Murder charges filed in 2008 Tulare gang-related shooting of 21-year-old man
Homicide charges have been filed against a 34-year-old man in connection with the 2008 shooting of Hernan Diaz.
Luis Villarreal, 34, is charged with one count of murder with the special allegations that he discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury, that he possesses multiple prior strikes and violent felony convictions, and that he was on felony probation when the offense was committed.
Villarreal has a prior 2007 felony conviction of assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records.
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The victim was shot and killed on Aug. 12, 2008. Villarreal is accused of shooting the 21-year-old man multiple times through a bedroom window in the 1300 block of East Birch Street with a .40 caliber handgun as part of a gang hit, DA investigators said.
The Tulare Police Department collected evidence and interviews, but no arrests were made at the time.
In 2019, the Tulare County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigations formed a Cold Case Homicide Unit with the help of several local law enforcement agencies. A potential lead was discovered through the testing of DNA, and Villarreal was identified as the shooter, according to police.
"This case represents the success law enforcement can have solving cases that have grown stale over time," DA officials stated in a press release.
Villarreal was in jail, serving time for a misdemeanor conviction.
He was arraigned on the new charges on Monday and pleaded not guilty. He is currently held without bail.
Sheyanne Romero is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network and manages content for the Salinas Californian.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Murder charges filed against shooter in 2008 Tulare cold case
