{"id":435947,"date":"2026-09-14T21:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T21:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/435947\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T21:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T21:34:16","slug":"convicted-gunman-sentenced-to-38-years-and-six-months-in-prison-for-fatal-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/435947\/","title":{"rendered":"Convicted gunman sentenced to 38-years and six months in prison for fatal shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SAN ANTONIO &#8211; A Bexar County jury has found Cristan Villalobos guilty of murdering Robert Wellington in a February 2024 shooting on the city\u2019s Northwest Side.<\/p>\n<p>The conviction came during a recent trial in the 226th District Court, presided over by Judge Benjamin Robertson. Villalobos was sentenced to 38 years and six months in prison, according to a press release from the Office of Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales.<\/p>\n<p>Wellington was shot and killed on W. Ridgewood Ct., prompting a homicide investigation by the San Antonio Police Department. Prosecutors said investigators used witness accounts, surveillance footage, forensic evidence \u2014 including DNA, gunshot residue and ballistic analysis \u2014 and digital data to connect Villalobos to the killing.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED | <a href=\"https:\/\/news4sanantonio.com\/news\/local\/man-shot-in-chest-left-for-dead-in-middle-of-north-side-street-san-antonio-texas-investigation-police-evidence-hospital-ambulance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Man shot in chest, left for dead in middle of North Side street<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The release said evidence showed Villalobos and Bobby Mercado Jr. fled the scene in a stolen vehicle after the shooting. Mercado was arrested shortly afterward at a nearby bus stop with narcotics in his possession and was later linked to the crime through witness descriptions, surveillance footage and forensic evidence. The same evidence, along with what prosecutors described as a voluntary interview by Villalobos, later led to Villalobos\u2019 arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Raul Jordan, Nicholas Mahrou and Mia Carranza led the prosecution, with support from Victim Advocate Brandy Jimenez and Investigator Jorge Felan, the release said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe jury\u2019s verdict and conviction reflect the dedication of the investigators and prosecutors who worked to uncover the truth and effectively present the evidence in the case,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cWhile nothing can undo the loss of a loved one, we hope this sentence provides Robert\u2019s family with a sense of peace and closure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO &#8211; A Bexar County jury has found Cristan Villalobos guilty of murdering Robert Wellington in a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-435947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}