A 24-year-old woman was sentenced Monday to five years in prison after admitting to her role as the driver in a deadly drive-by shooting nearly five years ago in central Lubbock.
Catelyn Pina, who has been out on bond, appeared Nov. 12 before District Judge Douglas Freitag in the 140th District Court and pleaded guilty to a count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
However, Freitag delayed sentencing Pina, who was set to deliver her child two weeks later.
As part of a deal with the Lubbock County Detention Center, Pina, who appeared in court with her attorney, Justin Kiechler, pleaded guilty in exchange for the five-year sentence.
She was one of two people sentenced in the Sept. 1, 2021, shooting death of 30-year-old Domingo Siri.
Adam Villarreal pleaded guilty in May to two separate counts of aggravated assault in exchange for two, 15-year prison sentences that will run concurrently.
The second charge stems from a Sept. 16, 2021 shooting that injured a woman.
Villarreal and Pina were initially charged with murder in Siri’s shooting, however that was dismissed as part of their pleas.
Investigating a deadly shooting in central Lubbock
The case stems from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation that began after when police officers responding to a shots-fired call about 1:13 a.m. at a residence in the 1600 block of 28th Street.
Responding officers found Siri and Cleotis Johnson suffering from gunshot wounds. Siri, who was found in the driveway, died at the scene. Johnson, who was inside the home, suffered moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center.
“The information received indicated an ongoing dispute may have been in progress between persons at 1602 28th Street and 1604 28th Street #B,” court records state. “Both 1602 28th Street and 1604 28th Street #B are involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs.”
Investigators found video from nearby security cameras and bullet shells that indicated “multiple shooters” fired at Siri and Johnson from an adjacent residence that had been the location of unrelated shots-fired calls weeks before the fatal shooting, court records state. Police also found illegal narcotics during a search of the home, the documents state.
Security cameras caught a dark-colored passenger vehicle that investigators traced to Villarreal, who was Pina’s boyfriend.
About 10 months after the shooting, investigators met with Pina, who admitted to driving Villarreal’s vehicle during the shooting. She said another person asked them for a ride and gave her driving directions before the shooting.
She said the shooting happened quickly but that her boyfriend, who had a firearm, never shot at anyone. However, she said the other person, who she said was the shooter, had a “big gun,” the warrant states.
According to the warrant, Villarreal denied being involved in the case.
Meanwhile, Villarreal was arrested in April 2022 on multiple charges including the Sept. 16, 2021 shooting that injured a woman.
In that case, a Lubbock patrol officer responded to a parking lot in the 1100 block of 50th Street after hearing a gunshot from the area.
At the scene the officer found a woman on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to University Medical Center for treatment, according to a police report.
The woman’s friend told the officer that she went to fetch the woman, her sister and their mother from work when a man, later identified as Villarreal and his girlfriend, pulled up behind them, the report states.
She said her passengers exited her vehicle to confront Villarreal’s girlfriend, later identified as Pina, who challenged them to a fight.
Pina was charged with a Class A Misdemeanor count of assault causing bodily injury, which was dismissed as part of her plea.
The woman told the officer that she had fought Pina before, but said this time there was no arrangement ahead of time to fight, the report states.
She said she threw a drink at Pina and they began fighting.
Meanwhile, she said her friend and two other people tried to stop the fight.
However, she said Villarreal approached them, drew a pistol and kicked her friend in the knee before shooting her once, the report states.
Meanwhile, Villarreal and Pina drove away.
An arrest warrant was issued for Pina’s arrest on Sept. 30, 2022 in the homicide case. Pina agreed to surrender to authorities that day but she never showed. Police officials said she surrendered five days later to U.S. Marshals.
Court records show she was released on bond on May 9, 2023.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Woman sentenced for role in deadly 2021 Lubbock drive-by shooting
Reporting by Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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