Police have now charged four people - including three teens - with murder in connection to the shooting death of a man during a marijuana deal outside a northwest Austin home in December.
Court documents charge Earnest Brassell, 35, of Harker Heights, David Victor Bondurant, 19, of Killeen, Javier Roberto Teague-Salas, 19, of Harker Heights and Mosses Augustine Howell, 19, in the murder of Anthony E. Brown, 26, outside a Quinn Trail home in the early hours of Dec. 29.
Howell was arrested Jan. 3, with Teague-Salas being arrested Jan. 17 and Bondurant turned himself in on Jan. 20.
Court documents state police interviewed Howell, who said he traveled from Killen to Austin on Dec. 28 with Teague-Salas, Bondurant and a fourth suspect. Howell said Bondurant had asked him over the past few days if there were any people they could rob, and that they stopped at one point in Killen where Teague-Salas went into a trailer and returned with a pistol.According to the affidavit, the four drove to the victim’s home but parked down the street. Howell told police Teague-Salas and the fourth person walked to the victim’s home while he and Bondurant staying near the vehicle. Howell said the Teague-Salas and the fourth person ran back to the car and that they left together. Howell told police that Salas told him “I shot him!” after they got back in the car. The affidavit states Howell said he was told by Salas and the fourth person to throw his cell phone out the window or they would shoot him.Police noted in their affidavit that a detective received an anonymous call on Jan. 11 from a person claiming he personally observed Salas brag that he shot a man for marijuana in north Austin a few weeks prior.The Bell County Organized Crime Unit arrested Teague-Salas on Jan. 17 after a murder warrant was issued for his arrest. Austin police spoke with Teague-Salas, who according to the affidavit said Bondurant and Howell went to Brown’s home, and that both men had pistols. The affidavit states he told police he heard a gunshot, and then saw Bondurant and Howell running back to the car. Teague-Salas added Bondurant asked Howell to dump the phone and told them “we’re gonna dump him if he doesn’t dump his phone” and that Bondurant shot the victim.On Jan. 21, police located the vehicle believed to have been used and linked it to Brassell. After obtaining a warrant for Salas' Facebook page, police said they found a series of messages between him and Brassell regarding possible robberies. TxDOT confirmed the vehicle passed through the toll plaza at SH 45 and RM 620 six minutes after the shooting was called in to Austin police.Brassell's arrest affidavit states police received a CrimeStoppers tip that identified Brassell as the fourth person in the murder and where the community in which he's hiding.Brassell's booking information is not available as of Thursday morning. Howell has been in the Travis County Jail since Jan. 3 on $150,000 bond. Teague-Salas was moved from the Bell County Jail to the Travis County Jail on Jan. 30, and is being held on $1 million bond. Bondurant was booked into the Travis County Jail on Jan. 24 and is being held on $1 million bond.
