HOUSTON, Texas – A 29-year-old man from Houston, who fatally shot his 16-year-old girlfriend outside her home in 2018, was sentenced this week to more than 70 years in prison.
Irbin Vargas was convicted of murdering Lourdes Sandoval, 16, on September 12, 2018.
At the time of the shooting, Vargas, 22, had been in a relationship with Sandoval for about a year. According to her friends and family, Sandoval had been trying to end the relationship after Vargas threatened her life and held a gun to her head.
“No one should ever lose their life to domestic violence, and this case is especially tragic because this woman was so young and had so much to live for—we mourn her loss with her family,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
On the night of the murder, Vargas and Sandoval had been texting. She told him over text that she no longer wanted to have any contact with him. Just five minutes later, as she walked out of her Greenspoint-area home to meet a friend in a car, Vargas emerged from the shadows, attacked her from behind, shot her in the head, and killed her.
The friend witnessed the attack and saw Vargas flee. Houston police later arrested him.
Vargas was convicted of murder after a five-day trial in November. He chose to have the judge determine his sentence, and on Tuesday, he was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Philip White, a chief in the Homicide Division, along with ADA Matthew Magill, prosecuted the case.
“He was a 22-year-old predator who worked to get close to a teenage girl,” White said. “Five minutes after she told him that it was over for good, he killed her.”
Vargas will have to serve at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.