Records: Shoe sale meet-up leads to Barton Creek Square Mall shooting
Four people meeting for a public sale initiated through Facebook Marketplace led to a shooting at Barton Creek Square Mall, according to court records filed Tuesday.
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Four people meeting for a public sale initiated through Facebook Marketplace led to a shooting at Barton Creek Square Mall, according to court records filed Tuesday.
Documents said on Dec. 12, the Austin Police Department received multiple calls regarding gunshots being heard at the mall. When police arrived, a man was found with a gunshot wound to the arm.
According to court documents, the man told police he was there to buy a pair of shoes with his friend.
A Texas DPS trooper found another man at the scene who said he was “jumped for an unknown reason,” according to documents.
Documents said the man gave police a false name, but he was later identified as 22-year-old Joe Celso Perez.
"Based off providing a false name while detained as an involved party during an Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon investigation, Perez was arrested for Failure to Identify," documents said.
According to the documents, Perez said he was supposed to meet his friend, later identified as 19-year-old Vincent Gutierrez, and sell $6,000 worth of shoes to some people Gutierrez met online.
Perez told police he was a collector and trader of shoes and that he and Gutierrez “pooled their assets for this deal,” according to documents.
When meeting with the two buyers, Perez said they asked if he had the shoes, so he unzipped a duffel bag to show the shoes, and the two buyers began assaulting him. Documents said while he was on the ground, he heard gunshots but could not see who was shooting.
Documents said Perez told police he did not know if Gutierrez brought a gun with him but said Gutierrez was “reckless and could have.”
During a police interview with the man shot, the man said his friend had his home burglarized a few days ago and filed a police report. Documents said the man told police multiple people later contacted his friend about the stolen items being listed on Facebook Marketplace.
The man and his friend later contacted the seller to meet with them at the mall, stating his friend intended to fight the seller to get his stolen items back.
Documents said the man told police that during the meeting, a fight between the seller and his friend occurred. He said he then heard a gunshot and ran away.
Phone records were used to identify Gutierrez as the seller, and photos and videos of the stolen items from the police report were reviewed by police to match the items to the ones for sale on Facebook, according to documents.
On Dec. 21, Gutierrez was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.