North Star Mall shooting victim had past ties to Bloods gang
A man who was fatally shot Sunday while getting a hair cut at North Star Mall has been identified as Adam Glass, who’d described himself in 2021 as a former gang member and an aspiring rapper.
Glass was serving a federal sentence in a San Antonio halfway house for a gun crime conviction — being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Glass, 33, was gunned down at a barber shop in the busy mall shortly after 3 p.m. The gunfire drove numerous shoppers to the mall’s exits, and some store managers sheltered their customers and employees until police said the danger had passed.
Police Chief William McManus said two men wearing hoodies — one in light shorts, the other in dark pants — entered the barbershop and shot Glass. They then fled, possibly in the same car. The police department said it was a “targeted” shooting.
The barbershop, Black Lotus, is two doors from one of the mall’s south-end exits.
On Monday, less than 24 hours after the shooting, North Star Mall was once again buzzing with shoppers.
A customer was getting a hair cut inside the chic barbershop where Glass was killed. Across the room, a row of chairs was covered by tarp.
The owner, who asked to remain anonymous, insisted the shooting had nothing to do with his business. He added that police "said it was just about that man — that if he had gone into the food court instead of the barbershop, then the shooting would have been at the food court.”
RELATED NEWS: Police say connection possible in San Antonio weekend shootings that left 3 dead, 5 injured
The owner said he didn't recall seeing Glass in his shop before Sunday.
Half a dozen customers were in the shop at the time of the shooting.
“It was hectic,” the owner said. “I just wanted to make sure that everyone was good and make sure my customers and employees were safe.”
READ MORE: One dead in 'cold blood' killing at North Star Mall, police say
In trouble again
Court records show Glass was allegedly a member of the Bloods gang, though he claimed he was trying to leave that life behind. He told a federal judge about his attempts to break into the music industry, including posting music videos on YouTube.
“He was working on some albums,” said attorney Guillermo Lara, who represented him in federal court and spoke to him a few months ago.
Glass went by the name “Glizzy” on social media. The last song he released was called “Wake Em Up!”, according to his Instagram profile.
Glass was winding down a 56-month prison sentence and had been living in a halfway house downtown. He was scheduled to be released in April 2024, records show.
The program is overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Prison’s Residential Reentry Management field office at Hemisfair Park. An employee there declined to comment on Glass.
Records and hearing transcripts reviewed by the Express-News show Glass had been in trouble since he was a juvenile. He attended several schools in San Antonio — including Memorial, Wagner and Judson high schools, as well as Judson Alternative High School — and was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
His mother was a drug addict and he never knew his father, according to statements he made in court. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, who is now deceased.
At 18, he was sentenced to state prison for first-degree aggravated robbery. When he got out, he returned to gang life.
In 2017, he was indicted in a gun and drug case, along with several other suspected East Side gang members, records show.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sentenced him to five years of probation. Glass was 27 at the time.
'I did change my life'
In 2020, Glass was arrested again after the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided a house in the 9900 block of Sugarloaf Drive on the far West Side and found an AM-15 multicaliber gun with a red bandana tied around the barrel, a Glock 9 mm pistol, ammunition and scales used to weigh drugs.
MORE LOCAL NEWS: Girl in critical condition after 3-vehicle collision on far West Side, SAPD says
An ATF agent noted in an arrest warrant affidavit that Bloods gang members show their gang affiliation with red bandanas. The affidavit said Glass was a member of the Blood Stixx Street gang.
“Glass claimed that his girlfriend was the purchaser and owner of the firearms,” the affidavit said. “Glass admitted, however, that his fingerprints would be on both weapons, as he claimed that he would occasionally move the weapons to different locations in the home.”
In November 2020, Glass replaced his then-attorney, Lara, with another lawyer, Mark Braswell. Braswell helped Glass reach a deal with federal prosecutors. Glass pleaded guilty in March 2021 to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Biery sentenced him to 46 months in prison for the 2020 case and tacked on another 10 months in prison because he committed the crime while on probation for the 2017 case.
At a hearing in July 2021, Glass told Biery that ATF agents asked him to help them solve other violent crimes — and he said no.
“Mr. Biery, honestly, when I came to you, I was lost. I came to you at 27 years old,” Glass said, court transcripts show. “I didn’t know what direction I wanted to go. I was just happy to make it another day. When I came to you at 27, you believed in me.”
“I was not gangbanging, Mr. Biery. I was not selling drugs,” he said. “And I know I’m wrong. I’m not asking to go home or be set free — I understand that I’m going to have to do some time. But I have changed my life. And I didn’t take what you told me and just didn’t use it. I used it. And I’m going to continue to use it."
“I sat there three months on just a violation," he added. After declining to become an informant "because I didn't know anything, I was indicted on those firearms. And I understand that that’s part of the game. But I did change my life, and I am doing better.”
Glass’ girlfriend filed a claim for the Glock pistol, but Biery rejected it. Both weapons were forfeited to federal authorities.
A GoFundMe fundraising campaign has been set up to raise money for Glass's family. As of Monday afternoon, it had collected $325 from donors.
Facebook user Shannon Marie said Glass was a friendly face when she moved to her home on Morningview Drive on the East Side.
Glass, she wrote, “looked out for us and I tried to do the same to the best of my ability!! My kids are crushed and so am I.”
Several others posted clips of his music videos on Facebook, describing him as an honest friend.
Images posted on his account from as far back as 2016 include handguns and cash, captioned “Just thuggin.”
Staff writer Elisha Nunez contributed to this article.
Source: San Antonio Express-News
