AUSTIN, Texas — No criminal charges will be filed against three city police detectives over a fatal 2025 shooting in South Austin, Texas, after a Travis County grand jury chose not to indict them.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office said the grand jury finished reviewing the case on Thursday, Nov. 5, and returned no indictment against the three officers, Craig Pruitt, Ricardo Cardona and Marcus Gonzalez. The office made the outcome public this week. The shooting was investigated by the Austin Police Department, and the case was presented to the grand jury by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Gunfire broke out Aug. 28, 2025, outside 1807 West Slaughter Lane. The detectives were there to arrest Raymond Lee Howard, 33, who had an outstanding warrant. He was wanted in connection with several break-ins and home invasions around South Austin and in Buda, and detectives had arranged to buy stolen property from him before moving in.
According to the district attorney’s office, Howard would not follow repeated commands to lie down and instead drew a handgun he carried in a crossbody bag. A bystander standing near him stepped in and tried to hold him back, and the two went to the ground. Howard then fired one shot while still struggling with the bystander, and all three detectives returned fire.
Howard was hit and later died. The bystander was also struck and survived with injuries that were not life-threatening. The grand jury declined to indict on both the death of Howard and the wounding of the bystander.
Garza, the Travis County district attorney, said presenting a grand jury with every fact and piece of evidence is work his office takes seriously, and that a panel of Travis County residents weighed the evidence and the law and found the detectives acted lawfully. Police have said the case also goes through separate criminal and administrative reviews, including an internal affairs look monitored by the city’s police oversight office.
Filed under: Austin TX Crime News
