never did.”

Treviño said Rodney Taylor did get back to a detective — to say he did not wish to file charges.

“He was hesitant to file charges against the suspect that had been identified,” Treviño said. “I believe it was out of concern for his family.”

At City Hall, Ivy Taylor grew indignant when asked whether her husband had discussed this decision with her.

“I don’t recall the details on that, frankly,” she said. “My main focus was that my husband wasn’t killed … I just find it very curious, all these insinuations and investigations involving my husband, who’s not running for anything. What would I be filing? I was not at the scene. I have no information.”

The homicide detective who asked to remain anonymous vented frustration at the Taylors.

“You can’t tell me they’re there for the best interests of San Antonio when they’re not willing to go after the criminal element that’s causing problems in this city,” the detective said. “The case was not provided to the DA’s office because of the DA’s office’s past practices of not taking these kinds of cases (without complainants).”

On Nov. 4, the day after the drive-by, Reed was defeated for re-election by LaHood. But Reed remained in office until Jan. 1.

Police “could have sent something over,” Reed said. “They didn’t engage us. … It was obvious (the victims) were shot. You have a third party who saw it. … Even though they didn’t necessarily want to prosecute, (police) could’ve filed on the guys that got shot.”

District Judge Steve Hilbig, who preceded Reed as Bexar County district attorney, spoke generally about the disconnect.

“As DA, I found that sometimes police didn’t want to investigate a crime unless they had a complaining witness,” he said. “But I directed them to investigate crimes even without a cooperative complaining witness because it was proper to protect our community.”

Treviño refuted that.

Reed and Hilbig “know as well as I do, they don’t do anything with those cases,” he said.

On Friday, LaHood said he would.

“All we need is some witness that can identify a shooter,” he said. “That does not surprise me that Chief Treviño and SAPD had that impression because that was the culture before I took over in January. … We’re having to fix relationships between law enforcement and this office, just understanding what we need through the intake process.”

‘Somebody dropped the ball’

Around 10 p.m. on Jan. 19, the day of the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. March, three armed men approached a car wash at North New Braunfels Avenue and Gibbs Street and opened fire into a crowd, then sped off in a car.

Seven people were hit, two fatally: Vontay Price, 22, and Royal Willrich, 30, died at the scene. Police say the shooters were Adrian Perkins, 25; Edwin Joseph, 25; and Jacquay Howard — all confirmed gang members, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. All have been arrested and charged with capital murder.

Taj Matthews, an East Side community worker who runs a program that serves youths at the street level, said he knew Price, one of the victims.

“I would sit and talk with him,” Matthews said. “He would come from time to time, and I would give him a lecture, but it would fall on deaf ears.”

Accusing the Taylors of not filing charges smacks of a political attack, he said. The police union endorsed Van de Putte over Ivy Taylor, who supports the city’s lawsuit against the police and fire unions amid tense contract negotiations.

“There are people who feel like this is a racist thing as well, which we know is not true,” Matthews added. “But I would kind of be careful with this. … If (police) had the person identified that did (the drive-by), then my question goes more to (police) as to why that person wasn’t picked up or charged.”

Helle, the police union boss, bristled at the criticism.

“Put it back on us, then,” he said. “Somebody dropped the ball. … There’s a reason why (Howard) wasn’t behind bars. It maybe doesn’t begin with the mayor, but she and her husband are a party to this incident whether they like it or not.

“Maybe the Police Department screwed up, but I can tell you that that is the standard operating procedure,” he added. “If you walk out and you don’t want to prosecute, (police) can’t do anything.”

Treviño echoed that.

“We can’t just take it upon ourselves to act on (complainants’) behalf and file charges,” the police chief said. “Can you imagine if that situation existed, where police could arrest people whenever they wanted for whatever charges they wanted without soliciting the cooperation of an actual complainant? I think people would be up in arms over that.

“In this instance, we needed a complainant to move forward.”

When asked whether an apparent communication gap between police and prosecutors was a problem, Ivy Taylor said: “That could be one angle. … But at the end of the day, there’s going to be less people involved in those types of activities if they have the type of community support, guidance and vision that will allow them to know that there are other things they can do with their lives.

“Like my husband has done. He grew up on the East Side. He’s a small business owner investing in his community. I think the fact that he’s been targeted speaks to the larger society’s impressions about minority males. And that’s part of the challenge.”

bchasnoff@express-news.net