AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department has made an arrest in connection with a homicide near Lady Bird Lake in December.
According to APD, at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, officers responded to a crash and report of gunshots near the intersection of South Lamar Boulevard and West Riverside Drive in Downtown Austin.
The 911 caller indicated that a truck had driven off the road and into the water. The caller also said that gunfire had been heard in the immediate area around the time of the crash.
When Austin-Travis County EMS medics and Austin Fire Department crews arrived on the scene, they found a vehicle in the water. Crews were able to extricate a man, identified as 45-year-old Josue Moreno, from inside the vehicle.
Once he was out of the vehicle, crews saw that he had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives said at the time that they believed the shooting happened during a disturbance from a group of people nearby. Moreno was shot while driving his pickup truck, causing him to crash through the bridge's guardrail where West Bouldin Creek meets the Colorado River.
On Feb. 23, APD provided an update on the case, announcing the arrest of 18-year-old Joel Santiago Gonzalez-Paron.
APD said on Jan. 26, officers arrested Gonzalez-Paron for two outstanding warrants. On Feb. 18, he was charged with murder, a first-degree felony.
APD said throughout the investigation, detectives learned that on the morning of Moreno's murder, Gonzalez-Paron was involved in a disturbance with a group of individuals at Doug Sahm Hill Summit in the 1100 block of West Riverside Drive. During the incident, Gonzalez-Paron fired several rounds at the group's vehicles as they left the parking lot.
APD said though Moreno was not involved in the altercation, Gonzalez-Paron believed Moreno's vehicle was involved in the disturbance. He targeted and fired a round at Moreno's vehicle, striking and killing him.
The case is being investigated as Austin's 70th homicide of 2022.