Several weeks after the June shooting of an ice cream vendor from Texas who was known by kids in the community as "Grandpa," Austin police officers identified three men on Tuesday who are charged with the man's death.
Disheartening murder
According to USA Today, 68-year-old Adelaido Bernabe Urias was selling ice cream in the community with his cart on June 23 when three suspects attempted to rob him, said Detective Nathan Sexton of the Austin police.
Reports state one of the suspects shot his gun at Urias multiple times before leaving the scene of the incident. Police officers said they would not be revealing which of the three men was responsible for the shooting.
Police said emergency personnel discovered the man lying in the middle of the parking lot of an apartment complex covered in blood from a gunshot wound. Urias was immediately brought to the hospital to be treated but lost his life on July 1.
The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force members successfully arrested the first two suspects, 20-year-old Jermaine Jones and 19-year-old Devlon Wardy on Monday.
Authorities arrested Marquis Davis, 18 years old, on July 13 who is considered the third suspect in Urias' case due to an unrelated charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Authorities are charging the three individuals with capital murder. They are currently being held in the Travis County Correctional Complex located in Del Valle, Texas. Officials have also set a bail of $1 million for each of the suspects.
Authorities are seeking assistance with information on a fourth suspect who police say was in charge of driving the vehicle on the day of Urias' shooting but have not been able to identify one yet.
After the man's death, homicide detectives of Austin police took responsibility for the case. Police said anonymous tips provided investigators with helpful information to identify the suspects, as reported by Freep.
Sexton said the community was outraged and in mourning for the death of the kind and harmless old man who was only making a living by selling ice cream who was beloved by all and considered to be a grandfather. He said citizens could not believe Urias was killed over something so petty.
Police said it was still unclear if the suspects successfully robbed Urias of money because he still had his wallet when authorities found him at the crime scene. He added none of the three men knew the old man before they attempted to rob him.
Similar incident
A similar incident happened when a man was shot and killed while sitting inside his car that was parked outside a grocery store in Del Valle.
Sheriff Maurice Cook of Bastrop County said authorities are investigating the case and suspect it to be a homicide.
According to KXAN, Cook said the victim, Ambrosio Gonzales, was discovered lifeless inside his vehicle in the parking lot of Country Groceries in Del Valle but nobody had been arrested for the crimes as of yet.
Cook said the grocery store had working surveillance cameras and will be working on getting footage to assist in the investigation. He added the Medical Examiner's Office of Travis County was in charge of Ambrosio's autopsy.
