An arrest affidavit describes an argument, rifle casings, a brief search and statements investigators say the 21-year-old suspect made after his arrest.

AUSTIN, Texas — A 21-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his aunt’s boyfriend outside a Northeast Austin home told detectives afterward that the victim gave him “bad vibes” and that he believed the man wanted him dead, according to police and an arrest affidavit reported by local news outlets.

Joitorian Bouye is charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 29 death of Tyrell Pordia, 35. Austin police said officers were dispatched at 5:34 p.m. to the 11700 block of Timber Heights Drive after a caller reported that a man had a firearm and someone had been shot. Officers found Pordia with wounds that police described as incompatible with life. He was pronounced dead at 5:53 p.m. Witnesses reported seeing the suspected shooter leave the area, and other officers soon located Bouye and took him into custody without incident.

The police department’s public account establishes the basic sequence but says little about what investigators believe happened immediately before the shooting. More detail appears in an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN. According to the detective’s account summarized by the station, officers recovered several fired rifle cartridge casings at the residence. Investigators said the casings were of a caliber commonly used in AR-15-style rifles. Witnesses who knew Bouye also described hearing an argument between him and Pordia shortly before the gunfire. The affidavit says the argument included references to “trafficking,” though the publicly reported records do not establish that Pordia was involved in trafficking.

One of the most direct witness accounts came from Bouye’s aunt, who was dating Pordia, according to the affidavit. She told investigators that she had been in the kitchen while Pordia went outside to the patio. She then heard what she described as popping sounds. When she went outside, she reported seeing Bouye holding a firearm and yelling about trafficking before he jumped a fence and left the property. The affidavit also describes her repeatedly questioning why her nephew would have done it. Her account places Bouye at the scene immediately after the shots but does not, by itself, establish why the shooting occurred.

Police said witnesses saw the suspected shooter flee, prompting officers to search the surrounding area while homicide detectives and crime scene specialists began working at the residence. According to the affidavit, officers located Bouye roughly half a mile from the home near Worn Sole Drive. Police reported that he had a handgun along with 9 mm and .223/5.56 mm ammunition when officers found him. The rifle investigators believe was used in the shooting was not described as being in his possession at the time of that encounter. Police said Bouye surrendered without further violence.

Investigators then took Bouye to the Austin Police Department’s homicide office. Police said he spoke with detectives and admitted shooting Pordia. The arrest affidavit gives a fuller account of what investigators say he told them after being advised of his rights. Bouye allegedly said he fired an AR-15-style rifle at Pordia because the older man gave him “bad vibes.” He also allegedly said he believed Pordia wanted him dead. Those statements are allegations documented by investigators and have not been tested through testimony or cross-examination at a criminal trial.

The affidavit also highlights a potential conflict between the argument witnesses described and Bouye’s later account to detectives. Witnesses said they heard Bouye arguing with Pordia about trafficking, and his aunt reported seeing him yelling about trafficking immediately after the shots. But according to KXAN’s account of the affidavit, Bouye later denied knowing that Pordia was involved in trafficking. Police have not publicly announced evidence showing that Pordia was engaged in trafficking, nor have they identified such an allegation as an established motive. That distinction is important because the word appears in witness accounts of the confrontation but remains unsupported as a claim about the victim.

Bouye also told investigators that he has schizophrenia and paranoia, according to the affidavit. The statement came from Bouye himself, and the publicly available reports reviewed for this story do not include independent medical records verifying a diagnosis or establishing that a mental-health condition caused the shooting. Police have not announced a psychiatric finding or medical explanation for the killing. Mental-health statements made during an interview can become relevant to later court proceedings, but the available records do not show that a court has reached any conclusion about Bouye’s mental state or legal responsibility.

According to the affidavit, Bouye further told detectives that he had discarded the rifle before officers encountered him because he feared police would shoot him if he were still carrying it. Public police statements do not say where the rifle was found, whether investigators recovered it or what forensic testing may have been performed on it. The department has said Austin Forensic Science crime scene specialists responded to Timber Heights Drive alongside homicide detectives. Authorities have not publicly released a complete evidence inventory or laboratory findings linking a particular firearm to the casings collected at the scene.

The Austin Police Department announced Bouye’s arrest and Pordia’s identity on Sept. 1. Police classified the death as the city’s 38th homicide of 2026 and said the suspect and victim knew one another. CBS Austin reported that jail records at the time showed Bouye being held at the Travis County Correctional Complex on a $250,000 bond. Early court-record reporting did not identify an attorney for him. The murder allegation remains a charge, not a conviction, and the prosecution would still have to prove the case in court if it proceeds to trial.

The case also illustrates the difference between what investigators say a suspect acknowledged and what must still be established through the legal process. Austin police have publicly said Bouye admitted shooting Pordia, while the affidavit attributes additional statements to him about his fears, the rifle and his reason for firing. Those statements may be significant evidence, but other questions remain unresolved in the public record, including the precise origin of the dispute, whether investigators recovered the rifle and what physical or forensic evidence prosecutors may ultimately present.

For now, Austin police have continued to ask anyone with information about the Timber Heights Drive shooting to contact investigators. No publicly reviewed source establishes that the trafficking references made before or after the shooting were based on actual conduct by Pordia. Bouye remains accused of murder and is entitled to contest the charge and the government’s evidence in court. The police department has not announced a final investigative finding beyond the arrest and murder charge.

Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.