Ethan Soto was a 15-year-old boy from San Antonio, Texas, with a big heart, according to his mother, Gloria Cordova. He was the only boy in a family with seven brothers, and he was very close to his sister, Savanah. His life was cut short in a violent ambush on May 16, 2022.
The shooting stemmed from a conflict that began the day before, when Ethan robbed 17-year-old Victor Nathaneal Rivas of THC cartridges.
In retaliation, Rivas shot at the Soto family’s home, though no one was injured. Ethan’s mother tried to de-escalate the situation by meeting with Rivas and paying him for the stolen goods. Her efforts were tragically unsuccessful. Hours later, Rivas messaged an underage girl on Instagram, instructing her to lure Ethan out of his home by setting up a fake drug deal. On the afternoon of May 16, the girl messaged Ethan that she was nearby. When Ethan left his house on Alston Street to meet her, he was instead ambushed by Rivas, who shot him multiple times. Ethan was rushed to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Investigators quickly focused on Victor Rivas. A witness reported seeing a man flee the scene in a golden sedan with a red hood. Police uncovered Instagram messages between Rivas and the juvenile girl that detailed their plan to lure Ethan into the trap. When confronted by Ethan’s mother after the shooting, Rivas denied his involvement but reportedly said he “wished” he had shot him. In September 2022, police arrested Rivas and charged him with murder.
The case brought immense pain to the Soto family, a grief that was compounded in December 2023 when Ethan’s sister, Savanah Soto, was found murdered in a separate incident. The family’s anguish was evident during court proceedings for Ethan’s case. At a preliminary hearing in October 2023, after Rivas made a gesture toward the family, several of Ethan’s relatives jumped a courtroom partition and attacked Rivas. The brawl resulted in the arrest of two men and two juveniles on assault charges.
In February 2025, Victor Rivas, then 20, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to the murder of Ethan Soto. Two months later, in a tense courtroom with a heavy law enforcement presence, a judge sentenced Rivas to 40 years in a state prison. He also received a concurrent 10-year sentence for an evading arrest charge. The case was officially closed as of April 2025.
