APD arrests teen following Austin ‘street takeovers’
An arrest affidavit revealed additional details connected to an arrest made following this weekend’s street takeover and racing incident in multiple parts of Austin.
AUSTIN (KXAN) – An arrest affidavit revealed additional details connected to an arrest made following this weekend’s "street takeover" incident in multiple parts of Austin.
During the incident, APD said several car clubs took over intersections of the city and were racing, doing donuts, setting off fireworks and damaging police vehicles with bricks and other means.
According to Travis County court records, 19-year-old Brian Javier Serrano-Benitez was charged with felony possession of marijuana.
An affidavit stated Serrano-Benitez had a felony warrant for his arrest on an evading arrest in a motor vehicle charge from 2022.
On Sunday, the Austin Police Department said surveillance officers in unmarked vehicles saw a vehicle registered to Serrano-Benitez loitering with other car club participants at the 2400 block of East Riverside Drive. The vehicle then left the area and arrived at a restaurant in the 1600 block of East Oltorf Street.
After Serrano-Benitez left the restaurant, officers conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving.
According to court records, Serrano-Benitez began to get out of the vehicle and was met by an officer. As the officer began to check him for weapons, Serrano-Benitez attempted to get back inside the vehicle, but the officer stopped him.
Serrano-Benitez then told the officer he had a pistol in his waistband, so it was removed by the officer.
Inside the vehicle, the officer said there was a strong odor of marijuana. A probable cause search was performed on the vehicle and police found a brown leather backpack inside.
"Five individual bags that weighed approximately 1 oz each were located inside of this backpack," Records said. "These bags contained a green, leafy substance ... to be consistent in odor and appearance with marijuana."
According to court records, a scale and boxes of sandwich bags were also found inside the vehicle, along with three additional pistol magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.
Serrano-Benitez told police he carried the gun for protection.
Records showed he was arrested for his warrant and on charges of possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
Following Serrano-Benitez's arrest, a judge set his bond at $5,000. As of Wednesday, he was not listed in the Travis County jail.
Serrano-Benitez is set to have his first court date March 14.
KXAN reached out to Serrano-Benitez's attorney. This article will be updated if a response is received.