A Dallas jury has found a former bartender guilty of brutally attacking a Black woman while armed with a gun over three years ago, according to CBS News.
Austin Shuffield was convicted of obstruction and assault in the vicious attack on 27-year-old L'Daijohnique Lee in March 2019. Cellphone video captured by a witness shows Shuffield knocking Lee's cell phone out of her hand in a Deep Ellum parking lot as she was trying to call 911. She then punches him in the face, and he responds by dealing a sharp blow to her jaw. Shuffield is seen striking her four more times in the face and head.
The fight stemmed from Lee parking in a spot that night, blocking Shuffield from trying to leave, according to reporters. The bartender got out of his truck and asked her to move, but an argument broke out between the two. After the fight, the victim went to the hospital with a ruptured eardrum. She also accused him of calling her a racial slur, though Shuffield's lawyers argued against the incident being a hate crime.
Photo: Dallas County Sheriff's Department
The attack sparked national backlash and local protests as Lee was the only one charged for breaking Shuffield's rear window after their argument. The charges were later dropped, and Shuffield was fired from his bartending job at High and Tight Barbershop and Speakeasy.
Shuffield avoided the most serious charge against him: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The fired bartender accepted a plea bargain, meaning he will serve four days in Dallas County jail, another 90 days for a pending DWI case, and be on probation for up to four and a half years, per KXAS.
Lee gave a brief statement to reporters after the decision, saying, “It is what it is. At the end of the day, justice was served.”
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