Two men are being sought after an assault against a transgender woman and a bystander who intervened at the Barton Springs spillway in late July.
The incident grabbed headlines after a post on Reddit said three men harassed and assaulted a transgender woman and her friends near the Barton Springs spillway on July 26. A bystander stepped in, and his jaw was fractured.
Arrest warrants have been issued for two men, Matthew Villanueva and Joshua Bell, in connection with the assault. Bell previously faced a family violence misdemeanor assault charge in 2018, but that case was dismissed, according to Travis County court records.
Bell, Villanueva and another man were at the free side of Barton Springs, also known as Barking Springs, when they began talking with two women, according to court documents. One of those women, Baylee McMullan, spoke with an investigator, and said the initial conversation started off as "nice" and was flirtatious. McMullan's transgender friend, identified as Aiden, showed up shortly after. The men then started harassing the McMullan's friend group and using transphobic slurs and hateful language, police said.
"That just really grosses me the f–k out," one man told McMullan, referring to her trans friend, before the interaction escalated.
When McMullan confronted Bell, police said he pushed her down onto the ground. Jarod Adkison, who was nearby, stepped in between them and then was hit in the face by Bell twice. After that, Villanueva allegedly hit Adkison from behind, knocking him out and fracturing his jaw, which required surgery.
Villanueva said McMullan spit and kicked dirt in Bell's direction — and that Adkison seemed "ready to fight" — but police said there is no evidence of that.
Both suspects face a second-degree felony assault charge for allegedly assaulting Adkison.
The incident was initially being investigated as a hate crime by police, but it's not clear whether prosecutors will pursue hate crime charges. In a statement to KUT, a spokesperson with the Travis County District Attorney's office called the assaults "senseless."
"The Travis County District Attorney’s office does not tolerate acts of hate in our community and is committed to holding people who commit these crimes accountable," the spokesperson said. "We are in communication with the Austin Police Department and look forward to reviewing their investigation of the incident carefully."
This story has been updated.
