Insets, left to right: Andrew Farias (GoFundMe) and Chad Lee-Gardner (Travis County Jail). Background: The home where Lee-Gardner allegedly killed Farias during the latter's high school graduation party (KTBC)
A Texas mother whose 18-year-old son was shot and killed last year during his own high school graduation party is speaking out against the county's criminal justice system after learning the accused was released following two bond reductions not once, but twice.
Chad Lee-Gardner was arrested in May 2025 and is currently facing one count of murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the fatal shooting of Andrew Farias.
Following the arrest, Lee-Gardner was initially ordered to be held on $1 million bond. Farias' mother told Austin-based Fox affiliate KTBC last week that the bond amount for the man accused or murdering her son had been slashed by 80%. Earlier this week, she learned that Lee-Gardner had posted the required amount and been released.
"I'm still furious about the situation," Farias' mother, Shannon Vasquez, told the station. "I'm angry because my child doesn't get another chance at life, but the person who is accused of taking my son's life, he gets that other chance."
Vasquez said Lee-Gardner's bond was first lowered to $350,000 and then again to $200,000. She added that watching the court repeatedly lower the amount somehow felt like it was "degrading" her son's life "like it's just absolutely nothing."
"It's like reliving the day that I got the phone call that Andrew had been shot. It is completely upsetting in every, every way," she told the station. "I knew just in a matter of days, you know, weeks that there was going to become a time where they, you know, that bond money was, you know, put up and he was going to be released."
Court documents show Lee-Gardner's defense attorney argued that his client's bond amount had been "excessive, oppressive, and … in violation of the U.S. Constitution."
As conditions of his release, the defendant is required to remain on house arrest and wear a GPS tracking monitor. He is also prohibited from having any contact with the victim's family.
But the victim's mother said such conditions are not enough to make her feel safe.
"Being on house arrest and being on an ankle monitor doesn't mean anything," she said. "Those are things that you agree to follow rules, and coming from someone who murdered my son, there was a lot of rules in life that he should have followed and he chose not to."
The shooting
As Law&Crime previously reported, the shooting took place at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 2025, at the home of a relative who was hosting Farias' high school graduation party. The residence is on Rocky Road in Uhland, about 25 miles south of Austin.
Police responding to multiple 911 calls about a shooting found an 18-year-old male who appeared to have sustained at least one gunshot wound. The victim — later identified as Farias — was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a report from KTBC, Farias had just graduated from San Marcos High School the previous day and his aunt was throwing a party for him at her home on the night of May 25, 2025. The party reportedly began at around 10 p.m. with more than 100 people showing up over the course of the night.
The homeowner, identified as Farias' aunt, told police that they started clearing people from the property at about 1 a.m., which is when witnesses said two female partygoers got into a fight.
A witness told police that the fight started because some girls in a group were "making faces" and talking about other girls at the party, leading to a confrontation, which Farias' aunt tried to break up. At some point during the altercation, Lee-Gardner "jumped in" and struck Farias' aunt in the head with a handgun. Farias then attempted to intervene, which is when authorities say Lee-Gardner fired two shots, striking Farias at least once.
Authorities reportedly said that the incident was recorded by at least one partygoer and clearly shows that Lee-Gardner was the shooter.
Mariana De Luna, Farias' girlfriend, told San Antonio Fox affiliate KABB that he died in her arms.
"I'm glad he knew I was with him till the very end," she told the station.