Man Found Dead At Zilker Park In Austin Was Former Hidalgo County Prosecutor [UPDATED]

AUSTIN, TX — The man found dead at Barton Creek Saturday morning was a former Hidalgo County assistant district attorney, a Rio Grande Valley news station reported.

Late Saturday, KGBT reported that the man found submerged in Barton Creek at Zilker Park was the county's former prosecutor, Ricco Delgado. He was 32 years old.

The man's father, State District Judge Rudy Delgado, confirmed the news: "Yes, my son has passed away," the judge told the news station. "My wife and I are devastated."

Austin police responded to the scene at Zilker Park Saturday morning after receiving a report from a passerby who discovered the body near the park's hike-and-bike trail. At a subsequent press conference, an officer said police suspected no foul play was involved, but had not released the man's identity as of Saturday night.

According to the KGBT report, Delgado's death marked the sudden end to a troubled life. The young prosecutor resigned from the DA's office in October after a drunken driving arrest and a drug-related arrest a mere days later.

More legal trouble followed. On Dec. 19 and again on Feb. 7, according to McAllen Police Department records referenced by the news station, Delgado was found unconscious from abuse of "dusters" — cans of compressed air used to clean computer keyboards — to get high.

The man's father called the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office to the Delgado home on Feb. 9 after the former prosecutor was reportedly acting aggressively after inhaling a duster, the news station reported. A deputy arrested the younger Delgado that day before his Feb. 15 release from jail.

Delgado was not unfamiliar with Austin, having graduated from St. Edward's University where he earned a bachelor's degree, KGBT reported. He later enrolled at Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where he graduated magna cum laude in May 2015.

>>> Read the full story at KGBT

Photo via Hidalgo County Jail records

From earlier:

AUSTIN, TX — Police are at the scene where a dead person was found Saturday morning at Zilker Park in Barton Creek.

No details are yet available, but police will be staging a press conference later in the day. It's best to avoid the area to allow police to conduct a thorough investigation.

A police spokesman later said at a press conference the body was found shortly after 10 a.m. submerged in water at Barton Creek, near the hike-and-bike trail. The deceased was a Hispanic male in his 30s, police said. No foul play is suspected, but an investigation continues.

>>> Image via Shutterstock