A local advisory board on Tuesday questioned whether a number of recent crimes on San Antonio trails may be related to an increase of homeless encampments along wooded areas.
“We’ve had a tremendous increase in homeless encampments that have popped up along the greenway trails,” said Grant Ellis, natural resources manager with the city’s parks and recreation department. “We’ve had camps that have taken two weeks to clean up because they were so large.”
Members of the Linear Creekway Parks Advisory Board raised their eyebrows at the “tremendous” metric from the city — which was not quantified — since safety issues on the trails have been a key topic of discussion for the 11-member board as police investigate yet another homicide on another trail.
Police suspect foul play in four recent deaths that have been reported along the trails, which they said don’t seem to be connected to each other or to the rise in homeless encampments. The San Antonio Report requested information regarding any increase in violent crimes along trails and if there was any connection to encampments. SAPD was unable to provide that Wednesday.
Officials at a Dec. 11 meeting had reassured the board that no more major crimes were happening on the trails than usual, but a Christmas Eve homicide under the San Jacinto Street bridge along the Alazan Creek Trail resurfaced the issue of safety in Tuesday’s meeting.
The suspect in the Dec. 24 homicide, Avory Michael Rowe, had been experiencing homelessness and confessed the crime to a bunkmate at the Haven for Hope shelter, according to an SAPD affidavit obtained by KSAT.
Ellis could not say the recent homicides on the trails were related to people living in homeless encampments, but said that it has given city staff a reason to pay more attention to the issue, and locals using the trails should be more aware of their surroundings.
There are more than 75 trailheads and more than 100 miles of trails in the city. Many of the city’s trailheads do not have active security cameras, but the city can sometimes get video footage with game cameras posted along the trails, Ellis said.
“Our staff is constantly looking out for additional camps, but nobody has come back and reported to us that they feel unsafe. It’s just something they’re mindful of and it’s become part of the job,” Ellis told the advisory board.
The parks team reports between two and three homeless encampments on wooded areas of the trails to DHS every week, he added.
“The longer people are on the streets, including living in encampments, the more difficult it becomes,” Katie Wilson, executive director of Close to Home, told the San Antonio Report on Wednesday. “Living in such tough conditions deteriorates mental health and can actually lead to substance use to cope. We’ve heard this from people who were previously homeless.”
But encampment sweeps, also known as abatements, don’t address the root causes of homelessness or violence, Wilson said. “The reality is if we do not have a safe place for people to live permanently, with the supports they need, the issue perpetuates. We encourage our community to support affordable housing efforts in their neighborhoods so that we have options for people moving out of homelessness.”
Brandon Ross, capital programs manager with the parks department, said that overall, there haven’t been many homicides on the trails, but since several have happened recently, people are paying more attention to it.
“Park Police talked about SAPD response, all aspects of trail safety, criminal response and SAPD partnership with the Parks department, trail stewards and Park Police,” Ross said about the meetings since the issue was brought to the board. “Could there have been something that we did differently that could have prevented this murder that happened on Apache Creek? I’m not sure.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, District 2 Board Member Sue Calberg, a longtime local reporter, asked the board to keep an eye on the increase in encampments and whether they connect to recent crimes.
“There’s quite a body count within the last six to eight months or so, and we need to continue to be vigilant in regard to safety and security,” she said Tuesday.
The arrest affidavits in the Dec. 24 homicide state that the victim, 49-year-old Robert Ibarra, suffered major head trauma and strangulation. A pair of jeans covered in blood was found inside the suspect’s Haven for Hope locker, KSAT reported.
“We need to keep saying the names of dead people, and advocate for creating as safe an environment as possible,” Calberg added.
Be aware on trails
When anyone reports a homeless encampment on the trails, the parks department informs the city’s human services department, which then conducts outreach and works with Park Police and the solid waste department to clean up encampments after notifying the people living there that they have to leave.
If you see something unusual happening on San Antonio trails, call the non-emergency police line at 210-207-7273, or call 9-1-1 if you need police immediately. You can also report information at 210-335-6000 or at bscotips@bexar.org.
Reporter Iris Dimmick contributed to this article.
