Damion Jamal Franklin, 29, was found dead on the eastbound access road of Highway 151 near Callaghan Road on December 20, 2023, after an automated crash alert led first responders to the scene at about 1:30 a.m. He was discovered lying face down and initially thought to be a hit-and-run victim; examination showed multiple gunshot wounds to his back and the case was classified as a homicide.

Investigators say Franklin had arranged to meet 18-year-old Joseph David Melgar-Hernandez in the 600 block of Porter Street shortly after 1 a.m. Surveillance footage shows Franklin arriving in his vehicle and Melgar-Hernandez entering the passenger side. Franklin was later shot and his body abandoned on the access road. Vehicle GPS, cell phone records, a witness who reported hearing Franklin pleading for his life, and physical evidence in Franklin’s vehicle — a bullet hole in the driver’s side window, bloodstains, and shell casings — are described as part of the investigation.

On January 18, 2024, Melgar-Hernandez was arrested and booked into the Bexar County Jail on a murder charge with bail set at $250,000. Franklin’s family has sought community support to cover funeral expenses via a GoFundMe campaign.

Did anyone on the East Side that night see Franklin’s vehicle or the meeting on Porter Street?