Man charged with murder in early morning homicide in North Austin

A man has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting in North Austin.

31-year-old William Jameson Bruce has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and second-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He is currently in the Travis County Jail and bond has been set at $500,000 for both offenses, according to jail records.

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Around 1 a.m., on Nov. 15, Austin police were called to the Thurmond Heights apartment complex on Goldfinch Court off Thurmond Street and N Lamar Boulevard near US 183.

When officers arrived, they found the victim dead. 

Multiple homicides in ten days

This homicide was the fifth in a string of homicides over the last ten days

The first homicide happened Thursday, Nov. 7 at a little after 4:30 p.m. in East Austin on Rosewood Avenue. Investigators said 20-year-old Matthew Escalante was meeting up with someone and was shot. The suspect fled with other people. 

The second homicide happened about an hour and a half later in Northeast Austin. 30-year-old Lavonta Harrison allegedly shot and killed 33-year-old Shelby Wayne Cody who was standing outside the Texas Health and Human Services building when Harrison pulled up.

Harrison has been charged with first-degree murder in Cody's death.

The third homicide happened on Sunday in Southeast Austin at East William Cannon Drive. Police said at around 6:30 p.m. Elijah Martinez was stabbed in the chest in a homeless encampment next to the AutoZone. A suspect has not been arrested yet.

The fourth homicide happened on Wednesday at a gas station in South Austin. Court documents said 32-year-old Luis Marroquin admitted to stabbing a man he knew as ‘Flacco’ after he had said something he didn’t like. He said he didn’t mean to kill him, just intended to hurt him. The victim has not been identified as of Friday, Nov. 15.

The sixth homicide happened on Saturday in North Austin, just 24 hours and ten minutes away from the Thurmond Heights homicide. 

Just after 4 a.m. on Nov. 16, Austin 911 received reports of gunshots at the Espero Rutland apartment complex in the 1900 block of Rutland Drive near Metric Boulevard.

Officers responded about five minutes later and found a woman with gunshot wounds inside one of the apartments. Despite life-saving measures, the woman died from her injuries at the scene. There is currently no word on a suspect or arrest as of Sunday.

The Source: Information in this report came from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis, court and jail records, and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.

Crime and Public SafetyNorth Austin