Man arrested in South Austin deadly shooting connected to other crimes

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police have caught a man they say is connected to several shootings, including a murder that happened more than a week ago.

APD says this isn’t the suspect’s only run-in with the law, and he’s believed to have gang affiliations.

Deadly shooting in South Austin

The backstory:

Last month, Austin police responded to a reported shooting in the Woodland Avenue area.

"There were several, multiple people heard gunshots. And multiple people kind of saw bits and pieces of what happened," said Aaron Townsend with the Austin Police Department.

When officers arrived, a man was found in a car that crashed into a fence. He had gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say the suspect fled before officers arrived. They later released photos to the public.

"Witnesses had described a Hispanic male, young, maybe late teens, early 20s. Slender build in the area and it just left the area before officers arrived," said Townsend.

Police identified the victim as Edwin Pulgar.

APD says Pulgar was driving his car when he encountered 21-year-old Santana Gonzales walking then Gonzales shot Pulgar.

"At this time there's no information that's been put out as far as what relationship there may or may not have been," said Townsend.

An arrest warrant was issued for Gonzales for first-degree murder.

Gonzales is in the Travis County Jail facing charges of murder and deadly conduct.

Dig deeper:

On Wednesday, he was arrested by the US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the APD SWAT team in Austin.

Gonzales is facing murder, deadly conduct and application to revoke probation charges.

Other crimes Gonzales is connected to

What they're saying:

The South Austin shooting isn't the only one APD says he’s connected to. Just days before the Woodland Avenue shooting, APD says Gonzales was linked to a shooting in the area of East 2nd Street. Multiple shots were fired by a Hispanic male wearing all black with a backpack and glasses.

Then, on August 13, APD says Gonzales was involved in another shooting in that same area before fleeing. Police say his clothing was similar to what was seen in the homicide investigation, including the handkerchief.

The arrest paperwork also identifies him as an active crips gang member.

Court documents also detail another case on July 26. APD responded to Elks Pass Drive for reports of someone shooting into a home. 

The victims told police their son received threats from Gonzales after dating Gonzales’ ex-girlfriend. The victim believed Santana is the person responsible for the shooting at their home.

Arrest paperwork says a consumer data records search also put the suspect’s phone at the locations of all the above crimes.

Criminal defense attorney speaks on the case

What they're saying:

"With his prior gang affiliation. I'm sure law enforcement is going to be studying that very, very carefully, developing additional information that would serve the prosecution in this case. And certainly, those would be aggravating factors for his character in the event he was to have trial," said criminal defense attorney Alan Bennett, who is unaffiliated with the case.

"He has a criminal history. Some of those cases in his criminal history are significant. He is faced now with a very, very serious offense," Bennett added.

Defense attorney, Alan Bennett, says that pattern of recent violence could play into how the district attorney's office will approach the case.

"Sounds like there are some other very, very serious offenses that are floating around out there that he has not yet been charged with, but that APD knows about. This is the kind of case, this is the kind of fellow who the district attorney's office would zoom in on," said Bennett.

Court records also reveal multiple cases against Gonzales were eventually dismissed.

"On paper, that doesn't look good for the state. That the prosecutors are dismissing a number of cases. In reality, the state really does have limited resources. They do allocate those resources very carefully," said Bennett.

Crime and Public SafetySouth Austin