Roche told police in his sworn affidavit that he shot Ortiz after coming outside for a second time early on the morning of July 4 to ask him and his friends to stop shooting fireworks. In his testimony, the older man claimed he saw the teen reach for a gun that he’d taken out of his car.
The Statesmen‘s report noted that although police did find a rifle and a handgun at the scene, cell phone video shows that Ortiz was not holding a gun when Roche shot him.
“
Jason Roche is observed displaying a firearm at Ortiz, re-holstering the firearm then displaying the firearm multiple times,” the affidavit, as quoted by Austin’s KXAN, stated. “During this point of the video footage,
Ortiz was not holding a firearm.”
The affidavit also noted that the older man was seen in cell phone video following Ortiz around a car, and that “police believe Ortiz was moving away from the firearm and not lunging toward it like Roche had told detectives.”
Roche made headlines in April when he sued the city of Austin and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services after EMTs treated a police officer he hit with his truck before him.
