Austin, Texas, police release video of suspects brutally stomping robbery victim
The Austin Police Department (APD) Robbery Unit released video and is asking for the public's help in identifying robbery suspects brutally stomping a victim before fleeing on foot.
An Austin, Texas, man who pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and chasing a woman down the street until she broke her leg trying to fight back will avoid jail time under a plea deal arranged with Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza's office, according to court documents.
Antonio Cordero-Rios, 35, pleaded guilty in exchange for 10 years of probation and 200 hours of community service, court records show.
One victim's Apple Watch even captured evidence of the ordeal.
Meanwhile, just last month he had his GPS monitor removed in connection with a separate pending case in which he allegedly exposed himself to a woman and her 9-year-old son in July 2021.
Antonio Cordero-Rios in a gym selfie posted to Facebook in 2019, years before he allegedly began exposing himself to women in public. (Antonio Cordero-Rios/Facebook)
In that case, Cordero-Rios is accused of circling a mother and her son twice in a white SUV as they were walking down a residential block. Moments later, the mother told police she had seen him sitting on a fire hydrant.
"Hi," they said, as the mother and child walked their bikes down the sidewalk, according to court documents. When she got within 5 feet of him, she later told police, she realized he was masturbating in public.
She ordered her son to run home and get his father. As she fled behind him, she turned around and took a photo. She shared that photo on the Nextdoor app, according to court filings, and also with Austin police, who circulated the image as part of a "be on the lookout" warning.
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One of the victims snapped a photo of the suspect in July 2021 after he allegedly exposed himself in front of her and her 9-year-old son, according to court documents. (Austin Police Department via New York Post)
Cordero-Rios' defense attorney, Jose Vela, told Fox News Digital that his client has not violated any of the terms of his pretrial release since his initial arrest more than a year ago and that his client still has several pending misdemeanor charges that he is working on.
Because he has not violated the terms of his release, and because while on probation he will be strictly monitored, the judge agreed to remove the GPS monitor in his pending case, he said.
"It's difficult getting questions regarding this case. As a former prosecutor I realize everybody in that courtroom has a job to do, and nobody's job is easy," he said. "The prosecutors have a job, the judge has a job and the defense attorney has a job to do. Unless everyone does do their job well, the system doesn’t work."
Antonio Cordero-Rios has several charges still pending after a plea deal on indecent exposure and aggravated assault spared him jail time. (Austin Police Department)
However, Cordero-Rios' victims turned out in protest to the deal.
"I don’t remember the entire attack, the snippets I do recall were pure evil," victim Lynn Isaak told him in a victim impact statement. "I also remember doing everything to survive. I remember you, like a coward, covering your identity with a mask. I remember you waiting, blending in by pretending like you were working out. You hid behind an identity that you knew would gain trust."
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Isaak was out on her morning run in June 2021, when Cordero-Rios chased her down and attacked her on a Texas street. She told the New York Post he was "fondling himself" as he approached.
She tried to fight back and wound up with a shattered leg that put her through two years of recovery, she said.
Although she could not remember parts of the attack, she realized that her Apple Watch had recorded some evidence. An app designed to trace her running route showed a zigzag pattern in the area of the attack, spanning seven gut-wrenching minutes, as she fought off her attacker until a good Samaritan ran over and chased him away.
Antonio Cordero-Rios was also accused of indecent exposure in Williamson County, where this mug shot is on file in connection with a December 2021 case. Those charges were dismissed. (Williamson County)
She could not walk for months, she said, but she replaced her love of running with a determination to track down whoever had attacked her. Her quest brought her to the Nextdoor app, where women had been discussing similar cases. A peeping Tom staring at a girl over a fence; the July incident with the mother and her son; stories of women who said they had been stalked while walking their dogs.
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According to the Austin-based nonprofit Respond Against Violence, which is assisting the victims, she is among eight women attacked by Cordero-Rios who banded together and helped police capture him. They connected with one another through the Nextdoor app.
The victims banded together, pooling information that helped identify and track Cordero-Rios and sharing it with Austin police, who ultimately found their suspect.
"This, in my opinion, is such an incredible story as women in our community coming together, using social media in a way that's positive," Kelsey McKay, the attorney who founded Respond Against Violence, told FOX 7 Austin.
Separately, she told Fox News Digital that while the victims are disappointed in the plea deal, "the detectives in the case were wonderful" throughout the investigation, including when they obtained a partial confession.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza poses in front of the Austin skyline in a portrait from the county website. Garza has faced criticism for accusations that he aggressively prosecutes police officers accused of wrongdoing while going easy on career criminals. (Travis County DA Website)
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Meanwhile, Garza's office last week touted its "victim-centered policies."
"Victims are treated with dignity & respect, and that makes our community more safe," his office tweeted to mark Austin's proclamation of Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month.
The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
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