SAN ANTONIO – After a grisly week at a downtown public housing complex, security concerns took center stage during public comments at Opportunity Home San Antonio’s Wednesday afternoon board meeting.
“I don’t know how you are going to do it or where the money’s going to come from. But, you know, I’m asking y’all to make an effort to keep the residents safe,” James Hamilton, the president of the Lewis Chatham Apartments Resident Council, told Opportunity Home San Antonio board members.
Hamilton’s comments came on the heels of a pair of murders discovered at Victoria Plaza, another complex run by Opportunity Home San Antonio, which was formerly known as the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA).
The apartments in the 400 block of Barrera Street, a few blocks south of Hemisfair, cater to senior and disabled residents.
Nick Martinez, 59, was found killed on Oct. 1, and fellow ninth-floor resident Donnell Sterling, 52, was found shot and killed in his apartment on Oct. 4.
San Antonio police have accused Daniel Gonzalez, 35, of Sterling’s murder, and investigators believe he may also be involved in Martinez’s death.
Security issues at Victoria Plaza or Opportunity Home San Antonio properties, in general, were not part of the board’s public agenda, but Board Chairman Gabriel Lopez said after the public comment session of the meeting “the safety and security of all our residents is a top priority.”
“I was proud of the team at Victoria Plaza as well as leadership from ELT, as well as (Acting CEO Michael Reyes) for being there, going back to visit with them,” Lopez said. “And I understand we have other things scheduled with the same community.”
While the public housing authority has said it is looking at ways to increase security, it’s not entirely clear how it plans to do that.
An Opportunity Home San Antonio spokesman told KSAT last week that Victoria Plaza had cameras, enhanced lighting, and key fobs for entry. Guards are not typically stationed on-site, but there are security patrols at the complex.
Private security could be seen Wednesday afternoon at Victoria Plaza, but it’s unclear how long that would last.
Opportunity Home San Antonio Director of Security Domingo Ibarra was vague on potential changes during an interview with KSAT on Wednesday. He repeatedly spoke of a “holistic approach” and mentioned the challenges of “mental health issues” that cause people to “self-medicate.”
“The difficulty is it doesn’t matter what level of security you provide when it’s our residents who engage in what (San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus) himself has called ‘risky behavior,’” Ibarra said.
Ibarra said Opportunity Home San Antonio needs collaboration from its residents, such as letting staff know when other residents are letting people into buildings.
He also said the organization planned to hold “safety socials,” including a Q&A session with residents on Friday “to have a conversation about where the improvements are, where they should be, and also to make sure that they have a voice in the process.”
“So, it’s not just about posting,” Ibarra continued. “Right now, we have security on site. ‘Is that sustainable?’ No, it is not. ‘Is it going to be applicable for us to maintain that level of security with a different format?’ That’s what we’re looking at. So it’s not just Victoria Plaza, but we’re looking at all of the portfolios.”
Victoria Plaza resident Alainna Hurn did not think much of the idea that residents needed to do more.
“See how they want us to do they (sic) job?” Hurn said when KSAT visited the complex on Wednesday afternoon. “Now, just like they tell us — we been (sic) complaining about these problems, and they want us to take pictures of people and do this? No.”
“We go up trying to take a picture of somebody now. Somebody done (sic) shot us because we tried to take a picture of them to get into the office. How (does) that sound? I’m not about to do that,” Hurn said.
Ibarra indicated that even before last week’s murders, Reyes had authorized him to explore bringing onsite security to Opportunity Home properties.
However, he said they are still vetting the process and could not disclose any estimates on how much that might cost.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: