Padron suspect case reset for late May

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Expected to be in court Friday morning, the suspect in the murder of Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron was not physically present for a hearing surrounding his February DWI charge.

The DWI court hearing for Brandon Montgomery Daniel, 24, has been reset for May 25 and will now include his capital murder charge.

He is accused of gunning down the 40-year-old officer death at the Walmart off Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane.

Six days before a previous court hearing for that DWI charge was set, Daniel allegedly shot Padron inside that North Austin Walmart.

Daniel is charged with capital murder in the shooting death, and he is no stranger to law enforcement.

Records show that Daniel lived in an apartment complex at 3401 West Parmer Lane near the Walmart beginning in February 2011. Before that, he had several addresses in Colorado dating back to 2005. His Facebook page shows he attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and that he attended high school in Parker, Colo.

Several squad cars and a crime scene unit were at the North Austin complex on April 6. Neighbors interviewed said they did not know Daniel but some were unnerved about hearing of the events at Walmart.

Chief Art Acevedo said on the early morning of April 6 when he spoke to the media that he was pushing for the murder charge.

"We'll all work together to put together a case to present to a grand jury in this community and hopefully to a jury that will hold this person accountable for taking the life of an officer who was simply trying to do his job and keeping this community safe," said Acevedo.

If convicted of capital murder, Daniel could face the death penalty.

Meanwhile, Acevedo said he's sure Walmart surveillance cameras captured the incident unfolding.

"I'm confident we will have very dramatic video of this confrontation," he said.

That will be in addition to audio from Padron's dash cam recording device.

Padron had just more than three years on the force with APD. He was shot in the neck after Daniels allegedly immediately began fighting with him when Padron arrived on scene.

Padron was a father of two young daughters, ages 10 and 6. He leaves behind an ex-wife who lives in the area, parents and family in San Angelo.

Before serving on the force, Padron worked for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport police as part of the emergency management department that consolidated with APD in 2009. Before that, he was on the San Angelo Police Department for 14 years.

A web page that honors law enforcement officers killed while doing their duty set up a memorial page for him just hours after the shooting.

---

How to help

The nonprofit 100 Club of Central Texas has set up fund to assist Officer Padron's family

---

The incident on the eve of the Easter weekend jarred the police department.

"It's a tragedy on Good Friday to lose an officer like this, but it's part of what these men and women do," said Acevedo. "They know when they become police officers that this is ultimately the sacrifice they are willing to make."

Public Information Officer Anthony Hipolito said they got a 911 call at 2:20 a.m. of an intoxicated person wandering around the store. The officer who was killed was the first to arrive at the scene eight minutes after being dispatched to Walmart.

---

Timeline of events

• 2:20 a.m.: Walmart employee reports that a man who was intoxicated is wandering around the store
• 2:21 a.m.: Officers are dispatched
• 2:29 a.m.: First officer arrives
• 2:44 a.m.: Officer is pronounced dead

 

---

Witnesses were able to call for help through Padron's police radio, saying he had been shot. Another officer arrived and took the suspect into custody after Walmart employees were able to take him down and disarm him.

The backup officer began administering CPR to the fallen officer.

"Despite the valiant efforts of our officer who started CPR, and EMS, the officer succumb to his injury and was pronounced at the scene at 2:44 a.m.," Acevedo said.

At the Walmart, onlookers witnessed the poignant scene of dozens of the fallen officer's colleagues dressed in blue lined up on both sides of a police vehicle and ambulance in front of the store, standing in salute when the officer's body was loaded into the vehicle and taken away.

Familiar with the strong ties of a tight-knit police family, Travis County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene around 5:30 a.m. to offer their condolences to the department.

The deadly shooting April 6 came seven hours after another officer-involved shooting in East Austin that ended in the death of a suspect and the officer involved hospitalized with injuries. The shootings are two completely separate incidents.

"Imagine two officer-involved shootings in one night," said Acevedo . "Our city is changing, and we just have to understand that we have to be cautious, and we have to be aware that as we continue to grow we are going to have challenges."

Fallen officer in 2004

It has been eight years since an Austin