Officer-involved shooting in South Austin; APD provides update

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has released body camera footage from two of the officers involved in a deadly shooting at a South Austin business in late August.

APD Chief Lisa Davis held a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 2, to share new details and the footage, as well as the identities of the suspect killed, the injured bystander and the three officers involved.

Watch the full press conference below:

What we know:

The incident unfolded on August 28 just before 5:30 p.m. at Thundercloud Subs along Slaughter Lane and Manchaca Road, leaving the suspect, 33-year-old Raymond Lee Howard, dead and a bystander, Fernando Martinez, with a gunshot wound.

APD says that in early August, burglary detectives identified Howard as a suspect in multiple residential burglaries and home invasions, stealing personal property and firearms. 

On August 27, Howard had allegedly burglarized a home with a handgun, while the owner was home. Due to this, APD's Major Crimes Suppression Unit was called in to assist.

"They knew that he had a gun. They knew he was dangerous. They knew he was a methamphetamine user. They knew that he had traffic pursuit the day earlier. And he had motorcycle that was right outside the door on the sidewalk there, which I don't think you could see it in the video. Was he going to get on that, and what would that look like? So, I think him being at the door, near the front of the door, knowing that there was one person inside the store, they felt it was best to take him into custody right there," Chief Davis said.

On August 28, MCSU detectives tried to take Howard into custody during a fugitive apprehension operation at the Thundercloud Subs. When they arrived at the store, they saw a man matching Howard's description arrive on a motorcycle and were able to positively identify him as Howard within ten minutes.

Three detectives entered the Thundercloud Subs at about 5:26 p.m. and gave verbal commands to Howard to get on the ground. He did not comply and instead turned away from detectives towards Martinez and pulled out a handgun from a crossbody bag.

"They tell him ‘Austin police get on the ground.’ He immediately goes back toward Mr. Martinez. He drops his phone. This is his phone here, pulls the gun from his back right side of his waistband, so Mr. Martinez takes him into a hold and does a takedown of him. Again, at this point, he's pulled that gun right by him and you can hear the first firearm that goes off is the shot that came from his gun," Chief Davis said.

Martinez intervened and took Howard down to the ground, holding onto him. He later told detectives he was in fear because of Howard's actions before the shooting, which led him to physically restrain Howard.

Howard continued to ignore verbal commands from detectives, raised his handgun and fired at least one round while Martinez and he were on the ground. Detectives also fired their weapons, hitting Howard, then attempted to render aid to him. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:46 p.m.

Martinez was shot in the shoulder and taken to the hospital.

"Everyone involved in this incident, as mentioned earlier, acted swiftly, and that allowed me to be home safely," Martinez said. "Thank you, for your overall support. It's very much appreciated during this time. It's given me the strength to move forward."

Martinez, now in a sling, is being deemed a hero.

"I struggle to think of an officer hit or you more seriously injured during that, but you did a fantastic job, so I want to thank you for your heroic efforts," Chief Davis said.

A GoFundMe page has been created for Martinez.

Local perspective:

The moments after the shooting caught on neighboring camera footage from Accent Trophies and Awards. Around 5:26 p.m. the owner headed out the door to see what the commotion was, unknowing that he was just inches away from potentially losing his life.

A bullet had passed through the wall of his business from Thundercloud Subs, hitting off a metal bar on his desk, narrowly deflecting the bullet from where he was sitting in his chair just inches away. 

What's next:

The officers involved in the shooting have been identified as:

• Detective Marcus Gonzalez – 8 years, 2 months
• Detective Craig Pruitt – 7 years
• Detective Ricardo Cardona – 12 years, 5 months

All three have been placed on administrative leave per APD protocol.

APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation conducted by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.   

What you can do:

Anyone with information is encouraged to call APD’s Special Investigation Unit at 512-974-6840 or Capitol Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477. 

Tips can be submitted anonymously online at austincrimestoppers.org.

South AustinCrime and Public Safety