Waco teen gets 40 years in prison in drug robbery killing
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - One of four teenagers charged in the October 2020 shooting death and drug-related robbery of Jatron Lavar Thomas was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday.
Pablo Joaquin Villarreal, 19, pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to three concurrent, 40-year prison sentences.
Villarreal was indicted on a capital murder charge in April 2021. However, prosecutors Ryan Calvert and Christi Hunting Horse reduced that to murder as part of the plea agreement with Villarreal, who must serve at least 20 years in prison before he can seek parole.
Villarreal was 17 at the time of the offenses, so, legally, he could not be subjected to the death penalty or a life prison term with no possibility for parole.
The capital murder charges against his co-defendants, Ocie Bernett, Onobia Bernett, and Jamarion Campbell, remain pending.
Under questioning from Calvert Wednesday, Villarreal admitted that he and Campbell called the 21-year-old Thomas to set up a drug buy. Ocie Bernett waited in the car after dropping them off in the 2600 block of South 14th Street. They met Thomas to buy marijuana and then Villarreal pulled a .45-caliber pistol and Campbell brandished a .40-caliber pistol. Both shot Thomas, Villarreal told 19th State District Judge Thomas West.
Police reported Ocie Bernett, who was 18 at the time, Campbell, who was 19, and Villarreal were linked to an attempted aggravated robbery earlier in the evening and later to Thomas’ shooting death by video cameras and navigation tracking on Bernett’s gray Dodge Charger.
The robbery victim told police he was lured to the Walmart in Bellmead by someone who said he wanted to buy his car, according to Waco police arrest records.
Villarreal said Wednesday that he got out of Bernett’s car, pulled a pistol and tried to steal the man’s car. The victim fled and Bernett picked him up, he said.
After Thomas was shot later in the evening, witnesses told police they saw a gray car flee the area, according to an arrest affidavit. Before they fled, Villarreal said they took drugs and a pistol from Thomas and left him lying in a yard.
Ocie Bernett then drove them to San Antonio, Villarreal told the judge.
In a victim-impact statement following Villarreal’s sentencing, Thomas’ mother told Villarreal he has caused her family a lot of pain, adding, “I’m OK and I’m not OK.”
“I forgive you son,” she said. “I truly forgive you and I’m sorry that you have to go through this and I’m sorry that you made such a mistake.”
Villarreal’s attorney, Russ Hunt, said Villarreal endured a horrific childhood that included abuse. Hunt said he also was kidnapped by “gangsters” and made to work for a drug cartel for a time.
“His was just a horrible, horrible life,” Hunt said. “It’s just a sad situation. But the problem is he winds up in a situation where somebody gets killed in the process of a robbery, so he has to go to prison. I know what he did was wrong, but I truly feel sorry for the kid because of his horrible upbringing.”
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