A trial date has been set for the three former San Antonio Police officers who fatally shot a woman experiencing a mental health crisis last year.
Former officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos and former Sgt. Alfred Flores were promptly fired following the shooting of 46-year-old Melissa Perez in her apartment on the southwest side in June 2023.
Alejandro and Flores were both charged with murder at the end of last year. Villalobos faces a charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
State District Judge Stephanie Boyd denied on Monday motions for continuance to delay the trial, according to court records.
A jury trial date has been scheduled for Sept. 24. The three former officers will be tried together.
The first-degree murder charges carry sentences of up to life in prison.
Perez was reportedly in the midst of a mental health breakdown when police arrived at her apartment complex last year. She had attempted to dismantle fire alarms she thought the FBI were using to monitor her, according to arrest affidavits.
Perez’s family has said she suffered from schizophrenia and had increasingly exhibited erratic behaviors.
Body cam footage shows Perez barricaded herself into her home when police arrived and later threw a candlestick at an officer.
The shooting prompted calls within the department to reform how its officers address mental health crises.
Perez’s family also filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging the use of excessive force.
