Authorities arrested Kavontae Markail Williams in northeast Austin after obtaining a murder warrant tied to a May shooting that killed Mykal Jones.
AUSTIN, TX — A 32-year-old Austin man wanted on a murder charge has been arrested more than four months after a shooting outside a restaurant left one person dead and four others wounded, authorities said.
Kavontae Markail Williams was arrested Sept. 14 in northeast Austin by the Austin Police Department Tactical Intelligence Unit and members of the U.S. Marshals-led Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. Austin police said a warrant charging Williams with first-degree murder had been issued Sept. 3 in connection with the May 6 shooting at Down South CaJJun Eats on FM 1825.
The shooting was reported about 1:31 a.m. May 6 after an altercation inside the restaurant escalated into gunfire, according to Austin police. Officers arriving at the scene found several people suffering from gunshot wounds. Mykal Jones, who was born in 1998, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m. Four other people who had been shot were treated at hospitals and were reported in stable condition in the initial police investigation.
Investigators determined that the violence involved several bursts of gunfire over a short period inside and outside the restaurant. According to an arrest affidavit cited by local news reports, detectives reviewed surveillance footage and other evidence as they worked to determine who fired the shots and which gunfire struck Jones. Police have described the case as involving three shootings that unfolded within about a minute.
The affidavit says surveillance footage showed Williams near a vehicle facing the restaurant before he fired a shot. Investigators said Williams acknowledged firing his weapon but told authorities he had acted in self-defense. Police disputed that account in the affidavit, saying the video and other evidence did not support his description of his actions. The allegations have not been proven in court.
A witness who was with Jones told investigators that Jones and the witness took cover when gunfire began and later tried to move through the parking lot, according to the affidavit. Investigators said evidence indicated Jones crossed the path of the shot fired by Williams. Authorities allege that the gunfire from Williams struck Jones, leading prosecutors to pursue the murder charge.
The Austin Police Department initially treated the shooting as the city’s 22nd homicide investigation of 2026. Detectives and crime scene specialists collected evidence after the shooting, while police also sought photos, videos and information from people who had been at the restaurant. A cellphone video from inside the business was released publicly during the early stages of the investigation.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Austin police requested help from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force after the murder warrant was issued. Investigators located Williams at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Howard Lane and arrested him without incident. The Marshals Service said the Austin Police Air Support Unit also assisted with the operation.
Authorities also arrested 29-year-old Deandre Markeith Stiles at the scene on an unrelated outstanding Harris County warrant for felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Marshals Service. Williams and Stiles were taken to the Travis County Jail to await further court proceedings. Stiles has not been identified by authorities as a suspect in Jones’ killing.
Williams now faces judicial proceedings on the murder charge. Police have continued to describe the case as an active homicide investigation, and the available public records do not establish a final determination of criminal responsibility. Williams is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Author note: Last updated September 18, 2026.