Bexar County prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed a felony tampering with records case against a fired San Antonio Police Department lieutenant.
Steven Velasquez, 56, was indicted last year.
Investigators accused Velasquez of accessing SAPD’s internal affairs computer program and removing himself as an “involved employee” the night Melissa Perez was shot and killed by officers in June 2023.
Velasquez was indefinitely suspended by SAPD in late 2023, after an internal affairs investigation determined he and a sergeant left their assigned shifts early the night Perez was shot and killed inside her Southwest Side apartment.
The investigation determined Velasquez left work around 10:14 p.m., more than four hours before his shift was scheduled to end.
Velasquez failed to respond to the fatal police shooting scene, despite being the highest-ranking member assigned to the south patrol service area, his discipline paperwork states.
Velasquez received a second indefinite suspension in May 2024 after internal affairs investigators determined he altered internal affairs files related to the shooting case.
In late November 2023, Velasquez was forwarded an administrative review report instructing him to issue a chief of police disciplinary decision to an officer under the then-lieutenant’s command, records show.
The following day, Velasquez accessed the entry and “made unauthorized alterations and modifications” to it, discipline records show.
The modifications included Velasquez removing his name and the name of another supervisor from the entry altogether, records show.
The removal of their names deleted any record of their involvement in the internal affairs case, according to records.
Additionally, Velasquez modified the roles of one citizen, nine other officers, SAPD administration as well as improperly updating “snapshot data” of six officers in the entry, SAPD records show.
Velasquez was handed a third indefinite suspension in January, following the felony indictment.
Velasquez’s attorney, Ben Sifuentes, previously told KSAT his client was innocent and that the evidence would show Velasquez had not committed an offense.
Sifuentes confirmed Wednesday the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence and that Velasquez intends to push for reinstatement to SAPD.
Officials with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Velasquez’s dismissal Wednesday.
Three officers charged in the fatal shooting of Perez were found not guilty by a jury last November.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
