MARION, NC - On Monday, police arrested Emillio Jesus Villarreal, 24, after he reportedly shot another man at a house located at 153 Park Avenue.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found 20-year-old Ethan Dakota Troutman lying in the street, with a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troutman had gone to the Park Avenue residence with another man to collect a debt, according to police.
In a press release, the Marion Police Department stated:
During the altercation, a third person identified as Emillio Jesus Villarreal, 24, of Morganton came out of the residence with a handgun. At some point Villarreal fired a single shot from the front porch striking Troutman in the torso. Troutman then ran from the front of the residence and got back in the Hummer to leave. It was only then he and his passengers realized he had been shot. At that time the other occupants in the vehicle removed Troutman and tried to render aid, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
Villarreal was charged with murder and is currently being held McDowell County Jail.
*Of course, this murder could have been prevented had Villareal simply been deported, and that opportunity presented itself nearly two years ago.
In March 2020, Villareal was charged with assault with a deadly weapon w/intent to kill inflicting serious injury booked into the Burke County Jail on $100,000 bail.
It is not known at this time why an ICE detainer was either not enforced or not filed in that case.
