TXST football player killed, 2 charged with capital murder
A Texas State football player was shot and killed at The Lodge Apartments in San Marcos.
Khambrail Winters, 20, was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Jo Anne Prado, City of San Marcos officials said. Next of kin have been notified.
San Marcos police responded to The Lodge Apartments — 1975 Aquarena Springs Drive — for calls of gunshots at approximately 9:13 p.m. on Tuesday. SMPD stated that multiple callers reported individuals running from the area in addition to the gunshots being heard.
Officers arrived to find Winters with a gunshot wound to the chest and immediately began life saving efforts, officials said. Hays County EMS and San Marcos Fire Department personnel responded but efforts to save Winters were unsuccessful.
SMPD stated that detectives arrived on scene to assist, where they identified and interviewed several witnesses and involved persons. Detectives discovered that Winters and two other individuals, Enalisa Blackman and Michael Ifeanacho, planned to buy drugs, police said. The drug deal was set up at the apartment complex where Blackman met two individuals to purchase a couple of ounces marijuana, officials added.
SMPD said Winters was shot and died on scene during the drug deal. Blackman, 20, and Ifeanacho, 20, were arrested and charged with capital murder. Both were transported and are being held at the Hays County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing and SMPD is seeking to identify two other individuals involved in the shooting. Police are also searching for any other witnesses. Officials said police are asking for any surveillance video of the area around the shooting or in the parking lot of Building 4 as surveillance video was not operational at the apartment complex.
Khambrail was the son of Kevin Winters and Esther Goffney and graduated from Houston Alief Taylor High School in 2019. He was listed as a two-star prospect by 24/7 Sports, earning All-District 23-6A First Team honors as a junior and senior before committing to Texas State. “Kham,” as his teammates called him, started nine games at cornerback as a true freshman and was a 2019 Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference selection. Khambrail tore his ACL prior to the 2020 season, keeping him sidelined for the year.
"Our Texas State University football team is deeply saddened by the death of our team member, and friend, Khambrail Winters," Texas State head coach Jake Spavital said in a statement released by the school Wednesday morning. "I met with players this morning to share this the news about Khambrail. We will stand together as a team and support one another during this very difficult time. Our thoughts and condolences are with Khabrail's family and loved ones.
"Khambrail's death is part of an ongoing San Marcos Police Department investigation into an incident that occurred off-campus last night.
"We are waiting for more details to be released before we can comment further. The coaches and I are meeting with the team to discuss how we will proceed for the rest of the week."
Anyone with information or surveillance video is asked to contact Detective Templeton at 512-753-2317 or btempleton@sanmarcostx.gov.
This is the third homicide of 2020 in San Marcos and first since May.
This story has been updated since its first publication.
