Affidavit: Man faces murder charge following deadly shooting, others arrested during investigation

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A man is facing a murder charge after police said he shot and killed another man following a fight at a north Austin apartment complex in May, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN. Two other people were also arrested during the investigation.

Michael Carter, 22, was booked into the Travis County jail on June 25 on a murder charge for his alleged involvement in the death of Isaac Jimenez, 27.

It happened Thursday, May 9 shortly after 8 p.m. at the Canyon Ridge Apartments on Walnut Park Crossing. Austin Police Department officers responded to reports of shots fired at the complex, and a witness said they saw a person limping toward one of the buildings.

When officers arrived they located Carter with a gunshot wound, and Austin-Travis County EMS transported him to a hospital.

Officers also found a person sitting on the ground, and he had a gunshot wound in the abdomen. The person was identified as Isaac Jimenez. ATCEMS attempted life-saving measures, but Jimenez was pronounced dead on the scene.

On the same day, about 10 minutes after the initial response at Canyon Ridge Apartments, APD officers were also dispatched to a Whataburger located on North Lamar Boulevard -- about three miles away from the apartment complex -- after 911 calls stated a person there had been shot.

Officers arrived and found Jontel Boyce, 23, with a gunshot wound inside of a red Jeep in the parking lot. He was assessed by ATCEMS and taken to a hospital.

Two other people were with Boyce at the time. One of them was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence after an officer saw him removing items from the Jeep and putting them behind another vehicle parked in the parking lot, according to the affidavit.

Those items included an open box of ammo, a sandwich bag containing marijuana, and another sandwich bag containing several unmarked multicolor pills.

An officer interviewed Boyce while he was at the hospital, and Boyce said he was shot while he was at the Canyon Ridge Apartments to buy marijuana, then he drove to the Whataburger, according to the affidavit.

While he was in the hospital, Boyce was served an arrest warrant for possession of a controlled substance for an unrelated incident that happened in March, the affidavit stated. He remained in the hospital under the custody of Travis County jail staff while he was recovering, and when he was discharged he was transported to the jail. While in jail, a federal hold was placed on him due to being federally indicted for possession of a firearm by a felon, which happened March 4, according to the affidavit.

KXAN is working to reach out to attorneys for Carter and Boyce for a statement and will update this story when we receive a response.

Carter was also interviewed by an officer while he was in the hospital, and he said he didn't know what happened, why he was shot, or who shot him, according to the affidavit. He said he may have been hit by a stray bullet, but that his ears were ringing after the gunshot, which usually indicates close proximity to a firearm, the affidavit noted.

The affidavit also noted that Carter was "not cooperative and did not wish to provide a statement to detectives."

Carter was scheduled for surgery to get the "projectile" (bullet) out, but before the surgery, he left the hospital against medical orders, according to the affidavit. Police presume the bullet is still lodged in his body.

When the APD homicide unit was processing evidence at the Canyon Ridge Apartments, detectives found a .40 caliber pistol in the bushes near where Carter was located, according to the affidavit.

Detectives also found evidence that indicated shots were fired from different firearms inside the apartment unit and in the stairwell, according to the affidavit.

Based on the evidence, detectives believe Boyce and Carter were inside the apartment when they were shot. Detectives believe they then ran out of the apartment and that's when Boyce fled and Carter was found, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, police believe Carter and Boyce were armed with .40 caliber pistols when they went into an apartment unit that was being used by Isaac Jimenez. The affidavit noted the apartment management said the unit was supposed to be unoccupied. A witness told police Jimenez had been squatting there for a few months.

A fight happened between Carter and Jimenez inside the unit, which Boyce described as Carter "beating the sh-- out of a guy," the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, detectives believe Jimenez fired two .380 caliber shots, and Carter and Boyce each fired .40 caliber shots into the bedroom from the kitchen/living room area, resulting in Jimenez being shot and then dying from his injuries.

The affidavit said the "actions demonstrated by Boyce and Carter post-shooting" indicate that they both knew their actions leading to the death of Jimenez were "not in good faith or in self-defense."

The affidavit said Boyce and Carter "engaged in the above post-shooting actions in an attempt to conceal any criminal responsibility for the death of the decedent."

Carter is being held in the Travis County jail on a $500,000 bond for murder, a first-degree felony.

Boyce is also being held in the Travis County jail on a $75,000 bond for possession of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony. It's not clear if Boyce will face further charges in connection with the shooting.