All of William Valdez's Murderers are in Prison Now

 

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The four people who murdered 69-year-old William Valdez in 2015 have finally been transported out of Tom Green County.

Here is background on the murder.

In the early morning of August 31, 2015, William Valdez and his son Guillemo Valdez were asleep in their home on the 500 block of Sellers St. Outside while father and son slept were four people who planned to take everything they had. 

Around 4 a.m. Guillemo heard a loud banging on the front door and the dogs barking wildly. He went to the door and discovered it was a person who was a regular patron of his game room called the Silver Sweeps. The person at the door was 32-year-old Eliza Losoya. 

When Guillemo approached the door he could sense that something wasn't right and he immediately shut and locked the door. He retreated back into his bedroom for safety after hearing the screen door being broken down. 

Fernando Lavaris Jr., 32, was on the other side of the door and kicked it in to get into the house and shouted, "Where's the money? And do not call the police!" He then entered William's room and fired two shots with a handgun. One of the bullets hit Valdez 4-6 inches under his armpit. 

After shooting him, Lavaris took Valdez's money and ran to the back door where Jonathan Marin and Eric Martinez where waiting with bandana's covering their faces. Once the shots were fired, the four fled on foot until they arrived at a safe location. 

Police arrived a short time after the murderers fled. They found Valdez and rushed him to Shannon Medical Center for immediate surgery. According to the affidavit, the gunshot caused severe injuries to the victim resulting in a kidney being removed, a spinal cord injury, and a perforated colon. The injuries resulted in Valdez's death. 

Later that day, detectives spoke with two people about an incident that occurred prior to the murder. The night previous, Losoya and Lavaris were at a house aon the 400 block of W Avenue V. While they were there, they were involved in an altercation with the homeowners and Lavaris pulled a gun on them, forcing the residents to leave their own home. 

Police knew Lavaris was on probation for charges of assault of a public servant in 2011 and while being on probation he was not allowed to be in possession of a gun. Eventually, Lavaris was arrested at the unit block of W Avenue H for an outstanding parole warrant. 

While in the Tom Green County Jail Lavaris met with detectives and told that that he had been at the Sellers house that night but couldn't remember what happened. According the affidavit, Lavaris was under the influence of meth laced with heroine the night of the murder. 

Later, Police met with Guillemo about the incident. He told police he knew the woman that had been at the house that night. The detectives gave him a photo lineup and he was able to identify Losoya as that woman. She was then arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation with intent of committing another felony. 

She told police the whole entire story. She said that the four of them went to the house with intent to rob Valdez. The men all brought guns, but she thought that they were BB guns. She confirmed that Lavaris was the only person inside and that Marin and Martinez were at the back door while she was at the front. 

The following day the Marin and Martinez were arrested. The four were all charged with murder after Valdez passed away a few days later. 

On November 23, 2015, the four were indicted by a grand jury for the murder of William Valdez. Their initial pre-trials began on March 9, 2016. 

On May 21, 2016, Marin faced a felony charge of manufacture with intent to distribute a controlled substance and capital murder. He took a plea deal which abandoned the capital murder charge in exchange for a guilty plea. Assistant District Attorney Richard Villarreal offered the plea deal which reduced the charge from capital murder to murder.  

Marin was sentenced to life in prison on the murder charge and 15 years in prison for the drug charge.  The sentences will run concurrently. Marin will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.

Martinez was the next to go in front of a Tom Green County district court. On October 15, 2018, John Martinez was originally charged with capital murder but took a plea deal offered by the District Attorney's office that reduces the charge to murder. He was sentenced 40 years in Prison. 

Lavaris finally accepted a plea deal four years after the murder. The deal he took gave him life in prison with no chance of getting out.

One month later the final murderer pleaded guilty for the murder. Losoya accepted a plea deal that would give her life in prison on May 6, 2019.

On May 23, Eliza Losoya was the last of the Valdez murderers in the Tom Green County Jail. She was handed over to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and will have to pay $7,236 in restitution. 

Losoya was in custody here for 1,343 days. 

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