Austin Criminal Defense Specialists

Power of Association

In 2005, a young man, born in Austin and raised in San Antonio, went out with a few friends. One of his friends he had known for several years; the others he had met only for the first time. The group of four decided to cruise around the downtown area for some fun. After a few hours of cruising through the city, one of the ‘strangers’ pulled out a gun and suggested that it might be fun to go and commit a robbery.

The young man was a college student, aspiring to launch his own rap/hip hop label and achieve many other dreams and goals. He did not want to do it. But the peer pressure of the others in the car persuaded him to participate. While he drove the car, the other three committed two robberies that night.

The young man tried to get the others to stop after they had committed the crimes, but was unsuccessful. Later that night, the owner of the gun approached another person in the neighborhood after a dispute involving a young lady. That other person was shot brutally in the forehead from point blank range and left for dead. The sound of the gun scared the driver as he fled the scene. The police eventually arrested each of the four individuals.

The young man introduced at the beginning of the story was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He himself did not commit any of these heinous crimes. Purely by power of association, he found himself in a heap of trouble.

If you or someone you know has been wrongly accused of a crime, contact the Austin criminal defense specialist, Ian Inglis, by calling 512-472-1950.