A Travis County Grand Jury which met for 8-days hearing testimony from 15-witnesses has failed to indict two agents with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for fatally shooting a 25-year old Austin man this Summer.
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg says 25-year old Steven Lunt had a blood alcohol content of .18, more than twice the legal limit in Texas.
Austin police officers tried pulling Lunt over around 3 a.m. August 16Th, 2009. Another man who was with him in the truck jumped out before the pursuit also testified before the grand jury.
Lunt sped off eluding Austin police officers, however three T.A.B.C. agents who were on duty that not picked up Lunt's trail following him to an east Austin apartment complex.
Lehmberg used an animated reenactment to show journalists how the events unfolded.
The animation shows two unmarked T.A.B.C. patrol cars pulling up behind Lunt's truck. Lunt gets out of the truck and climbs back in as agents approach driving his truck back and forth.
Lehmberg says agents Michael Cronin and John Altum both fired more than 16 rounds into Lunt's truck when he tried running one of them over.
Lunt died two weeks later.
Lehmberg also told journalists that questions arouse during the grand jury investigation regarding the T.A.B.C. uniform which the agency says is a suit, tie and slacks. There were also questions about whether the agents should have been involved in the situation to begin with.
"We're not patrol officers, we're investigators. Our mission or place for the majority of our regulatory is going to be licensed premises, but with the same token we're certified officers and we'll act like certified officers when we have to", said T.A.B.C. agent Joel Moreno.
The T.A.B.C. told KVUE the agency is conducting its own internal affairs investigation into the fatal shooting.
