Joseph Mobley Guilty Of Manslaughter In Strangling Death Of Alleged South Austin Car Thief

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — A Travis County grand jury on Friday found enough evidence against Joseph Dwayne Mobley to find him culpable of manslaughter after he chased a man he suspected of having stolen a car in 2014 and striking him with a hammer before strangling him to death.

The jury found that Mobley recklessly caused the death of Dwayne Guidry, 25. The manslaughter charge is a second-degree felony punishable by between two and twenty years in prison and a $10,000 fine. After the verdict was returned, Mobley, 34, reached an agreement with prosecutors for a five-year prison sentence.

Mobley was arrested in October 2014 after chasing down Guidry and strangling him. When police found Mobley standing over the victim's body, he told officers he had seen the victim steal a Domino's Pizza delivery man's car in South Austin. With his wife and children in the car, Mobley got into his vehicle and gave chase. He caught up to Guidry during a subsequent foot chase, hit him over the head with a hammer and, as he told police, strangled him "the right way" in adherence to his military training.

In a subsequent arrest affidavit, Mobley explained he administered the choke hold on Guidry, cutting off blood circulation to his brain and impeding his breathing, because "when they wake up, they will attack you," he told police.

“This case was tragic every which way," lead prosecutor Efrain De La Fuente said."There’s simply no need in the world for anyone to die for the sake of protecting a vehicle, or any other property. The defendant should have allowed the police to handle it, as they are trained to do so."

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