AUSTIN (KXAN) — A suspect in two Austin shootings has been arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder and second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, U.S. Marshals said Thursday.
Francois Fezae O’Neal, 22, was arrested Wednesday evening in southeast Austin in connection with these two shootings: April 6 at the Concord Apartments at 7330 Bluff Springs Road and April 5 at the Marquis Parkside Apartments at 12280 N. Lamar Boulevard. One person died as a result of the shooting April 6, and another was injured April 5.
On Thursday, the Austin Police Department identified the man killed in the April 6 shooting as Ramesh Thapa, 39. A call reported he had been shot in the parking lot of the complex. Austin-Travis County EMS and APD officers tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
APD said witnesses reported the suspect drove away in a white four-door sedan. The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Thapa’s official cause of death to be a gunshot wound in the manner of homicide, according to APD.
Investigators were able to connect O’Neal to both shootings because he had a weapon in his possession that matched the ballistics and shell casings found at the scenes, according to APD.
On April 7, police filed an arrest warrant for O’Neal, according to the U.S. Marshals, and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force was asked to help find him.
U.S. Marshals said O’Neal was arrested without incident in the 4400 block of Dovewood Drive, and according to Google Maps, the area is 2.7 miles from the scene of the April 6 shooting.
His bond is set at $1 million — $750,000 for the murder charge and $250,000 for the aggravated assault charge, APD said. According to jail records, O’Neal is in custody at the Travis County Jail.
More details on his arrest, including attorney information, aren’t available yet. Once they are, we will update this story. We reached out to an attorney who represented O’Neal in a previous case that was dismissed and will update the story if we hear back.
