thedrifter
08-30-05, 06:39 AM
Marine shot to death in Juárez
Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times
A U.S. Marine recruiter from El Paso who served two tours in Iraq was shot and killed early Monday morning during a roadway dispute in Juárez.
Sgt. Heber Villagran, 23, was leaving a nightclub in the ProNaF tourist area with other Marines before 2 a.m. when an argument began with a group of men inside a sport utility vehicle that blocked their path while walking, Chihuahua state investigators and Marine officials said.
A beer bottle was thrown at the vehicle, whose front-seat passenger then fired multiple shots toward Villagran, a state police spokeswoman said. Juárez police said they found five shells from a .40-caliber handgun. An investigation continues.
It was unlikely Villagran threw the bottle because he was known for being friendly and very responsible, said his relatives, who gathered Monday evening outside his parent's South-Central El Paso apartment decorated with a U.S. flag on the window.
"He was the type of guy to walk away from something. He had seen a lot worse," brother-in-law Gilbert Gay said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Villagran was a 2000 graduate of Jefferson High School, where he excelled in Junior ROTC, his family said. Upon graduation, he joined the Marine Corps. He worked as a mechanic at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was deployed to Iraq at the start of the war and then again last year, completing his second stint in December.
"It's different than when he was in Iraq. In Iraq, you sort of expected something," said Villagran's sister Cruz Rosales, 24, while displaying a photo of her only brother in the Iraqi desert. "You would think over there (in Iraq) it's dangerous. And over here (in Juárez), it's probably worse."
"He was a real good Marine," said Capt. John McCalmont of the Marine recruiting headquarters in Albuquerque. In April, Villagran was assigned to the Marine recruiting office in West El Paso, McCalmont said. The office was closed Monday.
"He liked everything about the Marines," Rosales said. "He wanted to recruit for the Marines because he knew the Marines were a good thing."
Villagran is survived by his parents and an older and a younger sister. He is the fourth El Paso-area resident killed in Juárez this year.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
El Paso Times reporter Tammy Fonce-Olivas contributed to this story.
Ellie
Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times
A U.S. Marine recruiter from El Paso who served two tours in Iraq was shot and killed early Monday morning during a roadway dispute in Juárez.
Sgt. Heber Villagran, 23, was leaving a nightclub in the ProNaF tourist area with other Marines before 2 a.m. when an argument began with a group of men inside a sport utility vehicle that blocked their path while walking, Chihuahua state investigators and Marine officials said.
A beer bottle was thrown at the vehicle, whose front-seat passenger then fired multiple shots toward Villagran, a state police spokeswoman said. Juárez police said they found five shells from a .40-caliber handgun. An investigation continues.
It was unlikely Villagran threw the bottle because he was known for being friendly and very responsible, said his relatives, who gathered Monday evening outside his parent's South-Central El Paso apartment decorated with a U.S. flag on the window.
"He was the type of guy to walk away from something. He had seen a lot worse," brother-in-law Gilbert Gay said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Villagran was a 2000 graduate of Jefferson High School, where he excelled in Junior ROTC, his family said. Upon graduation, he joined the Marine Corps. He worked as a mechanic at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was deployed to Iraq at the start of the war and then again last year, completing his second stint in December.
"It's different than when he was in Iraq. In Iraq, you sort of expected something," said Villagran's sister Cruz Rosales, 24, while displaying a photo of her only brother in the Iraqi desert. "You would think over there (in Iraq) it's dangerous. And over here (in Juárez), it's probably worse."
"He was a real good Marine," said Capt. John McCalmont of the Marine recruiting headquarters in Albuquerque. In April, Villagran was assigned to the Marine recruiting office in West El Paso, McCalmont said. The office was closed Monday.
"He liked everything about the Marines," Rosales said. "He wanted to recruit for the Marines because he knew the Marines were a good thing."
Villagran is survived by his parents and an older and a younger sister. He is the fourth El Paso-area resident killed in Juárez this year.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
El Paso Times reporter Tammy Fonce-Olivas contributed to this story.
Ellie