HOUSTON – A man wanted by police after being charged in the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl this week outside a home in north Houston turned himself in to authorities overnight.
Irbin Vargas, 22, is charged with murder in the death of Lourdes Sandoval.
Houston police said Vargas turned himself in to members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force at the federal courthouse around 1 a.m. Saturday.
Houston police said someone who lives inside the home heard a gunshot and tires squealing. The person went outside and found Sandoval, 16, laying in the driveway with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
According to court records, Sandoval's friend was picking her up outside the home when Vargas approached Sandoval from behind, grabbed her by the shoulders and shot her in the face. Vargas then stepped over Sandoval's body and approached Sandoval's friend, who sped off in the vehicle and called 911, according to court records.
The sudden death of the teenager has left her family devastated and searching for answers.
“She was always a happy person. She liked to have her freedom and have fun," said Lourdes’ cousin, Eric.
Houston police released the mugshot of Vargas.
Family members said Vargas had been harassing Sandoval. Alejandra Garza, one of Sandoval’s cousins, said correspondence on social media between her cousin and Vargas paints a horrifying picture.
“He was obsessed with her. He showed her a picture of him pointing a gun to his head and he was saying, 'I don't know what I would do without you,'” Garza said.
But what's even more chilling, the family says, is another social media exchange where Vargas put a gun to Sandoval's head to force her to be with him.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Sandoval's funeral. Click here to donate.
