SAN ANTONIO – Erik Cantu, who was shot by former San Antonio Police Department officer James Brennand as a teenager in 2022, was arrested for the seventh time Monday.
According to an SAPD report, officers were dispatched on a wanted person call just before 9 p.m. Monday in the 12400 block of Interstate 10 west.
When police approached Cantu, officers said he disobeyed commands and began fleeing on foot. Authorities quickly caught up with Cantu and took him into custody.
Bexar County jail records indicate Cantu, 21, was booked just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday on the following three charges:
A judge set Cantu’s bond at $20,000 on the new evading arrest charge, records show. As of Tuesday afternoon, he remains in custody at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
Cantu’s connection to Brennand
On Monday, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office separately dismissed Brennand’s aggravated assault by a public servant charge due to “further investigation,” citing a separate investigation into Cantu stemming from an incident earlier this month.
The woman said Cantu, who was driving the vehicle, then stopped the vehicle and “demanded” she get out of the car, the report said.
On June 8, Cantu was most recently sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication on a 2025 burglary of a habitation charge. At the time, the sentence meant he would not serve additional time behind bars.
Cantu’s Tuesday arrest reinstated the burglary of a habitation charge, which is considered a second-degree felony.
The nature of Cantu’s parole violation is unclear at this time. Additionally, Cantu has not been criminally charged in connection with the July 1 incident.
Background
In October 2022, Brennand fired multiple shots at a BMW driven by the then-17-year-old.
Brennand, who was fired from SAPD three days after the shooting, was captured on body camera footage opening the door of Cantu’s vehicle and shooting at him as Cantu attempted to drive away.
Brennand believed Cantu’s vehicle had evaded him the night before as he attempted to pull it over.
The shooting drew national attention. Cantu suffered serious injuries and spent months recovering.
