The streets of southeast Austin's Burton Drive have witnessed three tragic homicides within a week, marking a somber week for the city. The Austin Police Department discovered two individuals deceased early Monday morning outside an apartment complex. Sherles Gregorio Machado-Hernandez has been arrested, and faces charges of capital murder for the deaths of his common-law wife, 27-year-old Francis Kaina Anseume Corredor, and 19-year-old Bryan Florentino Flores Alvarez, according to a FOX 7 Austin report.
Nearly a block away on Wednesday night, authorities investigated a separate incident where they found the body of an approximately 20-year-old male with a serious head injury on the intersection of Burton Drive and Oltorf Street. Despite Austin EMS's immediate response, the victim died at the scene. No suspect information has been released, and no arrests have been made in this case, which is considered the city's 53rd homicide of the year, as per information obtained by KXAN.
Earlier in the year, Burton Drive was also the scene of two other homicides. In one incident on July 18, Jose Ramon Lizarraga Boca Negra was found in a residence with gunshot wounds after police received a 911 call about an attempted killing. Just six days later, Alex Trevino, 34, allegedly stabbed Javier Antonio Navarro Quesada to death, a block away. Despite life-saving efforts, Navarro Quesada succumbed to his injuries, shared KXAN.
In response to the upsurge in violence, the city's Office of Violence Prevention and the community violence intervention group ATX Peace have been active. As part of the effort to mitigate further tragedies, "Solutions come from within the community and above all, you want the approach you use to work,” states ATX Peace's mission statement. The group's strategies include leveraging the influence of longstanding community members, some of whom have had firsthand encounters with violent crime, aiming to step in post-crisis and prevent future occurrences. These initiatives were highlighted in the details provided by the KXAN coverage.
This string of violence occurs within the jurisdiction of District 3 City Council Member Jose Velasquez, who has been working alongside APD and local organizers to address these surges in community violence. Last year, Velasquez proposed a budget amendment that allocated $500,000 to the Community Violence Intervention Program to strengthen these critical community ties and support structures, reports KXAN.
The Austin Police Department urges anyone with information regarding the recent homicides to come forward and contact the Homicide Tip Line at 512-972-8477. Officials assert there’s no known threat to the general public at this time, yet the community remains on high alert after the rapid succession of violent events on Burton Drive.
