Six years after he was acquitted of murder, Daniel Villegas is back behind bars after domestic dispute

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Daniel Villegas was back behind bars this week after El Paso police arrested him in connection with a domestic dispute.

Murder Trial

Villegas was found not guilty in October 2018 of murdering two people.

In 1993, Villegas admitted to shooting and killing Armando “Mando” Lazo and Robert “Bobby” England.

He then claimed the confession was coerced and recanted his story.

His first trial ended in a hung jury in 1994, but in 1995 he was convicted. After serving 18 years in prison, an appeals court overturned his conviction on the basis of ineffective counsel.

In 2018, Villegas, by then a father of three, underwent a third trial, rejecting a last-minute plea deal offer that would have sentenced him to time served. Villegas had said he wanted to clear his name, according to his attorney Joe Spencer, who spoke to ABC-7 about the case in 2018. Spencer currently serves as defense attorney to accused Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius.

New Arrest

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 17, 2024, El Paso Police Department officers were called out to Villegas' apartment.

Court documents state his girlfriend told officers he had roughly grabbed her wrists, allegedly causing her to bleed.

Officers charged Villegas with assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office provided ABC-7 with this new mugshot of Villegas.