West Side Man Charged In Shooting Of Police Officer And Woman

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 18, 2008 9:42PM

Jason Austin (pictured left), 26, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery in the last week's shooting of Chicago Police Officer Robert Soto and Kathryn Romberg. Prosecutors have not said whether or not they will seek the death penalty if Austin is convicted. Cook County Criminal Court Judge Laura Sullivan denied bail for Austin, who has five previous convictions, including one for aggravated battery that was originally an attempted murder charge.

Officer Soto was able to call 911 after the shooting and provide details of the robbery before losing consciousness. Multiple witnesses claimed hearing gun shots and identified Austin as the driver of a car fleeing the scene. Video surveillance also shows Austin's car in the area around the time of the shooting and Austin allegedly bragged about the robbery to a friend. Austin's attorney Steven Decker claims the Austin's car was in a repair shop that night.

Austin's family and Decker maintain Austin's innocence. Said Decker:

"We definitely know that they have the wrong car...We believe this was an opportunity for the police because of the intense, personal nature of their investigation which they did in this matter, to use this as an opportunity to rustle up as many young men as they could from the West Side of Chicago in the hopes of finding someone they could charge."

This sentiment was echoed by neighborhood resident Charmaine Walker who told CBS 2, "They're coming into people's homes without a search warrant -- searching our homes looking for people, it's not right."