Weekend murder suspect has a lengthy criminal record, including previous murder charges

SAN ANTONIO — A man arrested in connection with a fatal shooting outside a North Side restaurant early Saturday morning has a lengthy criminal history, including a previous arrest for murder.

Franco Summers, 32, was arrested by San Antonio police Sunday afternoon in connection with the incident, which occurred just after midnight the same day.

Police said he shot 43-year-old Christopher Fuentes in a parking lot near Taco Palenque, near Blanco Road and Loop 1604.

According to police, Fuentes was the father of Summers' girlfriend.

According to a preliminary report from SAPD, the two men got into an argument outside a nearby bar.

After Fuentes and his daughter left that location, Summers drove up to them in the restaurant parking lot and spoke with the father, the report said.

At some point, Summers fired shots from inside his vehicle, striking and killing Fuentes, police said.

“It hits us pretty hard that he's gone,” a relative of Fuentes told KSAT 12 News Monday morning. “We will never be the same again.”

The relative wanted to keep her identity secret for fear that Summers, who is still in prison, might somehow seek revenge.

With the help of witnesses, police identified Summers as the suspect and then located him at an apartment complex a few miles from the crime scene.

“Now that he's locked up, I still don't feel 100 percent safe because there's a chance he'll get out on bail,” Fuentes' relative said.

Her fear stems at least in part from Summers' past history with the law.

Court records show Summers has served relatively little time behind bars despite numerous arrests.

KSAT 12 News reported on a fatal shooting in January 2013 in which he was named as a suspect.

A then 21-year-old Summers told police he shot 17-year-old Roger Rodriguez Jr. in self-defense.

The charges against him in this case were dismissed several months after his arrest, pending further investigation.

In 2019, police also named Summers as the man they arrested after a standoff in Stone Oak.

Police said he held a woman and child hostage in an apartment there.

Summers later served two years in prison in connection with this case.

Other charges filed against him over the years were settled with deferred adjudication, court records show.

However, after the recent arrest for murder, the family of the victim, Christopher Fuentes, is hoping things will end differently and Summers will not experience freedom again.

“We just want justice,” the relative said. “If it were my decision, he would get the death penalty. But I want life without parole. I don’t think he should be on the streets.”