Affidavit: Suspect accused of manslaughter after 2020 assault at Austin bar

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department arrested a 41-year-old man in connection with a January 2020 assault that led to the victim’s death two years later, an arrest warrant affidavit said.

Court records identified that man as Justin Maurice Agnew.

KXAN has reached out to Agnew’s attorney. We will update this story if a statement is received.

The assault happened on Sabine Street in downtown Austin on Jan. 31, 2020 shortly after 2 a.m., court documents said. Agnew allegedly assaulted Rene Luevano as he was leaving a bar near Sabine Street.

Witnesses told investigators Agnew and Luevano were “regulars” at the bar. As both men talked throughout the night, witnesses said the conversation between them became “increasingly heated,” according to the affidavit. One witness said Agnew “took a swing” at Luevano, and he was kicked out of the bar.

However, whenever Luevano walked out of the bar, another witness with him said Agnew punched Luevano, which “knocked him out cold,” court documents said. Agnew then “stomped him on the head” before he ran away from the area, according to the affidavit.

Luevano was hospitalized after the assault happened and was diagnosed with a fractured skull, among other injuries, court records said. He began experiencing seizures months after the assault, and medical records indicated Luevano cited his seizures happened only after he was assaulted by Agnew, according to the affidavit.

Luevano lived with a family member in El Paso shortly after his assault in Austin, and court records said he eventually moved to Chicago, Illinois.

On May 3, 2022, the Chicago Police Department responded to an emergency call at a residence Luevano lived at in Chicago. Officers found him unconscious on the couch, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the affidavit.

An examination performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded in March 2023 that Luevano’s cause of death was “complications of multiple remote craniocerebral injuries due to assault,” court records said. Additionally, the examination said Luevano developed seizures after a “traumatic brain jury” and classified his death as a homicide, according to the affidavit.

The investigation with APD continued until Agnew was arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail on a manslaughter charge on Sept. 23. He bonded out on Sept. 24, according to jail records.

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