Aaron Vargas: Hero or Vigilante?
On the evening of February 8, 2009, a distraught young man, Aaron Vargas, 32, drove to the trailer of Darrell McNeill, 63, and shot and killed him in front of his terrified wife. Aaron Vargas, only weeks away from his wedding, had just learned that he wasn’t the only one that Darrell had molested. The knowledge shocked and angered Aaron, and in a drunken angry state, he arrived at Darrell’s with a loaded revolver in his pocket. After a short dispute between the two men, Aaron shot and killed Darrell.
Read moreThe people of Fort Bragg, California were stunned and surprised at the killing of Darrell until the truth started coming out. Several men came forward to say they had been sexually molested by the man, also. The town began to rally around Aaron and called him a hero.
In May, ABC’s 20 20 did a story on Aaron. Aaron spoke for the first time to Chris Cuomo. He revealed that he had been molested by Darrell since he was 11 years old. He told Chris that he didn’t go there with the purpose of killing Darrell, but he was trying to warn him to stay away from himself and his family. Aaron said Darrell had began to come around his baby daughter and was showing too much interest in her, and Aaron feared Darrell would start molesting his daughter, too. He also said that fear for his child and the need to put a stop to Darrell’s hold over him, which had driven him to a breaking point.
Aaron plead no contest to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in April. On June 16, 2010, in front of a packed courtroom, Judge Ronald Brown sentenced Aaron to 9 years out of a possible 10 year maximum sentence. The Vargas family was upset. They had hoped for probation, and they plan to appeal.
Darell’s sister, Mindy Galliani said after the sentencing, “It’s clear that the justice system still doesn’t have an understanding of childhood sexual abuse.”Judge Brown said “I believe the defendant intended to kill and intended him to suffer,” and that Vargas’ actions “were consistent with an intentional killing.” The judge said he could not overlook the use of violence to solve problems.
What do you think? Do you think the sentence is too severe or do you think the sentence should have been longer?