Road rage murder suspect identified through clues

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An arrest affidavit revealed details that led to the arrest of a man accused of murdering a woman on Jan. 6 in the 500 block of E. Stassney Lane. The document showed an arrest warrant was issued Tuesday in Travis County after tips were submitted through Crime Stoppers.

Court documents showed that Manolo Esai González, 21, was charged with the death of Elizabeth Nicole López, 22.

Manolo Gonzalez, 21 Mugshot: Austin Police DepartmentManolo Gonzalez, 21 Mugshot: Austin Police Department

According to an affidavit, when Austin police arrived at the scene, they found a single vehicle crashed through the gate of an apartment complex. At the time of the crash, the vehicle was occupied by a driver, later identified as López, and four children between the ages of 15 and 1.

RELATED: APD investigating homicide on East Stassney Lane

The documents said that during the initial investigation, the two oldest sons told investigators that Gonzalez’s vehicle rapidly approached the rear of the victim’s vehicle, and Lopez briefly lost control of the vehicle before changing lanes. .

“The suspect vehicle pulled over to the right side of the victim’s vehicle and began firing… striking Elizabeth Lopez in the head,” the affidavit reads.

Two days after the shooting, the manner in which Lopez died was ruled a homicide by the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, records show.

RELATED: APD says woman in South Austin homicide may be a victim of road rage

On January 9, investigators received screenshots of a conversation involving an alleged culprit in López’s death. The person was partially identified as “Manuel,” according to records.

Three days after the shooting, a detainee was asked for information about the death of López.

“[The arrestee] saying [investigators] that he knew the shooter was a person named ‘Manny’ and that he was an ‘opp,’” the affidavit reads.

According to a report, the word “opp” is a street term commonly used to describe an enemy on the streets. Manny was later identified by investigators as Gonzalez.

The affidavit says that between January 12 and 14, investigators received three separate Crime Stoppers tips from different sources. The clues identified the suspect responsible for the death of López as “Manolo González” or “Manny González”. Additional tips on the case were also filed, according to police.

RELATED: APD makes arrest in deadly shooting in South Austin

Records showed that Gonzalez had two active warrants for his arrest. On Monday, he was found by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Kyle, Texas, arrested and taken to the APD Homicide Bureau for questioning.

During an interview with investigators, González admitted to firing a weapon at López’s vehicle during a road rage incident. He said Lopez interrupted him several times and wouldn’t let him pass, telling police he feared for his life since he couldn’t see inside the vehicle because of the window tint.

Investigators said Gonzalez was determined to have bypassed approximately 12 residential streets where he had an opportunity to move away from Lopez’s vehicle, but continued to follow the vehicle for more than a mile.

On Wednesday, the Austin Police Department said Gonzalez had been arrested and a judge had set his bond at $1 million.

Source: news.google.com