20-year-old man dead following Kingsland house party brawl
Francisco Reyes (left), 18, of Kingsland and Ryan Moore (right), 19, of Marble Falls were arrested and charged with manslaughter for their alleged involvement in a July 14 brawl that led to the death of 20-year-old David Michael Justus of Lakeway. Llano County Jail/Burnet County Jail photos
David Michael Justus, 20, of Lakeway died from injuries sustained during a July 14 party-turned-brawl at a home on Mesquite Drive in Kingsland. Two arrests have been made in the case so far and more are possible as the Llano County Sheriff’s Office investigation continues.
Francisco Reyes, 18, of Kingsland was arrested on July 23, and Ryan Moore, 19, of Marble Falls was arrested on July 29. Both have been charged with manslaughter in Justus’ death.
“(The investigation) is definitely not going as fast as I’d prefer, but we’re trying to make sure that we get every party that was involved in this,” LCSO Chief Deputy Brad Evans told DailyTrib.com. “We pretty much know what happened and why, but we still have people to talk to.”
According to Evans, Justus was attending the party at a home owned by a friend’s family when a fight broke out. He explained that different friend groups that were unfamiliar with each other clashed during the party.
Evans didn’t share what exactly started the fight but did say Justus was involved and struck his head on the concrete during the chaos.
Llano County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Mesquite Drive home at around 11 p.m. July 14 in response to a disturbance call and found Justus unresponsive.
He was transported to Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Marble Falls and later moved to Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple for treatment. Justus died on July 23.
Multiple people were involved in the fight that led to his death, Evans said, adding that the evidence so far points to Reyes and Moore.
The manslaughter charge each suspect faces is a second-degree felony that can come with sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $10,000.
Manslaughter is the charge when a death is caused by reckless behavior, according to Sec.19.04 of the Texas Penal Code.
Justus grew up in Lakeway and graduated from Lake Travis High School in 2023, according to his obituary. An excerpt from the obit written by his father, Dave, mother, Daya, and brother Dawson reads:
“Though his time with us was brief, his incredible passion for life and his unwavering charismatic spirit full of boundless curiosity and fun-loving energy will forever remain in our hearts. David brought immeasurable joy and light into our lives with his infectious love of adventure and 110 percent all-in approach to everything and everyone he encountered. He will leave an indelible mark on the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to know him.”