San Antonio teen shot by officer in ’22 facing felony evading arrest charge

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A teenager shot by a San Antonio police officer in October 2022 is now facing a charge of evading arrest with a vehicle.

KSAT-12 reports Erik Cantu Jr., 18, was arrested when officers were called to a North Side apartment complex on a disturbance call. Police say a woman who called 911 identified herself as Cantu’s girlfriend, and investigators say the teen was not supposed to be there.

SAPD says at the time of his arrest Saturday night, Cantu had an active warrant for his arrest in connection to another incident. Cantu is accused of failing to stop for an officer on a bike in downtown on September 8, and police say body cam footage later confirmed the BMW in question belonged to Cantu. Further investigation shows Cantu was behind the wheel of the BMW at the time it failed to stop, according to an arrest warrant.

Cantu was booked on the felony charge Monday morning but has since bonded out of jail.

Cantu spent weeks in a hospital last year after he was shot multiple times by former officer James Brennand in the parking lot of a San Antonio-area McDonald’s. Brennand was fired and arrested in the days that followed the shooting despite body cam video that showed Cantu refusing to get out of the car the night after Brennand had tried to pull over a BMW he recognized in the parking lot. The footage also shows Cantu putting the car in reverse and starting to drive away as Brennand pulled his gun and fired numerous shots.

In July, Cantu and his girlfriend were arrested on theft charges, both accused of taking merchandise from an area Wal Mart location.