Texas man imprisoned 20 years for two killings released for new trial

A West Texas man convicted of killing two people as a teenager in 1993 was released on bond Tuesday while he awaits a new trial that the state had ordered.

After spending nearly 20 years in prison for the killings of two teenagers in a drive-by shooting, Daniel Villegas stood in the morning sun outside the El Paso County Jail.

"I never thought this day would come and now it's here. It feels like a dream, like I'm going to wake up," the 37-year-old told a crowd of reporters and sympathizers.

Villegas was flanked by his mother, Yolanda Villegas, and local businessman John Mimbela, who has supported his case. Villegas was released Tuesday after posting $1,000 of a $50,000 bond.

"This is too much for me. I get to hold him again. I've waited too long," Yolanda Villegas said while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Daniel Villegas first trial for the deaths of teenagers Armando Lazo and Robert England ended in a hung jury. He was found guilty in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison.

But at hearings in 2011, Villegas' attorney, John Gates, said he hadn't had enough time to prepare for the second trial. The defense for the first trial had called 18 witnesses; Gates presented just one.

The Texas Court of Appeals in December granted Villegas a new trial due to ineffective counsel.

Villegas has claimed he confessed to the crime after an El Paso Police Department detective told him he would be raped in prison and face the death penalty.

"Why did it take so long to get a new trial? Money, I didn't have the money," his mother said. She thanked Mimbela for footing the legal bills and "for putting up with me, I can be annoying."

The Villegas lost their house because of the debt they took during the first trial, she added. "I earn minimum wage. I didn't have the $20,000 to begin (the process of getting a new trial), and even if I did, that was just to start," Villegas' mother said.

The Texas Court of Appeals in December granted Villegas a new trial due to ineffective counsel.

State District Judge Sam Medrano Jr. set a hearing for next week so the attorneys can tell them what they plan to do next.

Villegas' attorney, Joe Spencer said he believes the prosecution "has no evidence to go on with this case."

The judge set bond at half of what Spencer had originally suggested. Prosecutors requested bond be set in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The district attorney's office declined to comment after the hearing.

Villegas left jail in a 1960s red convertible provided by Mimbela.

"We're going to go to church real quick, to pray," Villegas said.

Then, "it's steak, steak and lobster for my baby," his mom said.

Seattle Teen Credits Glasses With Helping Save Her Life from Gunshot

A Seattle teenager and her family are crediting her eyeglasses with helping save her life when they became the victims of a terrifying drive-by shooting.

Lavrette Bryant was in bed with her dog on Saturday night while her 16-year-old daughter Alonza was on the couch in the living room watching TV.

"As soon as I closed my eyes, the shots started -- pow, pow, pow, pow," Bryant recalled to ABCNews.com. "It stopped and everyone woke up screaming."

There were four adults and three children in the house. Bryant immediately dialed 911 and then she saw her daughter.

"My daughter's like, 'Mom, I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding,'" Bryant said. They went into the bathroom while they waited for help and there was a bullet lodged "in the middle of her nose," between her eyes.

"She was still conscious," the mother said. "She was still talking. And then she was like, 'Mom, I'm feeling dizzy.'"

Five minutes later, Bryant said, the shooting started again.

"I was in front of the window and I moved just in time," she said. Police said several shots went through the walls of the home and one round went through the front window.

Authorities arrived and Alonza was rushed to the hospital. Both she and authorities credited her glasses with slowing down the bullet and preventing it from doing deeper into the girl's head and causing more -- potentially fatal -- damage.

"I think it was God's protection over her," Bryant said.

"The victim was struck by a single round in the bridge of her glasses, breaking them," Seattle police said in a statement. "Amazingly, she was not seriously injured."

Police located spent shell casings in the street and collected them for evidence. Officers have not identified a suspect or suspects.

"Investigators believe the residence was targeted, but that the 16-year-old girl was not the intended victim," police said. "Gang detectives will continue to follow up on this shooting incident."

Bryant adamantly denied that anyone in her home was involved in gang activity.

"It had nothing to do with anyone in the home," she said. "It had to do with someone who used to live there that was gang-affiliated. We're not gang-affiliated. We had nothing to do with what happened."

The family is afraid to go back to the house and are "running out of food, gas for the car and places to hide," Bryant said. "This is Christmastime and the kids don't have presents."

Alonza is in stable condition, but is still bleeding and her eyes are swollen shut. Bryant said her daughter is scared to go in the house or out in public.

"She's grateful she's here. She's glad she had the glasses on," Bryant said. "She just wants the people who did it to get caught."

Brandon Varlow killed, 4 others hurt in Trenton drive-by shooting

TRENTON - One man was killed and four others were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Trenton.

Mercer County prosecutors say 24-year-old city resident Brandon Varlow was killed in the shooting, which occurred around 10 p.m. Saturday outside a South Ward convenience store. But it's not clear if he was the intended victim.

Prosecutors said the car stopped in front of the store and several shots were fired from inside the vehicle.

Varlow was hit multiple times and died a short time later at a hospital. The four wounded victims - three men and a woman - were being treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made.