Affidavit details holiday crime spree that left woman dead
Report also outlines hold-ups, shootings, car theft and crash.
An arrest affidavit filed Monday sheds new light on a Christmas Day crime spree that preceded the death of a woman in East Austin and left several others injured.
Xavier O’Neil Lewis, 20, was booked into the Travis County Jail Dec. 28 and was charged with capital murder in the death of 30-yearold Ebony Michelle Sheppard. He was also charged with multi- ple counts of aggravated rob- bery.
Austin police Lt. Jason Staniszewski said investigators believed Lewis shot
and killed Sheppard Dec. 26 in the 6600 block of Ed Bluestein Boulevard about 11:45 p.m., the day after a series of robberies.
Staniszewski said Lewis at the time of the attacks was wearing an ankle monitor, a condition of his bond in connection with a 2016 aggravated robbery, that also placed him at the scene of several other incidents, a carjacking and a collision with a pedestrian.
The new affidavit outlines the incidents that led up to Sheppard’s death.
The affidavit said Lewis, who was 19 at the time, approached four men who had gathered around a bonfire in Dottie Jordan Park in East Austin about 9 p.m. Police said he pulled out a handgun and ordered them to empty their pockets. Lewis told the men they had five seconds to run away or he would start shooting, the affidavit said.
“All four victims started to run away as the suspect began to count down from five. However, the suspect then fired multiple shots from the pistol at them as they ran,” the affidavit said. One man was shot in the bottom of his left foot, the other in his left leg.
The four managed to get to a house on Dubuque Lane and were taken to an area hospital and treated for their wounds. Both victims survived.
Police suspect Lewis stole a black Cadillac SUV from a man who called for help about 10:30 p.m., the affida- vit said. During the escape, Lewis struck and injured a pedestrian on the corner of Greensboro and Ashland drives, according to the affi- davit.
Lewis has now been charged with failure to stop and render aid, a third-de- gree felony, in addition to the charges for which he was already being held.
The affidavit said Lewis admitted shooting the men, stealing the Cadillac and hit- ting a pedestrian.
Sheppard was fatally shot the next day in a parking lot as she went outside to move her car at a family gathering. Police said Lewis also admitted shooting her.
“He just saw her walking and figured he would rob her and get some money,” Staniszewski said after Lewis’ arrest. “That’s when she started screaming, and he shot her.”
Lewis was in the Travis County jail Monday on nine charges; his total bail exceeds $1.7 million, jail records show. If convicted of capital murder, Lewis could be sentenced to life in prison or receive the death penalty.