Joel Villarreal was 43 when he was shot and killed on the evening of March 28, 2023, after trying to intervene in an armed robbery at the Lighthouse Smoke and Vape shop in a strip center at 7550 Long Point Road in Houston, Texas. Two or three armed suspects robbed the store about 6:45 p.m.; as they fled, Villarreal, a bystander, confronted them and a shootout erupted in the parking lot. A passing certified nursing assistant found him with a pulse; paramedics took him to a hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

Houston police quickly developed leads and made multiple arrests. On April 6, 2023, investigators arrested 19-year-old Andres Lara and 20-year-old Daniel Medrano, charging both with capital murder. Additional arrests followed: 19-year-old Arnez Markel Semien and 17-year-old Jonathan Lopez were charged on April 27, and in May 2023 17-year-old Isaiah Medrano was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and jailed on a $2 million bond. Court records note Daniel Medrano was out on a $400,000 bond for a separate capital murder charge from September 2022 at the time of this shooting.

If anyone saw the robbery or the suspects in the Long Point Road area on March 28, 2023, can you share what you remember?