Ricardo Villalobos of San Benito is shown outside the San Benito News last October. (File photo)
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
A San Benito man is dead after being shot in the head in San Antonio on Thursday.
Twenty-two year-old Ricardo Ismael Villalobos was killed on the morning of April 5 at approximately 2:48 a.m. outside a convention center, two blocks south of the Alamo.
According to a San Antonio Police report, officers were dispatched to the scene after calls reported gunshots in the area. Upon arrival, the officer reported seeing two victims, one of whom was identified as Villalobos, on the sidewalk bleeding, at which point EMS was dispatched to the location.
Villalobos was pronounced dead on arrival by EMS at 2:56 am, while the other victim, identified as Andrew Vasquez who appeared to be in his 20s, had two gunshot wounds to the head, one to the chest, and one to the abdomen, but was still “conscious and responsive.”
His wounds did appear to be life threatening, and his condition was not immediately known as of presstime.
In the October 3, 2010 edition of the San Benito News, Villalobos was featured in an article detailing his turnaround from a life of crime as a gangster to a reborn Christian who dedicated his life to God.
“The turning point in my life was when I was on my way to commit another crime. That was when I was introduced to the gospel of Jesus,” said Villalobos in the article. “Yes, I was in an environment with alcohol and gangs, but several people had always tried to make me come into Jesus. I had always rejected it and never believed it.”
That all changed on March 21, 2009, when Villalobos became a dedicated member of “Outcry in the Barrio.”
Villalobos had moved to San Antonio in late December to live with his uncle and his cousin.
“He would go and talk to people, give them a testimonial,” said Cinthya Varela, Villalobos aunt. “He would go down Robertson Street and talk to people, and tell them his story about how he changed.”
According to Varela, Villalobos used to pick up homeless people from Robertson Street, bring them into his house to bathe, and buy them food and clothes.
“He used to preach and I would always go to the church. If I ever had a problem I would go to him,” said Varela. “He’s supposed to come to me because I’m the aunt, but I would go to him because he knew how to explain things to me. He would take out the Bible and tell me what scripture to read or he would read it to me.”
Varela said that Villalobos knew how to explain things in order to put her at ease. When asked about his mother, she said that she was too distraught to speak, describing the situation as the “worst Mother’s Day imaginable.”
“Now I believe there’s no emptiness in my life. As far as feeling rejected, feeling lonely or stressed, miserable or like there’s no purpose in my life; that’s all gone. Now I know there’s a purpose in my life, a fulfillment,” Villalobos said in October. “Drug addictions, crime addictions, and the addiction to want to do my own thing, it was driving me more and more into a state of hopelessness, but now I can feel like there are other kids and teenagers that are going through the same thing that I’m going through and need my help. And I believe that we as people that believe in Christ and what He did for us can change the community, because I’ve experience it in my life.”
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the May 8 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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