A judge has sentenced a 27-year-old Texas man to a 25-year prison term after a jury found him guilty of hitting and shooting his wife during an argument on a Marion County road two years ago.
Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon sentenced Christian Joel Villalba-Santos to the minimum mandatory required sentence under state guidelines. He could have been sentenced to life in prison.
The U.S. Army veteran has 794 days of credit for time already served at the Marion County Jail while awaiting resolution of the case.
Along with fines and court costs, Villalba-Santos also must submit a DNA sample to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and pay restitution of $6,487.65 to Ocala Health LLC.
Assistant State Attorney Marisa Meyer asked the court to impose a no contact order on the convicted felon so he cannot speak with the victim.
Last month, jurors deliberated for 18 minutes and returned a guilty verdict against Villalba-Santos, who was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and battery/domestic violence.
During the two-day trial, the jury, made up four women and two men, heard testimony that Villalba-Santos and his wife were in a vehicle traveling on Interstate 75 when the two argued about him cheating on her in October 2019.
Villalba-Santos got upset and hit his wife in the face three times, prosecutors said. One of the blows broke the woman’s nose, according to testimony. He then got a gun that was in the vehicle and shot his wife in the stomach.
After the shooting, Villalba-Santos called his mother, his mother-in-law, and then 911. Authorities said Villalba-Santos told them he searched for a hospital while driving along I-75.
He was eventually stopped by Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputies and arrested. His wife was transported to a hospital for treatment.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday, Assistant Public Defender Sean K. Gravel told the judge that his client has no criminal history, is a military veteran, and although jurors rejected their defense, Villalba-Santos showed remorse.
He added that if Villalba-Santos’ wife had not gotten medical attention, she would have died.
Gravel said if not for the minimum mandatory sentence, Villalba-Santos would have qualified for a downward departure and reduced sentence. The lawyer said Villalba-Santos’ wife doesn’t want her husband to spend a lengthy time in prison.
Through a Spanish interpreter, the judge asked Villalba-Santos, who appeared via Zoom from the Marion County Jail, if he wanted to say anything.
Villalba-Santos had a prepared statement, but told the judge he wanted to speak from the heart. He said he’s not a bad person, never had any problems in his life, and he loves his wife and family.
He said he cannot change what happened and knows he has to face the consequences.
At times wiping away tears, Villalba-Santos said it’s difficult to hear his daughter asking him why he’s not at home. He said she tells him to tell the police that he’s behaving himself and to release him.
He told the judge that he appreciates her job and the work of the lawyers. He ended with asking the judge to please have mercy on him and “God bless you.”
Meyer said the state would not object to the 25-year sentence.
Neither the victim nor any of Villalba-Santos’ family or friends were present in court.
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