AUSTIN, Texas — One person has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting that happened in December 2024 at a southeast Austin apartment complex.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Gomez, 26, faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Mario Damian-Rayas.
The incident happened at the Chevy Chase Downs Apartments on Huntwick Drive, off Oltorf Street near South Pleasant Valley Road. When police arrived, they found Damian-Rayas dead from gunshot wounds inside a car.
According to court documents, surveillance video showed Rodriguez-Gomez approaching the car before firing around 15 shots and then leaving the scene.
Police connected Rodriguez-Gomez to the crime through ballistics evidence that linked shell casings to two other incidents. One was an aggravated assault in May, and another was from a deadly conduct case at the University of Texas at Austin in July.
Investigators also learned that Rodriguez-Gomez previously lived just blocks away from the murder scene. He was arrested on Thursday in the 15200 block of Sparks Run Road in Manor.
Rodriguez-Gomez also faces two additional warrants for deadly conduct out of Bastrop County.
Damian-Rayas’ death is under investigation as Austin’s 70th homicide of 2024.