Austin Salyer was a stellar scholar at Texas State College. Initially from Highland Village, a small city in North Texas, he had goals of turning into a army officer.
5 semesters into his faculty training at Texas State, the 20-year-old made the dean’s checklist.
“He was simply doing great,” stated Austin’s father, Rodney Salyer, in an interview with the Star-Telegram.
Austin was within the college’s ROTC program for a 12 months when he signed his dedication papers on Sept. 9, 2021, to serve within the army.
Austin went to sleep the evening of Sept. 15, 2021, excited for his first day of coaching together with his new platoon. He contracted to fee as an officer within the Military after graduating from faculty. He was so excited, he had purchased a brand new set of Military boots price $200.
He was imagined to report back to his highway march — a a number of mile-long march bearing heavy tools — at 5:45 on the morning of Sept. 16, 2021. However when nobody had heard from him that morning, Austin’s mom, Bonnie Salyer, determined to name an in depth buddy of his.
Austin Salyer (center), from Flower Mound, was a part of the ROTC program at Texas State College. He signed a contract in 2021 with the Military as an officer days earlier than he was negligently shot in his sleep.
A buddy of Austin’s known as the upkeep employee of the off-campus housing — The Lyndon residences — the place he lived to verify on him. Whereas all people figured he overslept, Austin’s associates and the upkeep employee had been the primary to find him unresponsive in his residence and known as police for assist.
Police arrived on the residence advanced about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2021, in accordance with the incident report. Callers informed police Austin was not respiration, in accordance with name logs from the San Marcos Police Division.
Austin was fatally shot in his sleep. He was discovered within the hallway main as much as his bed room, the place he collapsed after getting away from bed after he was shot, the incident report said.
A bullet hit Austin’s left arm and traveled by his chest, lungs, and all the best way to his proper arm, in accordance with Tarrant County Medical Examiner Kendall Crowns.
An hour after police responded to the scene on the residence advanced, Austin’s neighbor, 21-year-old Gabriel Nathaniel Brown, turned himself in to the police. He informed police he didn’t commit against the law, however that he shot Austin accidentally.
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The occasions main as much as the taking pictures
In line with police stories, Brown informed investigators that he had simply acquired a micro conversion equipment for his pistol.
A micro conversion equipment is used to show a firearm into an automated weapon, described by Brown as a “submachine gun.”
Brown said that the evening earlier than Austin was discovered shot in his residence, Brown was attempting to put in the equipment when the weapon fired.
He informed police that he had only in the near past acquired the pistol and by no means fired it earlier than. He known as his father on the evening of Sept. 15, 2021, whereas he was putting in the equipment and was “exhibiting it off,” Brown’s sister informed police.
“I put the conversion equipment on and I suppose one bought caught within the head as a result of I by no means pulled the set off however it dislodged,” Brown stated. His girlfriend and sister additionally had been within the residence subsequent to Austin’s, the place Brown lived together with his girlfriend, on the time he discharged the gun.
“I truthfully don’t know what occurred as a result of I’m not very conversant in weapons. I’m going to be utterly sincere with you, that was my first handgun buy,” Brown informed police. “Like I stated, this can be a full accident.”
Brown stated that he noticed a gap in his residence wall from the place the gun fired that evening. He stated that he seemed by the opening however that it didn’t seem to enter the subsequent residence. He additionally informed police he known as Austin “a number of instances” on Snapchat and knocked on his door at round 2 a.m. to see if he “was dwelling and okay.”
Brown additionally informed police he didn’t hear any noises coming from Austin’s residence and that he believed the bullet didn’t trigger any accidents.
In line with what Brown informed police, the gun went off round 12:30 a.m. that evening. Police stories state that the gun fired between 12 a.m. and a couple of a.m.
When Brown didn’t get a response to the Snapchat messages, “he went to residence 555 and knocked on the door and didn’t get a response. He stated the explanation he by no means known as police or got here in final evening is as a result of he had no concept Austin was within the residence and had been shot,” police stated within the report.
When Austin’s associates arrived at his residence to verify on him the next morning, Brown realized one thing “had occurred” and likewise entered the neighboring unit, discovering Austin useless, in accordance with the police report.
He left Austin’s residence, known as his father, put his gun in his backpack and left to show himself in to San Marcos police.
Gabriel Brown sentenced for negligent murder
The case was introduced to a grand jury, which indicted Brown in April 2022 on a cost of criminally negligent murder.
Brown entered an open plea, by which the defendant waives the best to a jury and pleads responsible with sentencing to be decided by a choose in hopes of getting a greater deal than the prosecution may provide.
In Texas, criminally negligent murder is a state jail felony with a most sentence of two years in jail and a $10,000 superb. The minimal sentence is 180 days.
Brown was sentenced to a two-year jail time period on Feb. 3, 2023, however had the sentence probated by Hays County District Courtroom Choose Sherri Tibbe to serve 5 years on probation and 180 days within the county jail.
In line with the preliminary docket entry of the punishment, the 180 days in jail had been to be served in increments of 18 days twice a 12 months over a span of 5 years.
However lower than a month after the listening to, Tibbe submitted a docket entry amending the jail time from 180 days to 90 days, leaving Brown to serve 9 days twice a 12 months over a span of 5 years. Brown will report back to the jail annually on Austin’s birthday and the date of the taking pictures, in accordance with court docket information.
Courtroom paperwork don’t clarify why the sentence was modified. Tibbe declined to be interviewed or present a remark to the Star-Telegram.
Bonnie and Rodney Salyer really feel the court docket did not serve justice within the negligent taking pictures of their son. Now, they’re preventing to carry the justice system accountable.
Rodney and Bonnie’s considerations with the justice system
“Time and again, we’ve been failed,” Rodney stated in an interview with the Star-Telegram. “The entire thing has been so incorrect that each one we’ve got left to combat for is the precept.”
For Rodney and Bonnie, injustice started the day their solely little one was discovered useless in his residence.
After Austin’s dad and mom acquired a name notifying them of his demise and had their luggage packed to make the drive from Highland Village to San Marcos, a detective stated, “No, don’t come,” once they requested if they may go to their son’s residence.
The detective informed them, “You’ll simply have to attend out within the car parking zone,” in accordance with Rodney.
“As a substitute he informed us to not come. That’s one in all our greatest regrets. That we didn’t instantly go down there. We glance again and we’re like, ‘How may he have informed us to not come?” Rodney stated.
After studying Brown agreed to an open plea deal, Austin’s dad and mom started coordinating with the prosecuting legal professional, Catherine Schneider — who was later dismissed from the case — to debate a time to satisfy to arrange, to which she responded she may meet a day earlier than the sentencing listening to on Jan. 6. The listening to was later rescheduled for February.
Once they requested to satisfy with extra time upfront, Schneider responded to Rodney in an e-mail, “I do know that is laborious for you all, and I’m not attempting to attenuate your loss however, reasonably, clarify the place I’m coming from and remember that I don’t be just right for you all and can’t legally offer you my total trial technique on your approval or disapproval. Now we have given this case rather more consideration and time than a mean case and can proceed to take action. However you must perceive there’s not lots that we are able to change.”
“That was very insulting for us, that it didn’t really feel prefer it was being taken significantly,” Rodney stated. “I imply, I get it. She’s busy. She’s bought all this caseload and what have you ever, however we’ve misplaced our solely little one. We’ve misplaced our son. We’re attempting to get some kind of justice.”
Schneider declined to supply a remark to the Star-Telegram.
After studying that the choose modified the jail portion of Brown’s sentence from 180 days to 90 days, the prosecutor informed Rodney and Bonnie in an e-mail that it couldn’t be “legally potential for the sentence to be modified with out each events current.”
Rodney believes {that a} matter of dedication from all events concerned was missing in Brown’s case.
“You possibly can’t give a robust sentence as a result of you’ll be able to’t actually give the effort and time,” Rodney stated. “The extra those who come by the system, the much less time they’ve for a judgment. The much less punishment, the much less individuals are deterred from committing against the law. You get to a degree the place no one’s getting justice.”
Hays County District Lawyer Kelly Higgins took over the case and Rodney and Bonnie’s subsequent step was to schedule a listening to to attempt to maintain the unique 180-day sentence. Tibbe denied the movement to overview the punishment.
“The court docket made periodic surrenders to the county jail a situation of probation. It’s the phrases of these surrenders that’s in controversy,” Higgins stated in an emailed assertion to the Star-Telegram. “There have been no different offenses to be charged on this case. It was a horrible accident ensuing within the lack of a beloved and admired younger man.”
Nearly two years after Austin’s demise, Rodney and Bonnie have determined to take issues into their very own fingers by pursuing laws.
“For us, that is making one thing horrible that we should always have the ability to grieve and attempt to transfer ahead into one thing that we’re having to combat and relive and attempt to get some modicum of justice,” Rodney stated.
Imposing the legislation and Rodney and Bonnie’s assist from the group
As Rodney and Bonnie continued to push for a overview of the choose’s sentencing, Higgins informed Rodney in an e-mail on April 20, “From my view, there’s nothing requiring overview inside the case itself. The one controversy for my part is the inaccurate sentencing. There have been errors made inside the sentencing listening to, to make sure. In the long run, the sentence is what the choose needed it to be, regardless of the failure to pronounce it in open court docket.”
Higgins “informed us that he would combat for (Austin),” Rodney stated.
After assembly with a senator to debate their considerations, the Salyers had been advisable to have the case reviewed by one other district legal professional.
“All they must do is change it again to 180 days and we’re performed with this,” Rodney stated.
Though feeling let down by the justice system, Rodney and Bonnie acquired assist from native legislation enforcement.
“Whereas it could have been the fiftieth time I’m working with a survivor, it higher really feel like the primary time for that household or these members,” stated Matt Carmichael, Texas State College police chief.
“I feel that’s the place we are able to typically lose sight and, fairly truthfully, it may be that we’re not offering a degree of service as a result of perhaps we’re disconnected,” Carmichael stated about legislation enforcement working with surviving households of victims.
Whereas Texas State College police weren’t concerned in Brown’s case, Carmichael has been an advocate for Austin’s dad and mom.
“These are good individuals who misplaced their solely little one they usually don’t really feel served,” Carmichael stated.
Moreover, the TSU police division established an award in Austin’s title.
Carmichael believes sufferer advocacy is an space that the justice system and police must work on essentially the most.
“When a case is adjudicated, that household nonetheless wants advocacy,” he stated. “We are able to do higher.”
Austin was additionally acknowledged by Texas State police within the Depart No Sufferer Behind 2020 annual convention that was held at his college.
The convention’s philosophy is to “create a non-traditional convention atmosphere that focuses on delivering finest practices from those that have skilled or responded to main violent incidents.” Sufferer advocates, native legislation enforcement, attorneys, and different professionals are invited to attend and communicate on the convention.
“It’s not nearly Austin. It’s not nearly us. It’s concerning the instance that they’re giving to the group,” stated Rodney concerning the justice system. “It’s simply actually disappointing that our system just isn’t preventing for accountability. That’s actually what it comes right down to, is accountability.”
Rodney and Bonnie have additionally hoped to obtain assist from Jennifer Lundy, the manager director at Texans for Judicial Accountability, which goals to demand change and accountability within the justice system.
The group is at present attempting to make complaints in opposition to judicial officers public by the State Fee on Judicial Conduct after they’ve been investigated, as complaints are at present non-public, in accordance with Lundy.
“There are some egregious complaints and we don’t know who did it,” Lundy stated. “That retains them, in my view, from doing the best factor as a result of it actually doesn’t matter what they do… We’ve bought to make a change there.”
“Our judges are elected, which is why we’d like to have the ability to see what they’re doing,” Lundy stated. “It’s a state place and an elected place, and it serves better scrutiny. I feel it’ll make a giant distinction in the best way we’re handled.”
Moreover, they filed a lawsuit on Could 10 in a Bell County District Courtroom in opposition to Gabriel Brown; his father, Gregory Keith Brown; and his former girlfriend, Chantel Monique Veal, alleging their involvement within the wrongful demise of Austin. They’re searching for over $1 million in financial reduction for the ache and struggling each they and Austin suffered because of this.
Gabriel, Gregory, and Veal all denied the allegations of their response to the lawsuit and are representing themselves.
After submitting the swimsuit, Rodney and Bonnie ended up assembly with one other district legal professional, who helps them proceed working with senators to transform laws on gun legal guidelines.
“That’s our subsequent aim,” Rodney stated, “is to attempt to work with some of us and see what we are able to do to repair a few of these issues.”