A Texas man was slapped with a 35-year prison term for gunning down two men outside a North Austin sports bar in 2022, officials said. Edgar Alejandro Barahona, 22, was found guilty by a Travis County jury on Monday for the shooting deaths of Juan Carlos Loarca-Villatoro, 26, and Heliodoro Arias-Flores, 28, during a violent altercation on January 2022, as reported by KXAN.
On the night of the fatal shooting, Barahona was at Ojos Locos Sports Cantina parking lot where Villatoro was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, Flores suffered multiple gunshot wounds and later died at the hospital. According to the authorities, incriminating text messages and videos from Barahona's phone were pivotal in the conviction, showing his taunting of the victims after the crime. Barahona, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, claimed self-defense, but the prosecution punched holes in this defense during the trial.
Carlos Rodriguez, Barahona's defense attorney, described his client as a terrified kid who did what he needed to do to repel the threat. He painted the victims, Flores and Villatoro, as intimidating figures with gang ties trying to portray a scene where Barahona acted in defense. However, Prosecutor Dominic Selvera challenged this portrayal, asserting there was scant evidence of an actual fight preceding the shooting. "Even if a punch had been thrown," Selvera argued, "it would not have justified shooting and killing Flores and Villatoro," according to an interview reported by The Austin American-Statesman.
The trial, which started on May 7, had the jury deliberated for several hours before convicting Barahona on both murder counts. Travis County District Attorney José Garza remarked on the conclusion of the trial, "Our office is grateful to our dedicated staff and law enforcement partner who worked tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable and seek justice for the victims," as stated in a release obtained by KXAN. He further expressed hope that "these verdicts bring closure and peace to the victims' families."
