Villegas family speaks out following arrest of suspects in boy’s death
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — While officers closed in on suspects, the Villegas family is still mourning the loss of 11-year-old Froylan, and adjusting to their new normal as Tatiana Villegas – his cousin who was also shot – recovers in the hospital.
Tatiana’s dad, Luis Fernando Villegas, told KOB 4 he has more peace of mind now that the suspects have been arrested, but there is still a lot of anger regarding the shooting.
Police have arrested Jose Romero, Nathen Garley, and Daniel Gomez.
“We were very skeptical at first as to them being obtained and by some grace of God this happened, but we are so happy this has happened,” said Angelica Amaro, a friend of the family. “We just want justice to be served and for them to remain behind bars until they go to court.”
“The shooting was like revenge, it sounded like it was revenge,” Luis said. “Now the police are telling us it was a mix-up. We are very thankful to all of the police in Albuquerque that did a great job, and it gave us some peace.”
The Villegas family is still mourning the loss of 11-year-old Froylan, and adjusting to their new normal as Tatiana Villegas recovers in the hospital.
Tatiana’s father says he’s just thankful they’re off the streets and can’t harm any other families.
“Thank God that they have gotten the ones responsible,” Luis said. “Now we feel more comfortable, more at peace because we felt a lot of anguish and were worried they would do something again. At least now we have some peace.”
Despite the progress in the investigation, he says they will never be the same. Tatiana is waiting to see if she will ever be able to walk again.
“She is still very sad, really sad, and we are still waiting for the results from doctors about the recovery of her legs,” Luis said.
Amaron says the family is still angry and having a hard time coming to terms with what happened.
“Even though it was a case of mistaken identity of the vehicles, that is still not OK,” Amaro said. “Just because it was a mistake in identity does not forgive what they have done to the family. They’ve changed families’ lives and not for the better.”
The family says these arrests will not bring Froylan back or make things better for Tatiana, but they hope justice will be served.