'Contract killer' drug dealer arrested for attempted murder over drug debt in East Austin

AUSTIN, Texas – Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of a man over a drug debt in east Austin.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting at 6017 Loyola Lane around 2:47 p.m. on May 21. The caller reported hearing gunshots in the area of ​​the Walnut Creek Hike and Bike Trail and later found a man being shot multiple times had been shot.

The responding officer said he observed a black man on the side of a dirt road with multiple gunshot wounds; two on the face, one in the left arm near the shoulder and several in the torso and stomach. The victim was later identified.

Before the victim lost consciousness, he told the officer that he knew the people who shot him. He was immediately transported by Austin-Travis County EMS to Dell Seton Hospital in critical condition and placed in an induced coma and intubated May 21-23.

On May 24, the officer met with the victim to obtain additional information. However, the victim had multiple breathing and suction tubes that prevented him from giving detailed answers, so the officer only asked “yes” or “no” questions. The officer returned four days later for a second interview. The victim had just undergone a tracheostomy and could only write short sentences to respond.

Based on both interviews, the victim said he was a frequent drug user and worked small jobs around North Lamar Boulevard. He owes a man named CJ $300 in narcotics. The victim explained that CJ had previously sent people to collect the money. He said in one case, about three weeks before the shooting, a Hispanic man demanded money he owed at gunpoint.

He told the officer that on the day of the shooting, he was walking near the Jack in the Box restaurant on North Lamar Boulevard at lunchtime when an acquaintance known only as Darrell pulled up next to the victim in an older red four-door car Sedan, possibly a Buick or Oldsmobile, with rust everywhere. He described Darrell as a tall, powerfully built black man with gray hair styled in “twists” or dreadlocks.

Darrell told the victim he had a buyer for a power converter the victim owned and Darrell could drive him there. So the victim got into the vehicle and Darrell drove him to 6017 Loyola Lane. He pulls into the gravel off the main road behind a white SUV. Darrell exited the vehicle and spoke to the SUV driver.

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He returned to the victim and asked him to speak to the driver about the power converter. As soon as the victim got out of the vehicle, Darrell quickly drove away and that's when the victim saw the driver, a black woman with a short black afro hairstyle, and then realized that the passenger was the same black/Hispanic male who threatened him with a gun .

The Hispanic male argued with the victim for a few minutes before exiting the vehicle, walking around the vehicle toward the victim and then saying, “I got you!” I told you!” He then pulled out a gun and fired several times at the victim at close range before fleeing the area.

The victim believes Darrell lured him into his vehicle under the guise of selling an electrical converter and “prepared” him to be shot by the Hispanic man.

The victim told the officer he knew where the shooter lived because his girlfriend lived in the same apartment complex and had seen him multiple times. After a tour of the complex, it was determined that the shooter actually lived there with his mother. He was identified as 33-year-old Jose Anthony Vega-Martinez.

The officer learned that Vega-Martinez had been arrested on May 29 on multiple warrants for a series of commercial burglaries. The victim later identified Vega-Martinez as the shooter in a photo and said, “100% sure.”

Police later conducted an undercover operation at the intersection of Waxwing Court and Thurmond Drive and ultimately observed a man, later identified as Calvin “CJ” Chisolm, 32, engaging in hand-to-hand transactions related to drug sales other men.

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Officers initiated a traffic stop after CJ was observed driving away in the passenger seat of a silver Jeep. During a search of the Jeep and both occupants, officers found a black Smith & Wesson M&P Shielf 45 pistol between the driver's seat and the center console, and a black Taurus OZC 9mm pistol under the passenger seat where CJ had been sitting.

Officers also found 3 grams of cocaine and marijuana on CJ and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

Officers observed that CJ had several tattoos, indicating that he was a member of the “Crips” gang.

Officers applied for a search warrant for CJ's phone on June 14 and found messages between Vega-Martinez and CJ demanding money for the sale of narcotics, including CJ's name Cashapp.

After multiple interviews with victims, witnesses and suspects and based on the evidence collected, police believe that Calvin Chisolm contracted Jose Vega-Martinez and paid him $400 to kill the victim over a drug debt. Police determined that the Cashapp transaction was made approximately 40 minutes after Jose shot the victim and Jose paid Darrell for his role in luring the victim.

Darrell told police he didn't know Jose was going to shoot the victim and thought “he had a body attached to his soul,” suggesting he believed the victim had been murdered. He admitted to police that he used the “blood money” because he “didn't have any” and “was hungry” and he “has no defense for that.”

Calvin was booked into the Travis County Jail on Oct. 15 on $775,000 bail. He faces a charge of murder and a third-degree felony charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Vega-Martinez has been in the Travis County Jail since May 29 and is facing 29 charges, including murder in conspiracy, 21 counts of burglary of a building, two counts of evading arrest, one count of resisting arrest, search or transportation and three counts of county felony expulsion and one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. His total bond is $1,908,000.