HOUSTON, Texas – A 29-year-old Houston man who shot to death the teen he preyed upon has since been sentenced to more than 70 years in prison this week.
Irbin Vargas was found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Lourdes Sandoval outside of her home on Sept. 12, 2018.
Recommended Videos
Vargas, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, had a relationship with Sandoval for about a year. She wanted to make a clean break from him, according to her friends and family, after he threatened her life and put a gun to her head.
“No one should ever lose their life to domestic violence, and this case is especially tragic because this woman was so young and had so much to live for—we mourn her loss with her family,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
On the night of the murder, Vargas and Sandoval were texting each other. She told him over text that she no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. About five minutes later, she was walking out of her Greenspoint-area home to meet a friend waiting in a car.
The friend watched Sandoval walk out of the townhouse and then saw Vargas appear from the shadows to attack her from behind, shooting her in the head, and killing her.
Vargas then fled and was later arrested by Houston police officers.
Vargas was convicted of murder in a five-day trial in November. He opted to go to the judge for punishment and was sentenced Tuesday to 75 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Philip White, who is a chief in the Homicide Division of the DA’s Office, prosecuted Vargas with ADA Matthew Magill, who is assigned to the Trial Bureau.
“He was a 22-year-old predator who worked to get close to a teenage girl,” White said. “Five minutes after she told him that it was over for good, he killed her.”
Vargas must serve at least 30 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole.