Daniel Villalobos-Espinoza, a former drug cartel scout, was arrested by Mesa Police after he killed the cartel member sent to assassinate him. Villalobos-Espinoza killed fellow cartel member Carlos Osuna-Apodaca on November 30, 2019.
Villalobos-Espinoza, was arrested by Mesa Police on December 4, 2019, at 557 S. Olive #A, and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Osuna-Apodaca.
A witness told Mesa Police that said Daniel’s brother, Jesus Villalobos-Espinoza, stopped by his apartment to visit Osuna-Apodaca. Daniel went to Osuna-Apodaca’s room. Shortly after, the witness told police that heard two gunshots, opened the door and found Osuna-Apodaca with a gunshot wound to the head and neck, bleeding and unresponsive. The witness then saw Daniel, standing in the apartment with a handgun, telling the witness to mind his own business. Mesa Police say they confirmed the witness’ story.
According to Mesa Police, a friend of the brothers told police that Daniel and Jesus had disputes with the victim in the past and that one of the brothers was probably going to shoot Osuna-Apodaca.
Jesus told Mesa Police that he was at the victim’s residence when his brother Daniel showed up unexpectedly. Jesus said he went outside to smoke a cigarette but took off after he heard two gunshots inside. Daniel later told Jesus that he and Osuna-Apodaca both worked for the drug cartels as a desert spotter and through third-party information, learned Osuna-Apodaca had been ordered by the cartels to kill him. So, Daniel decided to kill the victim first.
Osuna-Apodaca was not armed and his bedroom door was locked. He was shot in the head, and then shot again “just in case he was still alive.”