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Suspect charged with two Austin homicides recently released from jail, police say

Eric Deon Rollins, 51, was arrested on Thursday, April 28, after a homicide in East Austin followed by a second murder 10 minutes later in Downtown Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas — A man charged with two separate homicides on Thursday, April 28, was recently released from jail, the Austin Police Department (APD) said.

Police said they received reports of shots fired around 12:44 p.m. in the area of East 12th Street and Webberville Road, at the 1100 block of Eastfield Ave.

Officers arriving on the scene found a woman shot by her vehicle parked on the street.

The victim, identified as 27-year-old Ishanae Alizia Rogers, was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center by a family member and was later pronounced deceased at 1:02 p.m.

The suspect, identified as 51-year-old Eric Deon Rollins, was reportedly seen fleeing the area in a 2008 red convertible Ford Mustang immediately after the shooting, APD said.

RELATED: Austin police investigating homicide in Downtown Austin

Rollins is also the suspect in another murder that happened 10 minutes later in Downtown Austin. This was Austin's 23rd homicide of 2022.

In this case, a man, identified as 29-year-old Michael Ray Satterwhite Jr., was found with traumatic injuries in an alley on the 400 block of E. Sixth St. after police received reports of shots fired. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Credit: Austin Police Department

Police believe retaliation for a robbery earlier that morning appears to be the motive.

According to an affidavit in the case, APD surveillance cameras caught Rollins driving the Mustang from Neches Street to the alley where the shooting happened. He stopped to talk to a man identified as the victim, who was standing on the south side of the alley. 

Rollins is then seen getting out of the Mustang to confront Satterwhite. Rollins was caught on video holding a handgun and then firing it at Satterwhite multiple times. He then drove away. 

Additional footage showing the alley caught a closer view of the Mustang and the license plates, which helped detectives track down the history of the car. 

Per the affidavit, Rollins' brother called 911 two hours after the shooting to report that he had found his car near the area of East Third and Salina streets. He told officials there was no one in the car and that he found what appeared to be fired cartridge cases in the passenger's seat of the car.

Officers responded to the scene, secured the car and took Rollins' brother to the APD to be interviewed. There, he told detectives he let Rollins and someone else take the car for a test drive that morning. Rollins later reportedly told his brother to report the Mustang stolen. 

A detective spoke with Rollins' and his brother's sister, who said Rollins called her and told her he had shot someone who had recently robbed him, per the affidavit. 

Rollins also showed up to be a registered sex offender.

The details provided along with surveillance video and officer body camera footage of a man wearing the same clothing at the scene of the alley shooting, a disturbance on April 26 and at APD headquarters to check in with the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration unit led officials to conclude that Rollins was the suspect.

The Lonestar Fugitive Task Force arrested Rollins in the 500 block of W. 10th St. He is in the Travis County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder. Rollins was released recently from jail on an ankle monitor for an outstanding sexual assault of a child case with APD, police said.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact APD Homicide at 512-974-TIPS, email homicide.apd@austintexas.gov or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 512-472-8477. 

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