Man accused of committing assaults near UT Austin campus released from jail

Man accused of multiple assaults out of jail

UT campus safety groups are warning the community and students about a habitual assault suspect known to frequent that area. Some call him the "Helmet Guy" and he has been released from the Travis County Jail. FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt reports.

AUSTIN, Texas - The man known for wearing a motorcycle helmet and accused of committing several assaults at a time on the Drag near the University of Texas at Austin campus was released from the Travis County Jail on Wednesday.

Aymen Labidi was arrested three days in a row back in April.

What they're saying:

"Once we shared his mugshot showing his face, that's when a lot of people reached out and said, 'I was punched by him,' 'I was assaulted by him,'" said Joell McNew, president of SafeHorns. "We had a female student who said that he was very aggressive, grabbing her and yelling at her when she was walking home." 

During the height of all this, FOX 7 Austin spoke with a boutique owner who shut down her store after 20 years in business out of fear. 

SafeHorns wants Longhorns and the community to be aware that Labidi is back on the streets again, following the string of allegedly unprovoked and random attacks. 

Man hurts and terrorizes people on the Drag

A man accused of threatening to blow up a boutique on The Drag near the UT campus has been arrested again.

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"He was arrested, he was released again that afternoon, he assaulted more people that night, he was released again," said McNew. "It kept going on and on where there were more victims." 

"One of the challenges when you have somebody who is committing misdemeanors and assaults that cause bodily injury are misdemeanors is that they're not really in the system for a very long time," said Jeremy Rosenthal, a criminal defense attorney not affiliated with the case.

However, Labidi's recent release does come with conditions, like wearing a GPS monitor after a court-ordered psych evaluation found him incompetent to stand trial. 

"If he's mentally incompetent, that's what students keep asking us - why do they believe that he's going to follow these conditions, get the medication, check in with who he has to, stay out of the area where they live and work," said McNew. "Who's gonna monitor that?" 

Additionally, Labidi is required to complete the CCRP, which stands for Community Competency Restoration Program. 

"Tragically, in America, our mental health system is called jail, and we don't want that to be the case," said Rosenthal. "The system does the best they can do to restore their mental health, but they have limited resources and limited assurances for the public going forward." 

Labidi is also not allowed to set foot on any UT campuses and must maintain a distance of at least 200 yards. 

"We obviously hope that he gets the mental health that he needs," said McNew. "But in terms of his behavior, it did increase in terms of his violence, and that was very concerning." 

What you can do:

SafeHorns is advising students not to approach him. If you see Labidi on or near campus, call 911.