Witness Testimony Implicates Drugs as Saturday Morning Murder Motive

Drugs and unpaid debts have emerged as the probable motive of a violent murder committed early Saturday morning, when 46-year-old Stephano Miguel Culbreath allegedly ran down David Titus and shot him in the back of the neck on W. 13^th St.

In a six-page complaint penned by San Angelo Police Detective Jeremy Cannady, witnesses described the relationship between Culbreath and his 24-year-old victim as one of dealer and user; Culbreath, in a mirandarized interview with detectives, denied ever having seen the man police believe he shot down.

David Titus was found lying on his back in the 200 block of W. 13^th St. at around 5:51 a.m. on June 25, his green bicycle and a single brass shell casing resting close by. Along with his ID, police found a brown Zig-Zag cigarillo package containing marijuana on his person and began a canvass of the neighborhood.

According to the complaint, Stephano Culbreath had been out looking for Titus the morning of the murder. He was witnessed smoking methamphetamine and was a known dealer.

“[A witness]...knew from previous encounters with Stephano Culbreath that he would sell narcotics,” Cannady wrote. “[The witness]…also knew that Stephano Culbreath would front subjects narcotics, and when they failed to pay for the narcotics, he would become enraged.”

Another witness told detectives that Titus had purchased some marijuana from Culbreath several months prior and confirmed that he drives a maroon Chevy Surburban. A fourth person expounded upon the relationship, stating that Titus had asked for money on three separate occasions to pay off drug debts to dealers, the last time falling on July 1. While the witness has offered Titus funds the first two times, the third time was met with refusal and Titus “became angry”. On July 12, he told the witness “he knew something bad was going to happen to him soon,” the complaint states.

At approximately 5 a.m. on Saturday, a gunshot rang out in the area of the murder, another witness stated. A few minutes later, a Hispanic male dressed in a striped shirt and shorts rode by 12^th and Irving streets on a bicycle.

On July 29, four days after the murder, Detective Lynn Dye spoke with a witness who asserted to know that Culbreath sells prescription pills and marijuana, and who described his drug use habits as including both methamphetamine and marijuana.

Detective Adrian Castro was out canvassing the neighborhood early Saturday morning when Culbreath passed by in his maroon Suburban, looking nervous and preoccupied with what was happening near the investigation, the complaint states. He copied down the license plate number and passed it off to detectives with the Special Operations Sections, who began watching a residence in the 3200 block of Grove Circle.

Eventually, a detective saw Culbreath pull erratically into the driveway and rush into the house. The detective obtained consent to search the vehicle and found evidence that the Suburban had made contact with white rubber similar to that on the flattened rear tire of Titus’ bicycle, the complaint states.

Further evidence was located by a crime scene technician, who, after performing two gunshot residue tests, determined that a gun had recently been fired near the passenger side of the vehicle. Residue was also found on Culbreath’s hands, explained away by the suspect, who stated he had handled a fired weapon roughly a week before the murder.

Stephano Miguel Culbreath was located by two members of the SOS team in the 100 block of W. 20^th St. on the day of the murder. When he was located, he was carrying several packages of Zig-Zag cigarillos like the one found on Titus. Culbreath consented to an interview and denied everything, but was booked into the county jail for possession of methamphetamine. He was held until a murder charge was added to his rap sheet on Wednesday evening.

A bond has been set for Culbreath at $300,000, plus another $50,000 for the third-degree felony possession charge.