Two Gang Members Sentenced to Life for Killing 11-Year-Old in Mistaken Identity Shooting Outside Baseball Game

Froylan Villegas, 11, was killed and his cousin Tatiana Villegas paralyzed

Two gang members have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas, who was shot and killed in a tragic case of mistaken identity while riding in his family’s vehicle outside a baseball game in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On September 6, 2023, Froylan was seated in the back of a white Dodge pickup truck with his mother, infant brother, and 23-year-old cousin, Tatiana Villegas, after attending an Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game. As the family drove near the stadium, gang members Jose Romero, 23, and Nathen Garley, 22, fired more than a dozen rounds from their Dodge Durango, believing they were targeting a rival gang member involved in an earlier dispute.

Froylan Villegas was shot in the head

The gunfire entered through the sunroof and windows of the family’s vehicle, striking Froylan in the head. He died at the scene. Tatiana was also hit multiple times and has since been left paralyzed from the chest down. Froylan’s mother and baby brother were not physically injured in the attack.

Authorities confirmed that the shooters mistook the family’s vehicle for that of a rival gang member. The case was described as a senseless and heartbreaking act of violence fueled by gang retaliation.

Romero and Garley were convicted in February on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, shooting at a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence. On June 16, both men were sentenced to life in prison plus 46 years.

Jose Romero, 22 (left); Nathen Garley, 23 (right)

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman stated the verdict brings a measure of justice to Froylan’s family. "We hope this sentence provides some sort of peace and justice to the family after this unimaginable loss," he said.

Tatiana Villegas, who survived the attack, expressed her relief at the sentencing. “We're very happy as a family that we got justice for Froylan and me. That's what matters. The rest we leave in God's hands. We're glad to close this chapter and move on,” she said.

Prosecutors credited surveillance footage, forensic ballistic evidence, and eyewitness accounts for helping secure the convictions.

The shooting had far-reaching consequences. On September 7, 2023, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order declaring gun violence a public health emergency. The next day, she enacted a 30-day ban on the open and concealed carrying of firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. The order was later revised on September 15 to suspend the carrying of firearms specifically in parks and playgrounds in those areas.