Former Texas sports anchor Johnathan Solarte charged with murder
A former sports anchor for Univision has been busted on suspicion of murder for allegedly gunning down a relative during a fight in Texas.
Johnathan Solarte, 37, who was previously Univision’s lead sports anchor, shot the male relative, 35-year-old Ricardo Escobar Cardona, during an argument at a home in Corpus Christi around midnight July 3, KRIS 6 News reported.
Solarte flagged down the responding officers when they pulled up to the scene, the outlet said, citing the official police report.
“I called out to Jonathan and he stated that I needed to go inside to help someone. I asked him who the shooter was and he stated he was the shooter,” a responding officer stated.
Inside the house, authorities found a woman crying over Cardona, who had a gunshot wound on the left side of his chest.
The victim was taken to Bay Area Hospital, where he later died of his injuries, mySanAntonio reported.
Solarte was arrested at the scene, officials said.
He was released from Nueces County Jail on $300,000 bond on Wednesday.
He told police that he was “trying to defend himself and that he was struggling with Ricardo at the time he was shot,” KRIS 6 said.
“Jonathan also stated that Ricardo barged into his home and began to threaten him,” the report continues.
Christian Escober, who was outside the home when authorities arrived, told police that Cardona was allowed into the residence and “everything was okay” initially.
Another witness, Martha Sanchez, said Cardona and Solarte were talking before they began arguing.
When she tried to break up the fight, Sanchez alleged, she was knocked to the floor and “heard a gunshot then saw Ricardo fall.”
“She stated that she did not see what exactly happened when the gun went off,” the report states.
The grisly holiday weekend shooting is not Solarte’s first brush with the law: In 2017, the Lone Star Regional Sports Emmy recipient was arrested and charged with evading arrest after refusing to pull over for a police officer.
The charges were ultimately dropped by the district attorney, KSAT reported.
Prior to his time at Univision, Solarte was a sports anchor and producer for NBC Telemundo and a reporter for Univision Costa Central, according to his LinkedIn.
As of Tuesday morning, his current employment status is unclear.
