A 50-year-old Austin man faces an attempted first-degree murder charge after allegedly telling his landlord “I’m going to kill you” and stabbing him three times, including a wound that punctured his lung.
The stabbing happened Wednesday afternoon at an apartment building on 3rd Street NW in Austin.
Aubrey Lee Ushera faces charges of attempted first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree assault. The charges were filed Thursday in Mower County District Court.
According to the criminal complaint, Austin police were dispatched to the 800 block of 3rd Street NW around 2:25 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a stabbing. The victim, Ushera’s landlord, called dispatch and said his tenant had stabbed him twice. He told dispatchers he was walking himself to the hospital.
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An officer met the victim at the hospital and observed three stab wounds: one on his left upper arm near the shoulder that was about three to five inches long, one on the inside of his left bicep that was about an inch long and a wound on his upper back near his left lung that was about three to five inches long. The back wound was the most serious and medical staff believed his lung had been punctured. The victim had also lost a significant amount of blood, the complaint says.
Medical staff initially prepared to transfer the victim to Saint Mary’s Hospital but determined he needed emergency surgery at the local hospital instead.
The victim later told a detective that he had gone to his rental building to fix a leaky pipe in the hallway. He said Ushera had locked him out of the building prior to that day and that he had called police about it. The victim said Ushera had also sent him text messages threatening to kill him the previous week, according to court records.
The victim said he was able to get into the building through a back door and began working on the pipe down the hallway from Ushera’s apartment. He left briefly to buy a fitting at Runnings, and when he returned, his tools were missing. He said Ushera then came out of his apartment, walked straight at him and said, “I’m going to kill you,” the complaint states.
The victim said he was trapped and that Ushera stabbed him in the chest. When the victim tried to escape down the stairs, Ushera stabbed him in the back. The victim said he had nothing in his hands when he was attacked.
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A Mower County sheriff’s deputy spotted Ushera standing on the sidewalk on 3rd Street, waving his arm and yelling as the deputy drove past. When the deputy turned around, Ushera was walking away from the apartment building. He was yelling frantically and appeared very upset, according to court records.
The deputy asked if he was OK, and Ushera sat down on the sidewalk and put his hands behind his back. He told the deputy his landlord had tried to stab him with a screwdriver “but he got him first.” He said he had stabbed the man and claimed he was defending himself. The deputy observed blood on Ushera’s right pant leg, and Ushera confirmed it was his landlord’s blood, the complaint says.
Officers arrived and placed Ushera in handcuffs. After being read his Miranda rights, Ushera agreed to speak with officers. He said he had ongoing issues with his landlord over locks on the building and his apartment. He said he had installed his own locks, which upset the landlord, leading to several arguments.
Ushera told officers that on Wednesday, the two were arguing about the locks and the landlord pulled a screwdriver on him. He said that made him very upset because he had previously been stabbed in the neck and gets defensive when someone pulls a weapon on him. Ushera said he went back inside his apartment, grabbed a knife, then went back out to the hallway where the landlord was, according to the complaint.
Court records show Ushera has two prior felony convictions in Mower County. In 2022, he was convicted of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and first-degree damage to property stemming from a July 2021 incident. In 2018, he was convicted of terroristic threats related to an August 2017 incident. He also has misdemeanor convictions for fifth-degree assault and fourth-degree damage to property.
The attempted first-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
