Multiple homicides reported in one week on Southeast Austin road

AUSTIN, Texas - A road in Southeast Austin that’s not even a mile long has been plagued with crime this week. 

Austin Police have reported a third homicide in just a week on Burton Drive. City officials have started crime prevention programs in the area, but statistics show it may not be helping.

In four months, five homicides have been reported on Burton Drive.

"Patrol officers are out there actively working calls. They're out there responding to citizens' needs the best they possibly can," Homicide Det. Randy Deluna said during a press conference on Oct. 15.

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The first homicide on Burton Drive this year happened on July 18. Austin Police said Jose Ramon Lizarraga Boca Negra was found shot dead inside an apartment. No arrests have been made in this case.

Not even a week later, another person was found dead. Detectives said on July 23rd, a man and a woman decided to try to find their stolen vehicle in Austin themselves. They pulled into an apartment complex on Burton Drive and police said 34-year-old Alex Trevino Garcia stabbed the driver of the stolen vehicle, 23-year-old Javier Antonio Navarro Quesada. The passenger of the stolen vehicle admitted they were there to buy drugs.

"We are very, aware of the activity that takes place in this apartment complex behind me. I don't know the specifics of the calls, but I know this is a very well-known area to APD," Cpl. Jose Mendez said.

The third and fourth homicides happened early Monday morning. Investigators said 31-year-old Sherles Machado-Hernandez shot and killed his common-law wife and mother of his children, Francis Anseume-Corredor, and her boyfriend, Bryan Flores Alvarez, who were parked in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Burton Drive. 

Machado-Hernandez is charged with capital murder. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations said officers have placed an immigration detainer on him.

"We have, you know, a coward who killed the mother of his children and left three children motherless," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

The most recent homicide happened on Wednesday night. Police said at around 10:30 p.m., they found a 20-year-old Black male, "with obvious trauma to the head," APD PIO Austin Zarling said.

The victim died on scene. No arrests have been made in this case.

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Burton Drive is a road in Southeast Austin, not even a mile long, known for crime. So far this year, Austin Police reported almost 300 crimes on Burton Drive, a 17.5% increase from the same time period last year.

A spokesperson for Council Member Jose Velasquez, whose district includes Burton Drive, wrote in a statement, 

"Having lost a close family member to gun violence himself, he [Velasquez] understands the pain and grief felt when a loved one is lost to violence, which is why he has centered so much of his work around Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programming, which he has worked to secure funding for in both City budget cycles he has been a part of so far."

Velasquez pushed for the creation of a violence interrupter program in this neighborhood. The program started in 2022. He claims the program helped prevent or de-escalate about 50 potential shootings in the past year.