A Travis County grand jury cleared four Austin Police officers of wrongdoing in a May 2025 high speed chase that ended in a crash and exchange of gunfire.
The panel on March 5 declined to indict officers Joseph Duesler, Kai Finch, Martin Vela and Vincent Nguyen for their conduct during the incident. That decision prompted District Attorney José Garza to drop the criminal case against the officers.
“In this case, an independent group of members of the Travis County community heard the evidence and law and decided that Officers Duesler, Finch, Vela, and Nguyen’s conduct was not unlawful,” Garza said in a news release announcing the grand jury’s decision.
The incident unfolded near midnight on May 31, 2025, according to statements made by Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis at a July news conference. The officers attempted to pull over a vehicle that was reported stolen. It was driven by 18-year-old Devin Guevara, who began evading officers at high speeds.
During the pursuit, a tire on Guevara’s vehicle went flat, causing him to spin out of control and crash into another vehicle. As officers got out of their vehicles, Guevara fired multiple shots at them, Davis said. The officers returned fire, hitting Guevara in his clavicle. They ordered him to step out of his vehicle with his hands up and Guevara complied.
Guevara was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a public servant, evading arrest with a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Court records show that the case remains pending.
“These officers did an extremely brave job, and I’m proud of them,” Davis said at the time.
It is regular practice for the Police Department to launch an internal investigation anytime an officer opens fire. The status of that investigation into the four officers is unclear. Police Department and Austin Police Oversight officials did not respond to follow-up questions.