SAN ANTONIO – A former John Jay High School student who was accused of fatally stabbing a friend was found not guilty of murder on Wednesday.
A jury deliberated for over four hours for the fate of Jesus San Miguel, 19, and was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
San Miguel was on trial for the fatal stabbing of classmate Joshua Kinneman during a lunch break altercation last year.
San Miguel was charged with murder after a fight between the two students turned deadly in April 2023.
The incident occurred at a restaurant across the street from the high school. After three days of testimony, closing arguments were delivered Wednesday afternoon.
The defense argued that San Miguel, one of the top students in his class, did not want to fight and acted in self-defense.
Defense attorney Charles Bunk emphasized that San Miguel did not escalate the situation.
“He doesn’t take the knife out and run at you. He takes the knife out and walks backward,” Bunk said during closing arguments. “Who instigated the contact? Who wasn’t walking away? Joshua.”
However, the prosecution maintained that San Miguel was the aggressor, bringing a knife to a fistfight and disregarding claims of self-defense.
“You can’t escalate, and that’s exactly what Jesus San Miguel did in this case,” prosecutor Raul Jordan argued.
The jury was tasked with considering the murder charge and three lesser possible charges: murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and criminally negligent homicide. Each charge carries a different potential sentence.
San Miguel’s punishment phase begins Thursday. He faces probation or up to two years in jail.