2 Arrested After a String of East Austin Robberies, Shootings

Two men were arrested Monday night in connection with at least two recent armed robberies. Prosecutors say the men may be involved in a string of recent crimes, including the shooting of an Austin Water worker last month and the double-shooting of a couple robbed while in bed.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Rubin Elliot Colvin, 21, and Vernon Eugene Stewart, 41, have been charged in an armed robbery in Northeast Austin on Sept. 1 and the Sept. 22 armed robbery of a man in East Austin. Stewart has told police that a third man was involved, but police haven’t confirmed whether that man is in custody.

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According to the affidavit cited by the newspaper, police also think Colvin and Stewart could be involved in at least four armed robbery cases, which all occurred early in the morning east of Interstate 35:

• On July 21, a couple reported that someone had come into their bedroom in the middle of the night, demanded money from them, then shot them both. The wife was struck in the arm, and the husband was struck in the abdomen, according to witness reports.
• On Aug. 13, a man was robbed in the 1200 block of Camino La Costa as he walked to his car to leave for work around 5:30 a.m. The armed robbers demanded his money in English and poor Spanish. After the victim gave the robbers his wallet, he said one of the robbers ran after a witness and robbed him at gunpoint as well, the victim told police.
• On Sept. 1, a victim reported being robbed at gunpoint around 6:30 a.m. while waiting for a ride outside his home in the 7000 block of Grand Canyon Drive, police said.
• On Sept. 2, a victim was robbed and shot while waiting for a ride to work around 5:15 a.m. near the 2000 block of Chesire Drive. When the robbers demanded his money at gunpoint, he turned and ran, the victim told police. The robbers caught him and struck him in the head with the pistol, then shot him in the leg when he was on the ground and grabbed his wallet and cellphone out of his pocket, police said.

[Story originally reported by Austin American-Statesman]