Austin Salinas, a 19-year-old man, was killed in Beeville, Texas, during the early morning hours of August 1, 2018, after a dispute that began several hours earlier over a planned drug transaction. Court testimony later established that Salinas and his friend Eryne Garcia had communicated through Snapchat with Regan Jaso about selling marijuana for $300.
Garcia testified that he and Salinas instead decided to take the money without delivering the marijuana, in part because Salinas had recently been involved in a fight with Logan Harvey, who was among the people gathered at Greg Allen Bohac’s residence that night. After the money was handed through the passenger window of Salinas’s white Dodge Challenger, Garcia drove away. According to Garcia, Salinas soon became uneasy about what had happened and wanted to return the money, but Garcia discouraged him from doing so.
Back at Bohac’s residence, the group realized the money had been taken. Testimony showed that Bohac collected firearms and ammunition before leaving with Jaso, Harvey, Caleb Abel, Cameron Lerma and Quinton Alsobrook in his truck. The group spent hours looking for Salinas, first going to his grandmother’s residence and later meeting other people at a Whataburger in an effort to obtain directions. Evidence at trial indicated that Bohac had brought multiple weapons, including a Tec-9 and a. 357 revolver, while a Ruger 9mm was also retrieved from the truck. Eventually, after 1 a.m., the group found Salinas’s residence.
Once there, several members of the group approached Salinas’s Challenger. Alsobrook testified that Lerma took his pocketknife and used it to release air from one of the car’s tires. Salinas then came outside and confronted the group about what they were doing. Jaso testified that Bohac was directly in front of Salinas when Bohac opened fire. Alsobrook gave a similar account, saying the porch light allowed him to clearly see Bohac draw a firearm from his waist and shoot toward Salinas five to seven times in rapid succession. He recalled seeing Salinas clutch his chest or torso and stumble backward. The group immediately ran back to Bohac’s truck and fled.
Garcia testified that Salinas called him at approximately 3 a.m., screaming that “Logan and them” had gotten him. Garcia said Salinas sounded as though he was choking on blood. By the time Garcia reached Salinas’s home, police were already there. Meanwhile, officers encountered Bohac’s truck as the group was leaving the area. Witnesses testified that firearms were thrown from the moving vehicle shortly before police stopped them. Alsobrook said he saw Bohac and Lerma discard two guns, while Bohac himself later acknowledged throwing a firearm from the truck.
Bohac disputed the prosecution witnesses’ version of the actual shooting. At his eventual trial, he claimed he had armed himself because he was concerned about what might happen while the group attempted to recover its money. Bohac testified that while he was near a neighboring property, Salinas suddenly pointed a gun toward him and fired first. Bohac said he returned fire because he feared for his life and continued pulling the trigger until he no longer believed he was in danger. He maintained that he had not intended to kill anyone and claimed he did not realize someone had been injured until police detained him. The jury was presented with that account along with testimony from Jaso and Alsobrook and surveillance footage from a neighboring property. The appellate court later noted that the video showed Bohac cautiously crossing the neighbor’s yard while pointing a firearm in front of him before the fatal confrontation.
Bohac was ultimately charged with Salinas’s murder. His jury trial in Bee County’s 156th District Court began on September 22, 2022. Prosecutors argued that the hours spent searching for Salinas, Bohac’s decision to gather guns and ammunition beforehand, and the testimony that he fired repeatedly at Salinas showed an intentional killing rather than an impulsive act of self-defense. The jury convicted Bohac of murder and rejected his attempt during the punishment phase to establish that he had acted under “sudden passion,” a finding that could have reduced the offense for sentencing purposes. On September 26, 2022, Bohac received a sentence of 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Alsobrook also faced criminal consequences in connection with Salinas’s death. He testified that he had been indicted for murder but reached an agreement with prosecutors under which, in exchange for his testimony in Bohac’s case, he would receive deferred adjudication for manslaughter. His testimony became an important part of the prosecution’s account because he described the group’s arrival at Salinas’s home, the tampering with the Challenger’s tire, Bohac’s approach toward Salinas and the burst of gunfire that followed.
Bohac appealed his conviction, arguing that prosecutors had failed to prove he intended to kill Salinas and challenging the jury’s rejection of his sudden-passion claim. On August 10, 2023, the Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals affirmed the murder conviction and 20-year sentence. The appellate court concluded that the jury was entitled to infer intent from Bohac’s repeated firing of a deadly weapon and could reasonably reject his claim that the shooting resulted from sudden passion or justified fear. Bohac then sought discretionary review from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but that request was refused on October 18, 2023. The appellate mandate was issued in November 2023, leaving his murder conviction and sentence in place.
