On August 13, 2021, 39-year-old Jose Villarreal Jr., a Hispanic man from Brownsville, Texas, was lured by two women he had met on social media, kidnapped at gunpoint, and forced to withdraw money from his bank account at multiple ATMs around the city. After the suspects took the money, Villarreal was shot and killed; his body was later found on Father Mestas Street.

The investigation produced arrests of three people: Jose Luis Vasquez Jr., Britny Nicole Perez, and Sandra Yadira Reyna. Vasquez and Perez were arrested in August 2021; Reyna was arrested in September 2021. All three were charged with murder, engaging in organized criminal activity, and aggravated kidnapping. Vasquez had a prior conviction for aggravated robbery and Reyna had a prior conviction for possession of marijuana.

In August 2022 a Cameron County jury found Jose Luis Vasquez Jr. guilty of murder and aggravated kidnapping; he received life for murder and 55 years for aggravated kidnapping. Perez and Reyna had their charges dismissed after cooperating with the district attorney’s office and testifying against Vasquez. Anyone with information about Villarreal or the events leading up to August 13, 2021, is asked to come forward.