The King of the Hill voice actor shot and killed in San Antonio on Sunday night had a vicious and longstanding feud with the man charged with his murder, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
Jonathan Joss, 59, who also starred in Parks and Recreation, was gunned down outside the charred remains of his childhood home, which burned to the ground in January.
His neighbor Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, 56, fled the scene but was later arrested and booked for his murder.
Cejam told officers ‘I shot him’ as soon as he was taken into custody, according to a police report released on Tuesday.
The tensions between Joss and Cejam were well known to the San Antonio Police, and the Daily Mail can confirm cops were called more than 14 times.
In January the home burned to the ground. Joss stated publicly that he believed the home had been deliberately torched because he was gay.
Authorities did not charge anyone with the fire, saying that a propane heater was left on when no one was home.
But Joss countered that he had shut off the heater and that someone else had ignited the flames.
The fire, which killed Joss’s three dogs, also destroyed his car, his King of the Hill library, and more than 30 years of TV and showbiz memorabilia.
Actor Jonathan Joss, who starred in Parks and Recreation (above in a scene with Amy Poehler), had a longstanding feud with the man charged with shooting and killing him
Joss stood outside his home in January after it burned to the ground (above). He was gunned down at next to the same San Antonio property on Sunday
Neighbors tell the Daily Mail that Joss and Cejam often clashed and engaged in shouting matches outside.
The screaming matches would often end in a call to 911.
‘They had a lot of bad blood,’ says Jane Estes, a neighbor who knew Joss for more than a decade.
‘There were always cop cars out front. I’d see the lights and I’d be like “Oh God, what happened now?” It was nonstop.’
In a statement, Joss’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, claimed that the actor was shot because he was gay.
‘My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home,’ the statement say.
‘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. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.’
‘Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship,’ Gonzales continued. ‘Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.’
According to Gonzales, he and Joss allegedly found the skull of one of their deceased dogs left out for them to see when they arrived at the property, which caused them ‘severe emotional distress.’
His neighbor Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, 56, fled the scene but was later detained and booked for murder. Police say that the investigation is still ongoing
In a statement Joss’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales (above), claimed that the actor was shot because he was openly gay
Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, says that the shooter yelled violent homophobic slurs at them before opening fire
Mourners have started a makeshift memorial on the spot where the actor was killed
Estes says that she didn’t know the nature of the conflict or whether Cejam was responsible for putting the dog’s skull outside. She said she had heard him make homophobic slurs when talking about Joss and Gonzales.
‘He would call them all the names you expect,’ Estes says, ‘Queers, gays, the f-word. He didn’t care if you agreed with him, he just said those words.’
A second neighbor tells the Daily Mail that while the conflict had overtones of homophobia, Joss was also erratic around the neighborhood. He would stop traffic and yell at people who he thought encroached on his property, they said.
‘I think he was cranky sometimes,’ says the neighbor, ‘and that turned people off. But obviously he didn’t deserve to die because of it. Everyone has cranky neighbors sometimes.’
‘I don’t know how much of it was because they were gay, but Sigfredo wasn’t a fan of gay people. That’s one thing I know.’
The San Antonio Police Department insists that the shooting was not homophobic, and did not rise to the level of a hate crime.
‘Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the Mr Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation,’ the SAPD said on Tuesday, June 3. ‘We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly.’
Whatever the reason, neighbors say that the fire and the murder are a blight on their neighborhood, and that they are mourning Joss’s death.
‘This is so sad,’ says Estes. ‘Nobody here wanted this to happen. We just wanted everyone to live in peace.’
Cejam has not yet entered a plea.
It is unclear if he has an attorney authorized to speak on his behalf.