Army investigated shooting suspect years before rampage in Austin, San Antonio area

A former U.S. Army officer accused of killing six people during a shooting rampage in San Antonio and Austin last month was investigated by military police in 2014 after allegations of domestic violence during his abbreviated service at Fort Cavazos.

Shane James Jr. was detained on suspicion of assaulting his then-wife and taking her phone, preventing her from calling 911, in June 2014, according to a military police report obtained by the American-Statesman through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The incident, details of which Austin police have only hinted at since his arrest, is the earliest known encounter James had with law enforcement in the years before the string of shootings in December, records show. Questions remain about the outcome of the Army's in-house investigation.

Police have said James has a history of mental health issues. Three months before the shootings, Bexar County sheriff's deputies responded to his home as he was having what authorities described as a mental health crisis. He barricaded himself in his room and refused to come out, officials said.

Before that, after bonding out of jail following an early 2022 misdemeanor family violence arrest, he rejected court-issued referrals for rehabilitation services and cut his GPS-equipped ankle monitor, court records show, triggering an arrest warrant.

The warrant remained active for more than a year and a half, court records show, including when police say he purchased the .45 caliber handgun used in the Dec. 5 shootings in a private sale, avoiding a federal background check. The warrant was active when Bexar County sheriff's deputies responded to James' home three months before the shootings. The deputies did not make an arrest.

James faces capital murder charges for the deaths in Austin. Deputy Johnny C. Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff's office spokesperson, said Wednesday that charges would be forthcoming in Bexar County.

Both law enforcement agencies deferred questions about the military police report to the Army.

The report about the 2014 incident sheds new light on James' time in the military. The Army discharged him the next year. People who knew or had interactions with James in the years after the discharge told the Statesman he was struggling.

Details emerge about 2014 domestic incident at Fort Cavazos

All names and most identifying information about the incident are redacted from the 11-page report. A person close to the incident, speaking to the Statesman on the condition of anonymity, identified James as the person detained by military police that afternoon. The rank and unit listed for the detainee in the report match those of James at the time, an Army spokesperson confirmed.

The outcome of the investigation is unclear; the report does not say whether James faced disciplinary action. The Army investigation did not result in the filing of formal charges against James under military law.

Because the incident didn't lead to charges, the Army was not required to report it to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, said Bryce S. Dubee, the Army spokesperson. A report to NICS would bar a firearm purchase at a federally licensed vendor.

Dubee did not say whether James was disciplined.

“While the Privacy Act and (Department of Defense) policy prevent us from releasing personnel information relating to the alleged misconduct, I can say that the Army has several options in acting on such cases even when charges are not brought, to include reprimands or administrative separations,” Dubee said in a statement Tuesday.

To what degree the assault allegation factored into James' discharge from the Army is also not clear. His tenure fell short of a full contract term. Austin police have said he received a general discharge for “unacceptable conduct" in August 2015 — more than a year after the incident.

James' court-appointed attorney, Russ Hunt Jr., said Tuesday that he was unaware of the incident because the case has not reached the point where such reports would be provided to the defense.

James’ former spouse declined to comment on the incident. The Statesman is not publishing her name because she was the alleged victim of domestic violence. The two ceased living together in March 2015, and she filed for divorce the next year, court records show.

Who conducted the Army investigation and decided the outcome?

The Army's Criminal Investigation Division handles felony criminal investigations. Last month, the Statesman obtained the report from the CID, which also maintains Army criminal records, after filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records relating to James.

However, in a statement last Monday, CID spokesperson Thomas B. Hamilton said that the CID did not investige James during his time on active and reserve duty. Police with Fort Cavazos’ Directorate of Emergency Services, a local entity, investigated the 2014 incident, the report shows, determining that James was "responsible for the offense assault."

The report lists three offenses: interference with an emergency phone call (on post), assault (domestic disturbance) and spouse abuse (on post). Two months later, a military police investigations supervisor “stated probable cause information does exist to title” James with the offenses, the report says.

In Army parlance, to "title" a service member refers to an investigator finding credible information that the subject of an investigation committed a criminal offense. Titling is not a legal or judicial decision; it does not equate to a formal charge under military law.

Generally, the decision to bring formal charges is up to a service member's commander. A judge advocate — an attorney representing a military branch — is assigned to advise the commander. The report shows a judge advocate was assigned after the 2014 incident.

After he was taken to a police station and invoked his rights, James was released to his unit, the report says. Military police closed the case that August.

James held the rank of first lieutenant. Officers generally reach the rank of first lieutenant after 18 to 24 months of service and may lead "more specialized weapons platoons and indirect fire computation centers," according to a description of Army ranks on the branch's website.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Man accused of killing 6 was investigated during service in Army