A memorial grows for Jonathon Joss, and quiet descends on a complicated street
CNN
Jonathan Joss was shot at the site of his family home. This followed years of trouble with neighbors. Now friends and admirers are coming to the site of the shooting in San Antonio to remember him fondly.
A family who moved to a south-side San Antonio neighborhood roughly six years ago said that they were warned right away about an eccentric man who lived across the street. They were told, they said, that Jonathan Joss would play drums on his roof at all hours of the night and would yell obscenities and racial slurs at people outside. They said that, when confronted, Joss would often say that he was rehearsing for a role. He really was an actor, though. He played the role of John Redcorn in the animated show “King of the Hill” for more than a dozen seasons, including in the show’s upcoming revival. Another neighbor, Daniela Ruano, 19, said she lived next door to Joss her entire life. He would yell racist slurs at her family, she said, honk his horn in the middle of the night and threaten to hurt them. The behavior, she said, had accelerated. “I’d say like the last two years have been the worst with him. He started breaking down my fence from the back,” she said. “We would call the police on him a lot.” Two years ago, she said, Joss threatened another neighbor’s brother with a crossbow. Police reports confirm that officers responded to the incident, but did not find a crossbow on Joss when they arrived at the scene. Earlier this year, Joss’ family home was destroyed in a fire. But he still came by, neighbors said. In a video Ruano took of the actor on June 1, he is seen walking around the neighborhood and yelling; he is carrying a makeshift pitchfork. At one point, he said he is “rehearsing a scene.”