APD investigates five murders in nine days in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas – The Austin Police Department is investigating five murders that occurred over a nine-day period.

“Any homicide is too much,” said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.

The first murder happened on Thursday, November 7 a little after 4:30 p.m East Austin on Rosewood Avenue. Investigators said 20-year-old Matthew Escalante was dating someone when he was shot. The suspect fled with other people.

Escalante died at a local hospital. The suspect has not yet been arrested.

The second murder happened about an hour and a half later Northeast Austin. Detectives said 33-year-old Shelby Wayne Cody was standing outside the Texas Health Services building when 30-year-old Lavonta Harrison drove up.

“Mr. Harrison got out of his car, there was no conversation, no provocation, no conversation, and he started shooting at Shelby. Shelby was hit multiple times. Mr. Harrison then got into his vehicle and drove away from the scene,” said Austin Police Homicide Detective Patrick. Reed said.

Court documents say they attended court-ordered anger management classes there.

“We do not believe that Mr. Harrison was targeting anyone other than Shelby,” Detective Reid said.

Police said Harrison fired several shots with a semi-automatic handgun. Harrison was not supposed to have a firearm because he is a convicted felon.

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Harrison has a long history dating back to at least 2012. He was convicted of aggravated assault, domestic violence, evading arrest and spent time in prison. Detectives said Harrison was on parole and in violation of parole at the time of the murder.

“We’re going to do our job properly and we’re going to make these arrests. What happens from there is somewhat out of our control,” Assistant Chief Eric Fitzgerald said.

Harrison was arrested Tuesday on an outstanding parole warrant. The next day, he was charged with first degree murder.

The third murder took place on Sunday in Southeast Austin on East William Cannon Drive. Police said Elijah Martinez was stabbed in the chest at a homeless encampment near the parking lot around 6:30 p.m. The suspect has not yet been arrested.

The fourth murder took place on Wednesday at a gas station in the village of South Austin. Court documents say 32-year-old Luis Marroquin admitted to stabbing a man he knew by the nickname “Flacco” after he said something he didn’t like. He said he didn’t want to kill him, he just wanted to hurt him. The identity of the victim has not yet been established.

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The fifth murder happened early on Friday morning in North Austin. Police said it happened at an apartment complex on Goldfinch Court.

“We received several reports of shots fired and when officers arrived on scene they found an obviously deceased individual,” Cpl. Matthew Nonweiler said.

The person of interest was taken to the DNP headquarters for questioning. This is Austin’s 61st homicide of the year.

“You look at Austin, I think until 2020 it was the norm to have 25 homicides a year, so to go from 25 to 30 homicides to 70 homicides a year, that’s concerning,” Chief Davis said.

Chief Davis said she plans to fix the problem.

“So what is going on, where are the guns coming from, who is committing these murders? So what are the interactions and what can we do as an organization to intervene in these things?” Chief Davis said.

Last year, Austin police reported 73 homicides in Austin.