In the early morning hours of March 20, 2022, Ricardo Francisco Vega, a 42-year-old Hispanic male, was found shot to death in his room at the Traveler's Hotel in Douglas, Arizona. Vega had been a resident of the hotel for several weeks, and on the night of his death, he was hosting a party with several other individuals, including Tori Beth DeHerrera.
The gathering had been going on for a few hours before the fatal incident occurred.
A witness reported hearing two gunshots minutes before police were called. However, authorities were not alerted until approximately 4:40 a.m. when a hotel employee, checking on Vega, used a passkey to enter his room and discovered his body. Vega was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy would later reveal that he had been shot twice. One bullet entered his upper left back, while a second entered behind his left ear and exited through his cheek. The autopsy also noted blunt force injuries to his head that were not related to the gunshots. A toxicology report showed high levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.
Investigators quickly identified 25-year-old Tori Beth DeHerrera as a person of interest. She was located and taken into custody a few hours after the discovery of Vega's body. During questioning, DeHerrera admitted to being in Vega's room and using drugs with the group. Initially, she denied any involvement in the shooting. However, her story later changed to a claim of self-defense, alleging that Vega had been advancing toward her before she fired the weapon. The murder weapon and two spent shell casings were recovered from the hotel room.
DeHerrera was arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder. In a turn of events, she later accepted a plea agreement, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. This plea deal removed the possibility of a life sentence. As a result of her guilty plea, Tori Beth DeHerrera was sentenced to 16 years in prison, a term that is not eligible for early release credits. Additionally, she pleaded guilty to the use of methamphetamine and will face two years of probation upon her release from prison.
