No 'unified process' to track Austin criminals who shouldn't have guns

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Digging through court records to learn more about the 10 homicides that occurred in November, KXAN found extensive criminal histories for several suspects.

Of the seven suspects police arrested in last month's cases, four had prior convictions that contained various levels of bond and parole conditions stating the individuals could not be in possession of firearms.

Several defense attorneys KXAN spoke with said there's no true system in place to make sure people in such cases follow the rules regarding guns.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) said it does not supervise people out on bond, and that parole officers only conduct "plain view" searches during home visits. Additionally, guns aren't allowed inside parole facilities, TDCJ said.

The District Attorney's Office said it "requests" that individuals surrender their firearms when "appropriate," but did not address any means of holding that system accountable.

During a press conference last month about a deadly police shooting where the subject - a convicted felon - pointed two guns at police officers, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis addressed this topic.

"We live in a society that we are hopeful that when the courts get involved that we're gonna remain safe as a public, right?" she said. "So to have a violation like that, it is concerning, and I think that's just us working better with probation and parole tracking people who are violent."

According to the Texas Law Library, "if more than 5 years have passed since completing their prison sentence (including parole or probation), the law allows possessing a firearm at home."

The group seemingly doing the most work at the moment to try and create a stronger tracking system is Austin Public Health, specifically the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP).

Michelle Myles, OVP's manager, said "There are several gaps in the system across the board."

The office is in the early planning stages of a grant-funded program meant to make sure suspects and felons - specifically related to domestic violence charges - don't have guns.

"Mapping out the system from when an individual is seeking a protective order to when someone is ordered to surrender [a firearm]," she said. "It increases the lethality for a female victim by 500%. And domestic violence calls are one of the most dangerous for law enforcement."

The project not only aims to track felons' and suspects' firearm activity, but also provide holistic solutions to stop cycles of violence.

"To help people recuperate or learn better behaviors," Myles said.