Disgruntled Employees Shoot Up South Austin Eatery

AUSTIN, TX — An assortment of current and former yet disgruntled employees of a South Austin chicken restaurant accosted workers there before shots were fired into the building, according to a published report.

According to an arrest affidavit referenced by the Austin American-Statesman, Mario Raymond Martinez, 28, and Vanessa Hernandez, 18, were booked into the Travis County Jail on Saturday on deadly conduct charge for firing a firearm into an occupied building.

The pair, along with another former employee of the Pollo Regio at 110 E. William Cannon Dr. entered the restaurant on Friday night looking for one of the worker's paychecks. After the manager the check was in the mail given the worker in question had been terminated is when things got violent.

An employee tried calming the group down before crossing the street to a convenience store to call police when gunfire was heard and the restaurant was found to have been shot up, according to the report. Police located the getaway vehicle, finding spent casings that matched those at the restaurant. The gun was found to have been stolen in Bastrop County.

According to witnesses, Hernandez had fired the weapon while Martinez reloaded. Both were charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Both are being held at the Travis County Jail on $25,000 bail.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

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