Man charged with capital murder in death of dealer

HIDALGO COUNTY — An 18-year-old man was charged with capital murder in connection with the death of a street-level drug dealer.

Justin Reese Scepanski of Edinburg was arraigned Monday by Justice of the Peace Rosa Treviño, who set a $1 million bond.

"This is a case of a drug deal gone bad," said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

The victim, 20-year-old Baldemar Villarreal, was alive when the police arrived at his home in the 9900 block of Moorefield Road north of Mission. Villarreal was able to tell to the first responders that he was shot by a man named Justin at 11:23 p.m. Saturday.

Scepanski, who had been shot once in the chest, has an extensive crime record, the sheriff said. Villarreal died while in surgery at McAllen Medical Center.

According to witnesses, Scepanski said he was going to rob Villarreal to get money or drugs from him.

Investigators were able to recover a 9mm gun, the same caliber believed to have been used on Villarreal.

"There were signs of a struggle in the front yard of the house," said Treviño.

Villarreal was a street-level drug dealer and known to keep cash and drugs, but he had no criminal record, according to the sheriff.

Scepanski was a customer of Villarreal, according to witnesses.

"Street-level drug dealing is just as dangerous as any major drug operation. Because of that, we emphasized the enforcement of street-level drug dealers with our eight-man drug unit," said Treviño.

In 2009, the unit arrested 591 street-level drug dealers the Sheriff said.

This is the third murder of the year the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, two of which are drug-related.