VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — Talesha Heagle said David Villagran was “an incredible man and an amazing father” to her 2-year-old son and to his other 2 children.
“I’ve known him since 2010. We became best friends. He was a really good guy, a really good guy in recovery,” Heagle told KOIN 6 News.
Villagran struggled with drug addiction, but she said he was doing well in recovery.
“He messed up this time, big time. He lost his life. He must have fell recently because he was doing really good,” the 32-year-old said. “Had a good job, paying his child support, got his license back, got a really nice car. He was doing really good and all of a sudden this happens.”
Around 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, Clark County deputies went to the Orchards area after a car was reportedly stolen.
When deputies arrived in the area of Northeast 109th Avenue and 71st Street, they found the stolen pickup truck with Villagran inside. Witnesses said he likely got stuck in a dead-end cul-de-sac and when he tried to get away, hit a parked car and then hit a deputy’s patrol vehicle.
Shots were fired and Villagran was shot in the head. The 33-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
“It’s like I’m dreaming. That’s what’s been going through my mind, like, ‘Please let this be a dream,'” Heagle said. “It’s shocking.”
He was using drugs when they first met, she said, but he got into recovery about a year later. He did well for about 4 yearrs, then fell again.
“He got clean again and he started working and had a nice job (at an autoparts shop) and everything,” she said.
She said she last saw Villagran about 3 weeks ago when he came over to visit his son. “He seemed like he was doing really good.”
The couple had good times, she said.
“You know, nobody is perfect. People suffer from other sicknesses, maybe addiction, whatever it is. But he must have fell and messed up,” she told KOIN 6 News. “But he didn’t deserve to lose his life over this and his kids didn’t deserve to lose their father.”
So far, the details of the events leading up to Villagran’s death have not yet been disclosed by investigators. The deputy involved in the shooting, 20-year veteran Deputy Tom Maxfield, is on administrative leave, standard procedure in these incidents.
“He’s harmless,” Heagle said. “Why was he shot in the head? Why didn’t they shoot him in the arm? Why didn’t they have backup? I don’t understand it all. Nobody does. We have a big circle of friends and nobody knows why they shot to kill him.”
She and his other family and friends are planning a vigil Friday night at the spot where he was killed to keep his memory alive, “to celebrate his life. He was a great man.”
She began a GoFundMe page to help with burial costs.
“I don’t care what the world thinks about him right now,” she said. “I know him. And if they were to know him, they would know that he was an incredible man, an amazing father and he was always just really happy. He was, like, life.”