Delay granted for retrial of Daniel Villegas

The third trial for Daniel Villegas, accused of murdering two teens in 1993, has been delayed.

Villegas’ attorney confirmed with ABC-7 Monday night that he was seeking a continuance of the July 9 trial. Joe Spencer told ABC-7 he is asking Judge Sam Medrano to reschedule it at the most 90 days from the original date.

Judge Medrano has granted the motion by the defense, pushing the date back nearly three months to October 1.

Spencer told ABC-7 he was asking for the delay because Villegas and his wife are expecting the birth of their child on the same date Villegas’ retrial was scheduled to begin.

“There have been medical issues in the past and the stress is too much for them,” Spencer told ABC-7. “I’m sure (the judge who set the trial date) did not know the state of the Villegas family at the time he set the case.”

Villegas was 16 when Bobby England and Armando “Mando” Lazo were shot to death.

Read through ABC-7’s complete coverage of Daniel Villegas’ legal battle

His first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors couldn’t reach a verdict. In his second trial in 1995, Villegas was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.

His attorneys appealed the ruling, and in 2013 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a retrial.

Villegas has been out on bond since 2014.