An Austin man convicted of a 2022 murder near Lady Bird Lake was sentenced to 35 years behind bars last month, according to court records; Joel Gonzalez-Pavon, who in addition to killing 45-year-old Josue Moreno during a violent episode that culminated in a grisly car crash into the body of water, will also serve concurrent sentences for a litany of other crimes including aggravated robbery and indecency with a child.
Gonzalez-Pavon began serving his time on April 4 after a plea deal saw him admitting guilt to the murder and a spate of other charges, four cases of aggravated robbery netted 20 years apiece, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon another 20 years stacked on top, and for indecency with a child by exposure, he received 10 years, all sentences to be served simultaneously according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office.
The incident that led to Moreno's death unfolded on December 19, 2022, when Austin Police were summoned to a scene of chaos in the 1100 block of West Riverside Drive – a 911 call had described gunshots followed by the sight of a vehicle breaking through a guardrail and plunging over a bridge into Lady Bird Lake, as reported by KXAN.
Moreno, who authorities say died from a gunshot wound to the head has left behind a void where once there was a life, and while Gonzalez-Pavon's imprisonment cannot reverse the act, it places him away from the public. He has received 434 days of jail credit and it's this sum offset against his lengthy sentence that represents a system's effort to reckon with the loss, seeking to balance the scales of justice even as a family grieves and a community grapples with the violent act that ripped through the mundane moments of a December morning.
KXAN reached out to Gonzalez-Pavon's representation for a statement, but a reply has yet to be tabled and as this case comes to a close, with Gonzalez-Pavon now facing a long stretch of time to reflect on the irreversible consequences of his actions, the echoes of that day's violence continue to resonate.
