Texas law enforcement officials in Austin arrested a Travis County Assistant District Attorney on Saturday for allegedly pointing a revolver at his roommate after the prosecutor woke him up to help fix a porn-streaming issue, an affidavit says.
Joseph Francis Frederick III allegedly threatened his roommate with a firearm Saturday, and prosecutors charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony, according to CBS Austin. (RELATED: Austin Police Chief Resigns Amid Crime Spike, Cop Shortages)
The arrest affidavit states that the events unfolded after the prosecutor woke his roommate up for assistance with technical difficulties he encountered while trying to watch porn on TV, CBS Austin reported. After the problem was fixed, Frederick began to accuse the roommate of flirting with a visitor they had encountered earlier in the day, the affidavit says.
A Travis County assistant district attorney was arrested early Saturday morning after allegedly pointing a gun at a man he lived with during an argument that began over problems streaming pornography on a TVhttps://t.co/BcN7PnEDJs
— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) June 11, 2024
A verbal argument between the two reportedly escalated and led to the roommate returning to his bedroom. The prosecutor then allegedly inflicted damage onto the bedroom door the roommate was attempting to close, the affidavit reads. Later in the night, the roommate wanted to use the bathroom and found the assistant DA allegedly pointing a gun and threatening to shoot him, according to CBS Austin. (RELATED: Will The Police Even Answer The Phone?: ‘Defund’ Investigation Finds Austin Citizens In Distress)
The roommate recorded the encounter on his phone, and police said Frederick could be seen holding the gun, the outlet reported. Police said they recovered a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver from the scene, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Ty Wittenstein, an Austin attorney, said, “It’s a felony one and it involves a firearm, so especially him being a felony prosecutor, I can’t imagine him being allowed to keep his job, unfortunately,”
Frederick was released from Travis County Jail a day after his bail was set at $10,000, according to Fox 7 Austin.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office commented, “Our office will be reviewing the information on the case, and we do not have any further comment at this time,” according to CBS Austin. (RELATED: Soros-Backed DA Lets Pro-Palestinian Protestors Walk Scot-Free In Texas)
