Ginger Man

AUSTIN MAN just had his murder charge dismissed by Travis County prosecutors, three years after he killed a man in a robbery. APD charged Christian Alba, then 17, with capital murder and set bond at $1 million. By October the capital murder was reduced to plain murder and the bond cut to $390,000. While in jail waiting on trial, Alba and four other inmates cornered a 17-year-old in a hallway at the Del Valle jail and held up a blanket to block the guards' view while they beat him. He was charged with assault and unlawful restraint. Both cases are still pending today, almost three years later. He bonded out in February 2024. His murder trial in September 2025 ended in a mistrial. This past May, the court removed his curfew entirely. Then on July 4, 2026, he filled a Nike backpack with 30 boxes of Winchester .300 Blackout ammunition at the Academy Sports on Brodie Lane and walked out. Surveillance caught the ankle monitor on his leg. He was under a court order not to possess firearms, of course. An APD homicide detective recognized him on sight. Arrested July 17, out on bond 2 days later. Yesterday prosecutors cleared the board. Both murder charges dismissed. Aggravated robbery knocked down to robbery, 7 years probation. Unauthorized use of a vehicle, 180 days. A man is dead, and the only jail time anyone will serve for any of it is 180 days for a stolen car.