Judge's sensational rant at 13-year-old boy who shot and killed his brother while playing with his parents' pistol
By Rachel Bowman
Daily Mail
Dec 5, 2025
Judge William 'Cruz' Shaw shredded a 13-year-old boy accused of accidentally killing his younger brother for violating the conditions of his release
A Texas boy accused of accidentally killing his younger brother was shredded by a judge after he was rearrested for violating the conditions of his release.
The 13-year-old boy, who has not been named due to his age, was handling an unsecured gun when it accidentally went off and shot his eight-year-old brother Daniel Casares on July 24, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
Casares died from a gunshot wound to the head and neck, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office.
The brother has been charged with manslaughter, and was released to his grandmother in August under strict conditions.
However, he was back in court on Wednesday and ordered to remain in juvenile detention after violating those conditions, KSAT reported.
Bexar County 436th Juvenile District Court Judge William 'Cruz' Shaw reprimanded the teen for failing to comply.
'All you had to do was follow the rules. You broke two conditions on a very serious charge,' Shaw said.
'You are here on a serious offense, and I gave you that one shot to show everybody you could behave. And you blew it.
The teen was handling an unsecured gun when it accidentally went off and shot his eight-year-old brother Daniel Casares (pictured) on July 24, according to police
Shaw added, 'You're trying to harden up, and you are not a gangster. At all.'
The teen broke curfew and was caught hanging out with kids who he was legally banned from contacting. He also picked up an additional evading charge.
His father even expressed his frustration with the teen to judge.
'I can't excuse him for what he did wrong. He knows right from wrong. I would love to have him home, but a part of me wants him to learn,' he said.
The teen was ordered to remain in detention and his next court hearing is scheduled for December 18.
At his August hearing, the teen's defense attorney, Neil Calfas, described the boy as a good student with no previous disciplinary record.
'This is a real accident, and it's an accident that obviously is very, very serious,' Calfas said.
The boy's father had slammed the court for not letting his son attend the funeral for Casares. At an earlier hearing, he had pleaded for his release into his custody, a request that was denied.
Shaw reprimanded the teen for failing to comply, telling the boy 'you blew it' and 'you are not a gangster'
The 13-year-old boy was ordered to stay away from the friends he was with when the shooting happen, but he violated that condition and stayed out past his curfew
'I wanted my son to see his brother before he was buried,' he said. 'I kept calling everybody and I didn't get a response from nobody. I just got told it would get passed along.'
Shaw apologized directly to the teen for this apparent mix-up, telling him he 'deserved to be there'.
'If I would have known, I would've made special arrangements for you to see your brother. I just want to make sure you know that,' Judge Shaw added.
In an exchange with the judge at a hearing in July, the teen confessed that the shooting 'was an accident'.
'Okay, and I believe you. The problem is this. You shouldn't have had your hand on that gun in the first place,' the judge responded. 'That gun should have been locked up. And this is what happens when they're not.'
1 comment:
Some kids seem to think they can do whatever they want without consequences, despite rules and instructions to the contrary. Sometimes the cost of receiving proof to the contrary is very, very high.
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