Charges upgraded to murder in August shooting
Oct. 26—The Minnesota Attorney General's Office and Freeborn County Attorney's Office have filed upgraded charges against the man who allegedly shot and killed a man south of Albert Lea in August.
Ben Vidal Moreno, 32, now faces five counts in the shooting death of Juan Vasquez Jr.: one count of second-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder-without intent-while committing a felony, one count of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of ineligible possession of a firearm.
Moreno previously had been charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Email newsletter signup
Sign up for our daily email newsletter
Subscribe
Freeborn County Attorney David Walker said Assistant Attorney General John Gross will lead the prosecution on the case with Assistant Freeborn County Attorney Abigail Lambert.
Court documents state Vasquez died from a single gunshot wound to the chest on Aug. 9 outside of a residence at 75463 160th St. According to authorities, there had been a dispute between Moreno and Vasquez over a package of methamphetamine that Moreno reportedly diverted from Vasquez, and the two men had exchanged threats about killing one another from the time of the incident involving the package on July 21 to the time of Vasquez's death.
The court complaint states Vasquez and another person came to the residence on 160th Street approximately an hour before the fatal shooting to drop off a trailer with trash for burning. After dropping off the trailer, Vasquez, who was the passenger, got out of the vehicle and shouted for Moreno to come out of the residence, firing two shots from a handgun, court documents stated. He and the other person then left the property and went to Diamond Jo Casino, returning at about 3 p.m.
Court documents state after they returned, Vasquez got out of the vehicle when his daughter, who was also Moreno's girlfriend, threw something at the vehicle.
Vasquez and the daughter reportedly argued before she told the driver not to return to the property. As the two men drove down the driveway, four shots were fired, and some of the shots struck the vehicle, breaking the rear window and leaving multiple holes in the car. Both front tires were also flat, and damage was found on the dashboard between the driver and passenger.
Moreno reportedly emptied a shotgun and then moved to the southeast corner of the house, where he took a rifle from another person at the property and then handed off the shotgun he had used.
Vasquez got out of the vehicle with the handgun in his pocket and walked down the driveway shouting at Moreno. Vasquez reportedly continued yelling as he walked down the driveway before the driver heard another shot and Vasquez's yelling stopped.
The driver reportedly told police he heard Moreno yelling, "I told you, I told you ..." and saw Moreno pacing in a circle at the south end of the driveway near where Vasquez's body was found.
The driver, who ultimately left for fear of being shot, said Vasquez and Moreno were out of his sight for about 20 seconds.
Moreno left the scene with two others, and one other person stayed at the property and called 911.
Moreno was arrested at a house in rural Forest City, Iowa, on Aug. 11.
In a jail call on Aug. 19, Moreno reportedly told another person that he had read in the criminal complaint against hi that Vasquez had a gun on him but didn't know previously that he had a gun.
In a separate call that same day, he also commented that law enforcement knew he had stolen a package of drugs intended for Vasquez.
In a call on Aug. 23, Moreno reportedly discussed with a woman that what he had done to Vasquez was partially because of what had happened to that woman.
In an Aug. 31 call, he said what helped his self-defense claim was that Vasquez was shooting at the property earlier and then left, and that Vasquez had a gun on him.
Moreno is next slated to appear in court Nov. 23.
