AUSTIN, Texas — We are learning more about the deadly shooting of a man accused in a series of carjackings.
The suspect in this case, Zachary Labrie, had a criminal background and a history of felony charges. Labrie was shot and killed by police officers in northwest Austin last week.
On Nov. 7, police said they began chasing Labrie after trying to stop him for speeding and swerving through traffic on State Highway 71 near Bee Cave in the early morning hours.
He later broke into an apartment off Ranch Road 620 and carjacked a woman at a nearby Starbucks and a man at a nearby H-E-B. Several hours later, when officers located him, police said he ran away from them and pointed a gun at officers, so officers returned fire, striking and killing Labrie.
As Labrie went on his violent rampage that led to the shooting, there are growing questions about why he was not behind bars.
“I believe this could have been preventable had we actually had individuals responsible for our criminal justice system that held criminals accountable,” Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said.
Bullock said Labrie should not have been out on bond and able to go on the crime spree.
“It’s disappointing to see that we have a revolving door of people committing crime, violent crime, and then getting out, and they are held little to no account for their actions,” Bullock said. “That puts officers in these extremely dangerous situations.”
Since this summer, police have arrested Labrie several times for felony charges.
In July, Austin police arrested Labrie for family violence after he allegedly assaulted and strangled his ex-girlfriend. According to court documents, while the two were sitting in a truck, Labrie allegedly choked her, slammed her head against the door and dashboard and punched her several times.
Officers charged Labrie with assault by strangulation, which is a third-degree felony. A few days later, he bonded out for $30,000, with the condition that he would not have any firearms or contact with the victim and wear a GPS monitor.
On Oct. 11, police arrested Labrie on drug charges. While responding to a call about an unresponsive female at his trailer, court documents allege officers found a crack pipe, methamphetamine and fentanyl along with evidence Labrie was distributing the drugs.
When executing a search warrant, police said in court documents they found several weapons, including one with a makeshift silencer on it, along with hundreds of rounds of high-powered ammunition. Authorities said possessing those weapons and the ammunition is against the law for Labrie because he was a convicted felon.
Police arrested him for the manufacture and distribution of meth, a first-degree felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm, a third-degree felony. After he was arrested, prosecutors asked a judge to increase his bond on the earlier case because the arrest violated his bail conditions. On Oct. 25, a judge increased the bond in the earlier case from $30,000 to $35,000.
Labrie got out of Travis County Jail for bonds of $20,000 and $5,000 for the two most recent felony charges on Oct. 29, nine days before the deadly interaction with police.
“This is a regular occurrence, and it’s what frustrates officers so much when they are trying to keep our city safe, but then the individuals that we arrest are let right back out, and then they commit another violent offense,” Bullock said.
On Nov. 8, the day after the deadly interaction, a judge increased the bond of all the cases to a combined total of $120,000. Austin police said Labrie was on probation when the shooting happened and cut off his ankle monitor during the chase.
“He has a lengthy history, and he’s given a low enough bond to where he’s able to bond out and be free less than a month from the time that he committed those offenses,” Bullock said. “If we impose appropriate punishment and hold people to a higher standard to enforce the law, you won’t deal with these instances nearly as much.”
Bullock said he worries criminals are feeling emboldened by the way the justice system has been operating and the justice system is not doing enough to hold criminals accountable.
“There’s no incentive for people to not engage in this behavior because they are held to very little account when they do commit the crime,” Bullock said. “We have to start taking crime seriously here in Travis County. Ultimately, that’s putting our citizens and Austinites at risk by failing to hold people accountable to prevent these types of crime altogether.”
As a new legislative session nears, state lawmakers want to change how the bail system works.
State Sen. Joan Huffman has pre-filed Senate Joint Resolution 17, the latest iteration of a bill that the Senate has passed five times in the last two sessions but has not made it through the House. It would allow judges to deny bail to violent offenders who pose a clear threat to public safety.
In 2021, lawmakers passed, and Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 6, which requires defendants accused of violent crimes to pay cash to get out of jail.
Under the Texas Constitution, there are very few circumstances where a judge can deny bail. Unless they are charged with murder or repeatedly commit violent crimes, a defendant generally has the right to be released before their trial.
Generally, defendants must be granted personal bond, surety or cash bond or denied bail within 48 hours of being arrested.
“Officers are doing their job. Officers are extremely professional in the policing product we are providing and the way we are trying to keep our city safe, but you run across individuals who shouldn’t have been free in the first place, and these critical incidents happen as a result,” Bullock said. “It’s frustrating because then it puts officers under more stress. It concerns citizens at large and puts them on edge.”
The three officers and one detective who fired their weapons are on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in these situations.
On Wednesday, police released several materials related to the shooting, including Ring camera video, two 911 audio files and body camera footage from an officer and the detective.