Emotions run high as man sentenced to 26 1/2 years for gang-related killing

Hard feelings spilled out of the courtroom Friday in the case of a fatal 2010 shooting that exposed limits on the "don’t snitch" mentality that permeates Yakima’s street gangs. Tomas Villegas, 27, was sentenced to 261⁄2 years in prison by Yakima County Superior Court Judge Michael McCarthy, who bluntly told the defendant "You’ve thrown your life away." "It’s insane. It’s absolutely insane," he went on to say to Villegas, referring to the gang culture. "Not sure what the solution is, but part of it is your incarceration." The sentence was part of a plea bargain that Villegas reached mid-trial last month for his role in the slaying of David Duarte. Duarte, 39, died from a gunshot wound to the head as he was riding in a car with his 15-year-old nephew, a gang member whom police say was the real target of the attack. The plea bargain and guilty plea abruptly ended Villegas’ jury trial in early March when another defendant reached a deal with prosecutors in exchange for testifying against Villegas. That testimony was critical, as it undercut Villegas’ claims that he was not involved in the shooting and that he had alibi witnesses to prove it. Prosecutors said the shooting was the culmination of bad blood between two Norteño gangs — North Side Villains (NSV) and La Raza — stemming from the murder of La Raza member Leonardo A. Perez in 2009. Villegas, despite belonging to a Sureño gang called the Pot Head Society, was friends with Perez and intent on retaliating against NSV enemies, prosecutors alleged. That chance occurred just before midnight on March 5, 2010, when Duarte and his nephew, NSV member Cristino Tejada, stopped to buy snacks at the am/pm gas station on the corner of South 16th and Washington avenues. Tejada told police he encountered rival gang members at the gas station and that someone in a white Cadillac opened fire on his car as they drove down 16th Avenue. The prosecution’s largely circumstantial case against Villegas got a huge boost when the alleged driver of the Cadillac and a third occupant agreed to turn state’s evidence during the trial. Both sides agreed Duarte was not a gang member, a fact the judge referenced Friday. "The victim in this case ... was only getting beer," McCarthy said, adding, "He was just in the wrong car at the wrong time at the wrong place." The hearing got off to an unsteady start after McCarthy ejected several young men in the back row of the packed courtroom for allegedly throwing gang signs. Then, friends and relatives on both sides clashed repeatedly on their way out of the courtroom in the basement of the Yakima County jail. Amid a heavy show of force, it took more than 20 minutes for jail personnel, with assistance from Yakima police, to clear the building and parking lot of the two groups. No arrests were made. Several court officials said it was the worst display of hard feelings and brazen gang behavior in a courtroom setting they had seen in years.