Owner of bar near homicide scene trying to stop late-night 'underage' parking lot crowds
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Luis Sol, the owner of Michelobos, a sports bar in a strip mall on Braker Lane near I-35, said the man shot and killed on Halloween night was a regular customer.
"He was our friend. And I feel sorry for his loss," Sol said.
He's talking about Tyler Cochran, 30, who police said was shot and killed by Clayton Taitague, 20, in the parking lot of the strip mall around bar close Halloween night.
This happened after an argument turned physical. A security guard shot Taitague after Taitague shot Cochran. Taitague went to the hospital but survived and is now charged with murder.
Sol said Taitague was never inside Michelobos that night, and that he does not let underage patrons into the sports bar after 10 p.m.
Michelobos shares the strip mall with a nightclub, as well as other businesses like a nail salon, barber shop, taqueria, liquor store and a cellular retailer. Sol said there are consistent issues with "underage" groups gathering in the parking lot late at night.
"The people that are causing the problems aren't even customers," he said. "They come and kind of like a tailgate meeting. They start burning tires, they start fighting each other, they start shooting in the air."
Last week, KXAN reported on the roughly 35 crime reports police have responded to at the strip mall since 2020. Sol said he has made a huge chunk of those calls, and after things escalated the way they did last week, he's desperate for help cleaning up the late night crowds.
"Michelebos has always been a fun place. And I want everyone to see it like that. Not to see this parking lot to be dangerous," he said.
Sol said he has a meeting set with APD Tuesday to discuss potential solutions. He also said he continues to beef up his private security efforts, but the problems persist.