Jonathan Joss' Neighbors Debunk Hate Crime Claims After Shooter's Confession

Yahoo

04-06-2025

The truth about what transpired between Jonathan Joss and his former neighbor appears to be far from what the late entertainer's husband claims.
The "King Of The Hill" voice actor took his final breath on Sunday, June 1, after allegedly getting into a heated dispute at his old neighborhood in Texas. His partner, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, alleged he was gunned down in a hate crime, but new reports beg to differ.
Jonathan Joss' former neighbors recently debunked his husband's claims of homophobic attacks, stressing that they never threatened or harassed the couple. Instead, the late TV personality was a menace in their peaceful neighborhood, leading to a years-long feud with the man who shot him.
According to a police report, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, the man arrested and charged for ending Joss' life, did very little to help his case. He allegedly showed no remorse, even proudly declaring, "I shot him" after authorities caught him while fleeing the crime scene.
The report shed more light on what transpired between Joss and Alvarez, revealing the unfortunate incident began around 7 PM after a woman drove the late actor from Austin to his old home in San Antonio.
He and another man, whom his husband claimed to be, visited the South Side residence to see if they had mail. According to the report obtained by TMZ, the woman remained in the car while the duo checked their mail.
During this moment, Alvarez came over in a vehicle with a second occupant and confronted Joss. They got into a heated argument, with the latter threatening to shoot Joss before carrying out his promise.
Following news of Joss' death by gunshot, his husband penned a lengthy post about what allegedly happened. He painted the murder as a hate crime, claiming the shooter yelled "homophobic slurs" at them before killing his partner.
However, neighbors recently refuted these claims and implied the tragic incident stemmed from years-long tension. These eyewitnesses stressed that they never heard the shooter make any remarks about Gonzales and Joss' same-sex relationship.
Instead, they claimed Joss and Alvarez had beef over the late actor's "antics." He allegedly tormented their peaceful neighborhood by harassing people during his random, angry episodes, where he would hurl insults at passersby.
Besides verbally abusing innocent people during his random outbursts, Joss' former neighbors claimed he would behave bizarrely, like banging pots and pans from his rooftop at night. Surprisingly, after these alleged episodes, the late actor apologized to his neighbors.
His former neighbors suspected his anger issues stemmed from a mental breakdown and appeared to let him off easily. Unfortunately, Ceja seemed more interested in getting even with Joss than brushing off their differences.
Authorities also echoed similar sentiments, claiming they found no evidence linking the shooter's actions to a hate crime. As stated, Ceja was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody on a $200K bond after confessing to the crime, as noted in a police report.
While Joss' former neighbors claim he was the menace in their South Side block, his husband shared a different story. The Blast reported that Gonzales gave a firsthand account of what happened on June 1, dropping a lengthy statement on the late actor's Facebook page.
Gonzales implied that he and Joss' old residence in Texas wasn't burned down in a natural fire. He alleged their home was destroyed in January, two years after homophobic neighbors threatened to do so. He stressed that their persistent hate attacks were repeatedly reported to the police to no avail.
Things reached a breaking point that Sunday when he and Joss returned to the neighborhood to check their mail only to find the skull of one of their dogs. Gonzales recalled the deceased pet's harness was displayed for them to see, causing the couple to suffer "severe emotional distress."
While yelling and crying over the loss of their dog, Gonzales claimed they were approached by a man who "started yelling violent homophobic slurs." He emphasized that he and Joss were processing their grief and held no weapons, nor did they provoke this man to react the way he did.
"When the man fired, Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life," Gonzales recalled. "He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved."
The grieving husband noted that he and Joss did not deserve the injustice they received for loving each other and vowed to keep his partner's legacy alive. Gonzales' words sparked a wave of support from fans who condemned the shooter's actions while penning their condolences.
Given the different narratives about what happened to Jonathan Joss, only time will unveil the truth.