Austin Police Department has taken two suspects into custody following a provoked intrusion at an apartment complex located at 6407 Springdale Rd., where a brazen shooting unfolded, which left a victim in terror as reported by the official department news release. The alleged perpetrators, Orlen Guillen, a 19-year-old white male, and Nefi Amed Gomez-Lopez, a 20-year-old white male, were apprehended for their involvement in the December 4 incident that occurred around the late morning hours. Austin Texas Government website states that a key clue in the case, an expended 9MM shell casing, was recovered by the police on the scene.
The incident, initially called in by a witness hiding in a closet, saw the suspects fleeing after being pursued by the witness's boyfriend, during this pursuit one of the suspects Guillen discharged his firearm towards the boyfriend who thankfully sustained no injuries. The Residential Burglary Unit Detectives were actively involved in piecing together this crime through the meticulous analysis of surveillance footage, a Flock License Plate Reader hit which placed the suspect's vehicle near the crime scene, leading to an address associated with Guillen and ultimately the arrests made on December 5 the APD statement detailed.
An extensive investigation into the surveillance video and subsequent detection of the license plate of the suspect vehicle facilitated the location and seizure of the vehicle used during the alleged burglary. The evident determination of the APD Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) led to Guillen being spotted cleaning the vehicle at a nearby car wash and subsequent capture, moreover, Gomez-Lopez was nabbed loitering in the apartment complex parking lot, where he is believed to have discarded a stolen 9MM pistol amid his apprehension, as per the APD report.
Further investigations encompassed a search warrant at Guillen's residence where incriminating clothing corresponding to the surveillance footage was found, as well as a cellular device thought to be linked to the suspect's operations; ATF Task Force investigators used the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to link the casing recovered to another shooting incident, solidifying the connection between the confiscated pistol and both the December and a prior November 8 offenses, the authorities are still seeking two more suspects involved in this web of crimes, as noted in the report by APD.
As the investigation unfolds, law enforcement continues to urge anyone in possession of knowledge concerning the offenses to come forward, reaching out to the APD Residential Burglary Unit by phone at (512) 974-4941 or via email at [email protected] with any potentially valuable information.
