Plano

Man Accused in Deep Ellum Beating Faces New DWI Charge

Man awaiting trial on assault case apparently violates conditions of his bond when arrested for DWI

Austin Shuffield
Collin County Jail

A former Deep Ellum bartender caught on camera punching a woman earlier this year is facing a new charge of driving while intoxicated after he was arrested in Plano earlier this month, court documents show.

Austin Shuffield was arrested and charged with a DWI on Dec. 2 in Collin County and posted bond Wednesday. The DWI violated the conditions of his bond, which included not to drink or use drugs. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released.

Shuffield was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury last month on two felonies and two misdemeanors. A trial date for the assault case has not been set.

Shuffield was accused in March of beating L'Daijohnique Lee in a parking lot outside a Deep Ellum bar. A bystander recorded video of the incident that was soon shared online.

Police said Shuffield confronted Lee after the woman pulled into the parking lot to avoid driving the wrong way on one-way Elm Street. In the video, the man can be seen slapping the woman's phone out of her hand. She retaliates and hits him once; the man then punches her five times before walking away and kicking her phone.

Dallas Police have arrested a man who they say was involved in an argument in a Deep Ellum parking lot. The argument was caught on video by witnesses and shows the man punching a woman at least five times.

In a news conference in March, Lee said she suffered a concussion in the attack and other injuries including swelling in her jaw, a black eye and an injury to her ear. Her attorney, Lee Merritt, said at the time she had been to the emergency room three times since the attack and had received referrals to a facial surgeon and a psychiatrist.

Lee said Shuffield walked around her car, photographed her license plate and may have learned where she lived. Merritt said his client felt unsafe inside her home and had been staying in a hotel. Merritt said in March the gun Shuffield was seen carrying in the video, his use of a racial slur and past social media posts all supported making the case against him a hate crime.

The attorneys representing Austin Shuffield, the man accused of a beating caught on camera in Deep Ellum, appeared in court Friday and offered the first public defense of their client.
Contact Us