43 year-old Mary Fowler
Sheriff John Skipper holds up a mugshot of John Villarreal
SC hitchhiker killed woman, shot man, dumped them along I-85, sheriff says
By WSPA News Staff
ANDERSON, SC - Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said a hitchhiker shot two people who were found on the side of Interstate-85 on Christmas Eve.
One of those victims died from her wounds. The other is in critical condition.
John Asher Farrell Villarreal, 22, of Travelers Rest, was arrested Tuesday and is now charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
“God's going to help us get through it," said James Jerry Dobson, who is clinging to one hope as his son James Jerry Dobson II remains in critical condition.
"That God will continue to touch my son and he'll continue to improve. That's what I hope," he said.
Skipper said James Jerry Dobson II and his friend Mary Marie Fowler picked up Villarreal on the side of the road and agreed to take him to the Georgia state line for $25.
“He stopped for the boy on 85 because he was walking in the rain. And he's a good boy. He was concerned about the boy. But look what the boy turned and done to him. He's caused him immeasurable hurt," said Dobson.
During the ride, Skipper said Villarreal asked the couple to pull over to the side of I-85 southbound between mile-marker 16 and 17 so he could use the bathroom.
Skipper said Villarreal told investigators that's when he pulled out a gun with a homemade silencer on it, shot Dobson and Fowler in the backs of their heads and dumped them on the side of the interstate. The sheriff said Villarreal then dumped clothes they had in the car at another location and continued to Georgia.
“This individual could have just as easily gotten to a truck stop, gotten out, probably gotten a ride with somebody else to get to where he was going. But he chose to do something different and that's to actually take one person's life and could be taking another person's life,” said Skipper.
When Villarreal got to Georgia, Skipper said he was stopped by troopers and got a ticket for speeding in Johnson County. Skipper said Villarreal told investigators he considered shooting the trooper, but didn't because of the dash cam.
Authorities were notified to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
An Anderson County deputy stopped the stolen car in Belton on Tuesday and arrested Villarreal.
Deputies found three guns with homemade silencers in the stolen car.
During the investigation, officials discovered Villarreal parked the car at an abandoned house he called a "safe house" in Travelers Rest.
Villarreal apparently rode a bicycle back and forth from his home and the "safe house." Deputies are analyzing other items found there as evidence.
Dobson said he hopes Villarreal gets locked away for good so he can't hurt anyone else.
“When something like this happens to you -- especially to your children -- it's just unbelievable that people can be cruel to you like he is. But this boy needs help too, he needs help," said Dobson.
Villarreal's criminal background is clean.
Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe told 7 On Your Side one of his detectives investigated complaints from a young woman that Villarreal was harassing her in August.
Crowe also said Villarreal told Anderson County detectives he had a disassembled stolen motorcycle in his garage.
Skipper said his department is working with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and Travelers Rest Police Department to see if Villarreal is connected to any other crimes.
http://www.wbtw.com/story/27740574/s...5-sheriff-says
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