Investigators say surveillance video, clothing and a wooden club tie the suspect to at least one killing.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Police arrested an 18-year-old man after two homeless men were found beaten to death within a day of each other near Fredericksburg Road in the Deco District, and detectives say the cases appear connected though only one charge has been filed.
San Antonio police identified the suspect as Noah Rayden West, who is charged with murder in the Sunday killing of 29-year-old Darreyl Fields. A second victim, a 62-year-old man, was found Monday morning a short distance away with similar injuries. As of Tuesday, detectives said they are not looking for additional suspects. West was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center with bond set at $500,000 while investigators continue to review video and forensic evidence from both scenes.
Officers were first called Sunday to an alley off the 1700 block of W. Gramercy Place after a 911 caller reported a possible killing. Responders found Fields on the ground with severe head trauma and pronounced him dead at the scene. According to an arrest affidavit, surveillance cameras faced toward the alley captured Fields walking into the area moments before a man in a red T-shirt with the word “Alpha” approached carrying what appeared to be a wooden club. The video did not show the assault, but investigators said it showed the man raise the object with both hands and move out of view toward where Fields’ body was later discovered. Police said the same person returned seconds later, still holding the wood, then layered on additional clothing and walked away.
Detectives wrote that a suspected weapon — described as two boards taped together with a white strap — was found near Fields. The strap matched what was missing from the club in the footage, the affidavit said. Investigators also linked West to a police encounter the night before, when officers responded to reports of a man striking parked cars with a stick near the same stretch of Fredericksburg Road; body-worn camera video from that call, police said, showed West holding what looked like the same piece of wood. On Monday, as officers canvassed after the second death, they said they saw West again — this time with blood on his shoes — and detained him. At headquarters, investigators said they recovered multiple clothing layers, including the red “Alpha” shirt seen in the Sunday video, with what appeared to be blood stains.
The second body was found Monday in the 2000 block of Fredericksburg Road, less than a half-mile from the first scene, police said. The 62-year-old victim, whose name has not been released pending family notification, had injuries consistent with a beating. Detectives said the timing, proximity and manner of injury led them to treat the deaths as related. They stressed that only one murder charge had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon and said testing was underway to determine whether the same weapon was used in both attacks. Police did not announce a motive and declined to say whether either victim had recent conflicts in the area.
Both crime scenes sit along a busy corridor of the Deco District, a historic commercial strip where business owners and residents have reported a visible homeless presence and frequent foot traffic. The killings unfolded within 24 hours, adding pressure on patrols and homicide detectives who reviewed security footage from nearby shops and homes. Court records list West’s age as 18, and booking information shows he was jailed on the single count of murder tied to Fields’ death. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting autopsies to finalize causes of death and collect potential DNA from the recovered wood, according to police.
Investigators said the next steps include lab analysis of the wood club, bloodstain testing on clothing seized from West, and a review of additional surveillance angles that might show the moments of the Sunday attack. Detectives also plan to interview more witnesses and return to the corridor for follow-up canvassing. If prosecutors file additional charges in the Monday case, a magistrate hearing could be scheduled this week; otherwise, the existing murder case will proceed in state district court. Police said they expect to release the 62-year-old victim’s name after his relatives are reached.
Residents described a heavy police presence Monday as detectives taped off a section near Fredericksburg Road. “It shook us,” said Eric Ramos, who works at a nearby shop and arrived to find cruisers blocking the alley. “We see people every day out here, and to hear two deaths like that — it’s scary.” A woman who identified herself only as Maria said she recognized the red “Alpha” shirt from the video stills shared by neighbors. “You don’t forget something like that,” she said. Police Chief William McManus thanked nearby businesses for cooperating with detectives and asked anyone with relevant video to contact the homicide unit.
As of Wednesday morning, West remained in the Bexar County jail on a $500,000 bond in the Sunday killing while police continued to investigate the Monday death. The medical examiner is expected to release the older victim’s identity after family notification later this week.
Author note: Last updated November 19, 2025.