UTx Zeta Psi: "I'll miss you," said another. "Bye bro."

[hoosier]

UT student fatally shot at campus-area apartment

Police seeking two men seen fleeing scene.
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By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, November 2, 2005

At 5:26 p.m. Monday, William "Trey" Ehrhardt III called 911 and said someone was trying to kick in the door of his apartment near the University of Texas.

Police say he hung up a couple of minutes later after telling the operator that the intruder apparently had given up and hearing that officers were on the way.

Then, neighbors said, they heard the sound of breaking glass and a gunshot.

On Tuesday, after a 16-hour vigil by fraternity brothers and friends, Ehrhardt, a 22-year-old UT senior and San Antonio native, died at Brackenridge Hospital.

Police have not arrested anyone in the case. Austin police homicide Sgt. Hector Reveles said Tuesday that investigators are trying to track down leads and asked for help from anyone who might have information about the shooting.

He said it appears as though Ehrhardt, a computer engineering major who had served as rush coordinator for his fraternity this semester, was not the victim of a random attack and might have known his killer.

Police arrived at his second-floor apartment Monday evening, minutes after Ehrhardt hung up with the 911 operator. He was immediately taken to Brackenridge.

Reveles said neighbors in the apartment complex at 2812 Nueces St. in the West Campus area were standing at the door of Ehrhardt's home, which still bore faint footprints Tuesday evening.

"It's always loud around here, so me and some other people just thought that someone had broken into a car downstairs," said Jane Mash, 20, who was at home and heard the breaking glass.

Reveles said several neighbors told police they saw two young men flee the area heading west on foot. They described one of them as looking like a normal college student.

"Anytime you start with not having an idea about a motive, you are really at square one," Reveles said. "Generally speaking, with almost any case, if we start to develop an intelligence base, generally we get directions to go in and leads to follow."

The case is the second homicide involving UT students in recent months.

In August, 21-year-old Jennifer Cave was found dismembered in the bathtub of UT student Colton Pitonyak's apartment after her family had reported her missing. Police charged Pitonyak in her death days later.

Reveles said police are investigating whether Ehrhardt's death might be connected with the theft of his car last month.

Ehrhardt called police Oct. 16 to say that his 1997 red Isuzu with the license plate 947CPB had been stolen from his apartment complex, according to police records. The car has not been recovered.

Reveles said investigators have questioned some of Ehrhardt's friends and hope to talk to more this week.

"It's just a sad, sad time right now," said Erik Morales, who was in the Zeta Psi fraternity with Ehrhardt and said he depended on Ehrhardt for advice about anything from schoolwork to dating. "I looked up to him for everything."

Morales said he had last seen Ehrhardt late Saturday or early Sunday at a Halloween party.

"He was happy," he said. "I had never seen that guy in a down mood, ever. He was always outgoing."

When he learned that Ehrhardt had been shot, Morales said, he rushed to Brackenridge, where more than a dozen fellow students had gathered. He said a nurse met with the group and told them their friend likely would not survive.

"I broke down," Morales said. "It was the worst thing I've ever heard someone tell me. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave."

By Tuesday evening, dozens of friends had posted farewell messages on facebook.com, an online directory for college students.

"I have no doubt that you are looking down on us all in a much better place," one message said. "I'll (remember) you always."

"I'll miss you," said another. "Bye bro."

[mmcat]

how sad!

[lifesaver]

Yeah, its all over the news here. He was from San Antonio and was the quarterback for Madison High School's football team a few years ago.

So sad. I lost two friends while in college and I cant imagine of one had been murdered.

[ECUJacob]

My sympathies go out to his family, friends, and brothers.

[Tom Earp]

This is to Sad. A Young Man gone in His Prime!

[Buttonz]

O wow...really sad....My thoughts go out to him, his family, and his brothers.

[CanadianZete]

Forever in Tau Kappa Phi. The Alpha Mu Brothers in Halifax wish the family and the chapter all the best. It is so sad to see a Zete go in this mannor.

[Coramoor]

That sounds like the most ghetto school ever.

Having cars robbed/stolen in your own apartment complex is ignored...not even thought of?!

[lifesaver]

I wouldn't hardly call The University of Texas at Austin a ghetto school.

Apparently there is more to the story than we knew. Not to speak ill of the dead, but the victim was quite the pot dealer. They arrested a suspect in his murder today. Still tragic tho. Bet his vehicle disaperance had somethign to do with his 'profession'.

Man held in S.A. grad's death
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met....1206edd4.html

Web Posted: 11/12/2005 12:00 AM CST

Maria M. Moreno
Express-News Staff Writer
A San Antonio man was ordered held without bond Friday, accused of the fatal shooting in Austin that claimed the life of a former Madison High School football standout in what police have described as a botched robbery.

Jason Anthony Chacon, 21, also a former Madison student, was charged with capital murder in the death of William "Trey" Ehrhardt III, 22.

Ehrhardt was a senior at the University of Texas at Austin at the time of his death. He was shot in his Austin apartment on Oct. 31 by intruders and died at Brackenridge Hospital the next day.

Austin police, with the help of local authorities, arrested Chacon just after 6 a.m. Friday in an apartment in the 1400 block of West Bitters Road.

According to a search warrant affidavit prepared by an Austin homicide detective, Ehrhardt was shot in an attempt to rob him of marijuana and cash. Austin police found "a large amount of suspected marijuana and a substantial amount" of cash in Ehrhardt's apartment, the affidavit states.

The substance that police suspect was marijuana was packaged in plastic bags, "apparently for distribution," according to the affidavit. Police also received reports that Ehrhardt was involved in buying and selling marijuana.

Ehrhardt, a 2002 graduate of Madison, called police minutes before he was shot to report someone was trying to kick his front door open, according to the affidavit. His neighbors then made another call to emergency dispatchers saying they had heard glass breaking and a gunshot.

The men got away, but on Nov. 2, Austin police got a call from someone who identified the shooter as "Jason," according to the affidavit. That same day, Steven Duparc, 22, told a Live Oak police sergeant that Chacon had told him he was going to Ehrhardt's apartment in Austin to rob him, according to the affidavit.

Duparc said Chacon called him several times on Oct. 31 asking for directions to Ehrhardt's apartment. Police said cell phone records confirmed that Duparc and Chacon talked several times that day.

Police say Chacon was with another man who was identified in the affidavit, but that person hasn't been arrested.

Lt. Paul Battagalia of the Regional Narcotics Task Force told Austin police that Chacon was known by them as a person involved in a marijuana distribution network, according to the affidavit.

Austin police searched two Northeast Side San Antonio homes Thursday looking for firearms and ammunition and traced evidence connected to Ehrhardt's shooting.

The search list also included an orange jacket that witnesses said was worn by a man they saw fleeing Ehrhardt's apartment.

At Chacon's home in the 5200 block of La Barranca Street, police reportedly found 161 grams of marijuana and arrested Chacon's mother, Diana Chacon, 46, and his brother, Dominic Chacon, 23, on charges of possession of marijuana.

Police also searched the home of the man suspected of being with Chacon at the time of Ehrhardt's death.

Austin police couldn't be reached for comment Friday, and it wasn't known if they plan to pursue charges against that man.