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Hearings for Juneteenth shooting suspects
Two suspects in the mass shooting at the Round Rock Juneteenth celebration were in court Tuesday. One of the suspects is a juvenile who the County Attorney is trying to have tried as an adult.
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Two suspects had hearings in different courtrooms about the same incident on Tuesday.
"We do know that there is two separate groups that got into an altercation with each other," Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said.
More than a dozen people were shot at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock during a Juneteenth celebration earlier this year. Two innocent bystanders, Lyndsey Vicknair and Ara Duke, were killed.
"It’s an ongoing, active investigation," Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick said.
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A fifteen-year-old was arrested, but hasn’t been named because he’s a juvenile. However, the county's County Attorney Dee Hobbs was pushing for him to be tried as an adult during a certify hearing Tuesday.
"If those results turn into the juvenile being certified, that case will be transferred to my office and that case will become a public adult case," Dick said. "It comes along with all the adult responsibilities and laws that go along with being an adult when you commit a crime."
The juvenile’s attorney said he is not being charged with murder. She said the evidence against her client is weak and the person who threw out his name before he was arrested was Keshawn Dixon.
Eighteen-year-old Dixon has been indicted on two counts of murder and 13 counts of aggravated assault mass shooting charges.
Seventeen-year-old Ricky Thompson III has also been indicted for aggravated assault mass shooting.
"To my knowledge, this will be the first mass shooting case charged in the state of Texas," Dick said.
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Teen indicted for Juneteenth shooting
17-year-old Ricky Thompson was indicted by a grand jury in connection to the deadly Round Rock Juneteenth shooting.
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House Bill 165 went into effect in September 2023.
It elevates the penalty for aggravated assault from a second-degree felony (two to 20 years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000) to a first-degree felony (life in prison or a sentence of five to 99 years and an optional fine of up to $10,000) if the offense was committed as part of a mass shooting.
HB 165 defines a mass shooting as an event involving the use of a firearm to cause or try to cause serious bodily injury or death, during which four or more people are injured.
HB 165 requires that sentences for crimes that were committed as part of the same event and were each punishable as first-degree felonies be served consecutively.
"If you can't feel safe to go to a public event in Williamson County, that really ruins the quality of life here. It's already devastated so many lives, just this one incident, that we need to make sure that we're preventing future incidents from these people individually, but also to deter anyone else that's considering committing similar type offenses here in Williamson County," Dick said.
Dixon’s hearing was reset to Nov. 6. Thompson is due in court Nov. 5.