Woman pleads to manslaughter sentenced in Wilson man's death

Published: Thursday, December 10, 1998

TAHOKA (Special) - Lubbock resident Linda Villela, 40, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday and was sentenced to 10 years' probation in the 1996 bludgeoning death of Santiago "Jimmy" Ramos of Wilson.

Villela entered her plea during a court appearance in 106th District Court, records show.

She is the third and final person to plead guilty in the case, and the fourth to be sentenced.

Domingo Rios Jr. was convicted in January of first degree murder in the case. He is currently serving a 99-year term.

Ramos's beaten body was found by two motorists July 29, 1996, in a field near the Wilson school.

The 20-year-old former Wilson High football player had been beaten numerous times, including one blow to the head with what authorities believe was a tire iron.

The murder weapon was never found.

Authorities said three men were involved in the beating.

Villela initially stood charged with murder because, authorities said, she knocked on Ramos' door to lure him to where the men would later beat him.

Lynn County Sheriff's investigators charged Rios, Villela's boyfriend at the time of the crime, with first-degree murder.

During his trial, prosecutors said Rios, now a three-time felon, dealt the lethal blow to Ramos' head.

Two others, 20-year-old Lubbock residents Rey Carrizales and Ruben Martinez, pleaded guilty last week as accessories to the murder.

Carrizales was sentenced to 20 years on a manslaughter plea, while Martinez was sentenced to 28 years on a murder plea.