The Alabama man who was arrested after police were called to a downtown Austin hotel Feb. 26 allegedly pointed a gun at a technician there, according to the affidavit for his arrest.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed to KVUE that authorities started getting calls at around 12:20 p.m. about a gunman on one of the floors of the DoubleTree Hotel located at 303 West 15th Street.
DPS troopers initially called the individual via phone and told him to unload his gun and walk out of the room. Instead, DPS said he walked out on the balcony without the weapon. DPS troopers and Austin police officers then got into the man's 5th floor room and took him into custody. A handgun was found in his room, authorities said.
The man, identified by DPS as 61-year-old Stanley Price of Lincoln, Alabama, was "showing signs of heavy intoxication," according to an affidavit for his arrest. A trooper said he noticed a strong slur in his speech, a strong odor of alcohol being emitted from his breath and that he had watery eyes. Price allegedly admitted to being intoxicated, and said that he had been drinking the previous evening and the morning of Feb. 26.
According to his affidavit, a trooper was told that Price had been kicked out of a nearby Hampton Hotel. At the DoubleTree Hotel, the trooper was told that Price had been yelling at construction workers below his balcony prior to his arrest.
The affidavit said that prior to the 911 call, a technician went to Price's room to fix his phone. The technician said that he knocked three times before entering the room, and when he opened the door, the technician immediately noticed Price sitting on the couch holding and pointing a gun toward him. The technician said he was scared for his safety.
As the technician went downstairs to the front desk, Price allegedly called the desk and said that "if someone else comes to his room unannounced again, that he would shoot," the affidavit said.
The hotel staff immediately called 911, and that's when police officers responded.
Price was charged with deadly conduct, a Class A misdemeanor. He is currently in the Travis County Jail, according to online records. His bond has been set at $50,000.
Austin Community College confirmed to KVUE they sent an alert to students, faculty and staff at around 12:40 p.m. regarding the police activity at the hotel. According to the alert sent to Rio Grande campus students, there was a "report of a person with a gun on top of Doubletree hotel east of Rio Grande Campus. Avoid the area."
An "all-clear" was issued for the Rio Grande campus about 30 minutes later. ACC released the following statement after police said they had a suspect in custody:
Today, 2/26, at approximately 12:40 p.m. the Austin Community College District issued a Public Safety Advisory via its Emergency Notification System as a precaution following reports of a gunman at a hotel approximately 4-5 blocks from the Rio Grande Campus. The language of the advisory is below for your review. There was no direct threat to the campus, the alert was issued as a precaution to ACC students, faculty, and staff.