A 21-year-old Austin man is headed to prison for decades after a Travis County jury found him guilty for his part in a downtown “gun battle” in 2021 that ended with a 17-year-old dead in the entertainment district. The case, which unfolded in court after police released body-cam and dash-cam video, wrapped up Monday with a sentence prosecutors say matches the chaos and violence on the street that night.
APD is working an Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS) near E 6th St/Sabine St. Incident occurred around 1:17 a.m. Please avoid the area at this time. Media staging at the old muni court parking lot (731-799 E 7th St Parking). Briefing time TBD. PIO is on scene.
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) October 9, 2021
Case# 21-2820113
Guilty verdict and prison terms
Vicente Reveles was convicted on Dec. 12 of first-degree felony murder and third-degree felony deadly conduct. This week, a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison for murder and 10 years for deadly conduct, to be served at the same time, according to FOX 7 Austin. Prosecutors told jurors that Reveles joined an exchange of gunfire in downtown Austin that ended with 17-year-old Michael Carothers Jr. collapsing with a gunshot wound and later dying at a hospital.
What happened on Oct. 9, 2021
The shooting broke out just after 1 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2021, near East 5th Street and Sabine Street, as officers were in the area working a DWI investigation. They heard multiple shots ring out, sprinted toward the noise, and found two groups trading gunfire, according to reports from the time. First responders soon located Carothers with a critical gunshot injury, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died, KWTX reported.
Officer firing and video evidence
Authorities say one Austin police officer fired his weapon during the chaos and was placed on administrative duty while the Austin Police Department and prosecutors investigated what happened. APD later released dash-cam and body-worn camera video from the response, and FOX 7 Austin aired the police briefing and footage when it was made public in 2021.
Legal timeline and next steps
Reveles was first charged in early 2022 with aggravated assault for discharging a firearm, then a grand jury later returned indictments in 2023 on the murder and deadly conduct counts, according to local coverage that followed the case through the courts. The family of Michael Carothers has also filed civil claims tied to the shooting, and public court dockets show ongoing lawsuits related to the teen’s death. Public court records reflect the active civil litigation.
With a 30-year prison term now in place, prosecutors say the criminal case brings a measure of accountability for a deadly night in downtown Austin. The civil cases and continuing reviews of police actions at the scene mean the spotlight on how that early-morning gunfight unfolded is not going away anytime soon.
