Update: Charges upgraded for man arrested in deaths of two in South Bexar County

Michael Morales, suspect in two slayings, is walked out of the Bexar County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday night. He allegedly used a screw driver to kill a man over a drug debt, and then shot a woman afterward. Michael Morales, suspect in two slayings, is walked out of the Bexar County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday night. He allegedly used a screw driver to kill a man over a drug debt, and then shot a woman afterward. Photo: Billy Calzada / Staff Photographer Photo: Billy Calzada / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Update: Charges upgraded for man arrested in deaths of two in South Bexar County 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

A man was arrested Tuesday in connection with two homicides that occurred hours apart and within two miles of each other in South Bexar County.

Michael Morales, 36, is accused of killing Felix Pacheco Garcia over a drug debt and his common-law wife, Mary Sanchez, hours later, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Tuesday night.

He originally faced two charges of murder, but on Wednesday, the charges were upgraded to two counts of capital murder by the District Attorney. He is being held on a $2 million bond for the two charges.

Officials initially thought the deaths, the department’s first homicides of the year, were unrelated and a coincidence. Salazar said detectives linked the two together on a hunch.

The first killing occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight Monday, detectives estimated, at Garcia’s home in the 1900 block of Sandy Circle.

Detectives said Garcia, 37, and Morales began arguing over a drug debt that Garcia allegedly owed Morales, investigators said.

“That argument turned into a violent struggle,” Salazar said. “Appliances were jostled, water pipes were broken.”

The fight spilled outside the home where Morales took out a screwdriver from his pocket and allegedly stabbed Garcia several times, investigators said.

Garcia’s body would lay in the back yard until his 6-year-old child found him dead at about 8 a.m. The child’s mother, who was Garcia’s estranged wife, and several other children went to the residence before school to check on him, Salazar said.

Morales then went to his home in 900 block of Mogford where he called 911 about his injuries and was taken to a medical facility.

Deputies said he gave a false story to hospital and EMS personnel detailing how he got a wound to his eye and a bite mark to his chest.

Once he was back at the Mogford home, Morales told Sanchez, 45, about what happened between him and Garcia, investigators said.

“Obviously, the victim in the case became irate,” Salazar said. “There was an argument over the fact that he was telling her that he caused somebody’s death,” Salazar said.

Salazar said Morales retrieved a high-powered rifle and shot Sanchez at least once in her upper body. She died instantly, investigators said.

“There’s some indications that there was some drug use,” Salazar said. Morales may have been on meth when the killings occurred, Salazar said, noting that investigators are still awaiting toxicology results.

Sanchez’s 25-year-old daughter was at the home when the incident occurred, Salazar said. She told deputies they had been fighting Monday night and into Tuesday before the shooting.

“There is some sort of explanation that (Morales) tried to give that there was a struggle over the rifle,” Salazar said. “At this point, we don’t believe that.”

Morales then drove away from the scene, ramming through a gate at the Mogford home. Deputies captured him several miles away from the home, Salazar said.

Salazar said deputies were not aware of a history of domestic violence between Morales and his common law wife, but speculated there may have been one.

“I don’t think a husband or wife all of a sudden shoots their significant other with a deer rifle,” Salazar said.

Morales confessed to both crimes, Salazar said. He did not say anything to reporters Tuesday night as he was being taken to the Bexar County Jail for booking.

Earlier Tuesday, Salazar said violent crime in the county has decreased, but family violence incidents have skyrocketed.

“That’s a grim trend we don’t want to see keep climbing,” Salazar said. “We’re doing our very best but it’s a crime that takes a long time to prevent because it’s an escalating crime.

“So, we are telling anybody that if you’re experiencing family violence on any level and if you don’t get yourself out of that situation or try to get some help, it’s not something that goes away on its own,” the sheriff added. “A slap today becomes a punch tomorrow, becomes a choke the next day, and it ends with this.”

Salazar said domestic incidents like this are frustrating for everyone because it’s “like a slow-moving train wreck that you can see coming for months or years in advance.

“We’ve absolutely got to put a stop to this,” Salazar said. “And if I come across as angry, I am. It’s frustrating. It’s my job to protect my county and the deputies that I’ve got are doing a great job of that. They’re bringing down violent crime, but this is a crime that keeps going up. We’ve got to figure something else out. What we’re doing is not working.”