A March 7, 2022 trial date has been scheduled for three individuals accused of kidnapping and killing a 39-year-old Brownsville man on Aug. 13, of this year.
Cameron County court documents reflect that Britny Nicole Perez, Sandra Yadira Reyna and Jose Luis Vasquez were indicted on Oct. 6 for causing the death of Jose Villarreal Jr. They are each indicted on one count of murder, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and one count of aggravated kidnapping.
Count one of the indictment states Perez, Reyna and Vasquez “intentionally or knowingly caused the death of” Jose Villarreal Jr., “by shooting Jose Villarreal Jr. with a firearm.” Count Two states they “collaborated in carrying on criminal activity, intentionally and knowingly commit the offense of theft.” Count Three states they restricted the movements of Villarreal “to interfere substantially with his liberty, by moving him from one place to another, with the intent to prevent his liberation, by secreting or holding him in a place where he was likely not to be found, and the Defendants did then and there use or exhibit a deadly weapon, namely a firearm, during the commission of the offense.”
According to the indictment, Vasquez and Reyna have previous convictions. Vasquez was convicted on one count of aggravated robbery, while Reyna was convicted on one count of possession of marijuana.
Vasquez was formally arraigned on the charges on Monday before 357th state District Court Judge Juan Magallanes and pleaded not guilty. Perez and Reyna will be arraigned on the charges on Friday also before Magallanes.
Villarreal is believed to have been lured to a location by two women he met on social media, then was kidnapped at gunpoint, forced to withdraw money from a bank account and later shot and killed, investigator Martin Sandoval, spokesman for the Brownsville Police Department said in a previous interview.
After luring Villarreal to the location and kidnapping him, the suspects drove around the city and stopped at various ATM locations where they forced Villarreal to withdraw money, Sandoval said investigators allege.
Villarreal was later shot and killed and his body was discovered on Father Mestas Street. Authorities are trying to determine if Villarreal was shot on Father Mestas Street or if he was killed somewhere else and then his body dumped at the location.
Sandoval said Villarreal and Perez were familiar with one another but were not acquaintances. Perez was not friends with Vasquez and Reyna.
It’s unknown how much money Villarreal was forced to withdraw police were to issue a subpoena to get his bank records.
According to a Brownsville PD incident report, Villarreal’s body was discovered by a man driving on Father Mestas Street who saw him lying face up on the side of the road. He at first thought it was one of his friends. The man said Villarreal was not moving and he had blood on his face.
The man “pointed out there were bullet casings on the roadway next to the sidewalk where the subject was laying,” the report read. According to the report “the male subject appeared to have been physically assaulted and there was bullet casings in the area.”
Villarreal was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy was ordered.
All three remain in custody.
