Renton teen sentenced for accidental fatal shooting
Published 4:30 pm Thursday, January 8, 2026
A 17-year-old from Renton was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for first-degree manslaughter for accidentally shooting his friend in the chest while handling a firearm.
On Jan. 2, a King County Superior Court Judge sentenced Isaias Villalobos, 17, to 102 months total in a facility operated by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Villalobos received 78 months for first-degree manslaughter and then a weapons enhancement of 24 months.
This charge stems from an April 13, 2024, incident where Villalobos — who was 16 at the time of the incident — accidentally shot his 15-year-old friend, whom court documents identified as Jaime Villeda. Villalobos pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 9.
“Mr. Villalobos and the victim, Jaime Villeda — his closest friend — were together at Mr. Villalobos home,” Villalobos’ attorney wrote in his sentence recommendation. “While handling a firearm that Mr. Villalobos believed to be unloaded, the weapon discharged, fatally wounding Jaime. Mr. Villalobos immediately called 911, attempted to render aid, and fully cooperated with law enforcement.”
The sentence of a total of 102 months was an agreed-upon recommendation by the defense and the state. However, Villalobos’ attorney added in his sentence recommendation that this was the appropriate sentence because Villalobos was still an adolescent who was developing cognitively and emotionally at the time of the offense. Additionally, Villalobos’ attorney stated that Washington law requires that juvenile sentencing account for diminished culpability, rehabilitative capacity and the real-world consequences of sentence length.
According to documents, Villalobos’ offender score for the charge of first-degree manslaughter was zero, putting his sentencing range between 78 and 102 months, plus a mandatory 24-month weapon enhancement. The maximum sentence Villalobos could have received was a total of 126 months.
According to documents, Villalobos was initially also charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, but as part of a felony plea agreement, the prosecution dismissed that charge. Additionally, Villalobos had a drive-by shooting charge, a second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm charge, a possession of a stolen vehicle charge and a hit-and-run charge from unrelated cases that were also dismissed as part of the felony plea agreement.
Details of the case
According to charging documents, Valley Communications dispatch received a call at about 4:11 p.m. April 13, 2024, from a person stating they shot someone with a gun in the 600 block of Camas Avenue Northeast in Renton. Two officers arrived at the residence in the 600 block of Camas Avenue Northeast and contacted Villabolos at the front door.
Officers detained Villabolos and discovered Jaime Villeda, unresponsive, lying atop a bed in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to documents. The officers started to provide aid to Villeda, applying chest seals to the wound and turning him on his side when Villeda started to yell in pain and stated, “I’m gonna die.”
Officers identified and secured a black unbranded Glock firearm with no serial numbers sitting on a chair next to the desk in the bedroom, and noticed a spent bullet casing between the desk and the bed, according to documents.
According to documents, medics and Renton Regional Fire Authority personnel arrived at the scene and assisted in providing aid to Villeda prior to moving him to an ambulance for transport to Harborview Medical Center. Later that day, Villeda died as a result of his injuries, with an autopsy revealing that he died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Surveillance camera footage in the backyard of the residence captured audio of a gunshot noise at approximately 4:11 p.m., followed by a male voice, believed to be Villabolos, saying “no!” and repeating the victim’s name, before Villabolos called police 40 seconds after the initial gunshot.
According to documents, at the time of the incident, it was Villalobos’ second firearm-related allegation within the span of five months, as Villalobos was on electronic home detention for pending felony counts in juvenile court of drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. Law enforcement identified Villabolos as the alleged shooter in a drive-by shooting in November 2023.
A court order imposed upon Villabolos after his charging and arraignment for the drive-by shooting included a condition not to have any contact with Villeda.
