A neighbor of Jonathan Joss is recounting the tragic final moments of his life after an alleged altercation in San Antonio, Texas, led to the actor’s death at age 59.
“John is ranting and raving and a car pass[es] by and stops in front of John,” the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, exclusively told Us Weekly. “John said ‘f*** you and f*** your wife’ to the guy in the car. The shooter never got out of the car.”
The neighbor’s 11-year-old child witnessed the shooting and the resident recalled hearing three “loud” shots fired. The neighbor claimed she “saw the shooter put his car in reverse.” After hearing the shots, the neighbor said she and her husband rushed outside to help Joss and provide CPR to save his life. However, the gunshot wounds to the left side of his neck and right side of his chest appeared to be too severe, she said.
“He was dying. You could see fear in his eyes. I kept saying ‘Stay here and stay with us, John’ and I could see his eyes shifting to try to stay alive,” the neighbor said. “It was so traumatic and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
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While by Joss’ side, she asked the Parks and Recreation alum’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, why they decided to come back to the neighborhood. (Joss and Kern de Gonzales, hadn’t been living there because Joss’ house had burned down months prior.)
According to the neighbor, Joss’ husband, who was holding his wounded partner, said they wanted to check the mail for any victim’s compensation from the fire.
According to police reports obtained by Us, authorities received 66 emergency calls for service involving Joss’ address in the past three years, including on Sunday.
The police report related to the day Joss died cited a man named Sigfredo Ceja as the suspect who allegedly killed the actor. Ceja pulled up directly behind an unnamed witness who drove Joss to the property and “watched the interaction between them in her rearview mirror,” per the report. Ceja confessed to police he shot Joss.
People reported on Wednesday, June 4, that Ceja was released on bail $200,000 “special condition bond” one day after his arrest. Ceja was ordered by a judge to full house arrest and not purchase, possess, own or use any firearms.
Days after news broke about Joss’ passing, Kern de Gonzales took to social media, claiming Joss’ death was the result of a hate crime.
“My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire,” read a statement shared via Joss’ Facebook on Monday, June 2. “We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.”
Kern de Gonzales claimed that he and Joss were the targets of “openly homophobic” harassment. While visiting their former home, Kern de Gonzales claimed they found “the skull” of one of their dogs and its harness which caused them “severe emotional distress.”
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“We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” the statement continued. “While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us.” (Despite the claim, San Antonio authorities said they have found no evidence indicating Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation.)
Kern de Gonzales claimed that the man raised a gun and fired it while he and Joss were weaponless. He shared that Joss pushed him out of harm’s way and “saved” his life. Kern de Gonzales was by Joss’ side in his final moments and told his partner “how much he was loved.”
“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family,” the statement said. “My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together. If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.”
