FORT WORTH — A 16-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting a friend after finding the man in a vehicle with his ex-girlfriend was ordered to remain held in detention Tuesday.
Larry Sigala is accused of shooting Juan Mejia Alanis, 20, in the head Sunday night as Alanis and Sigala's ex-girlfriend, Mirella Collazo, 15, sat talking in a vehicle outside the Collazo home in south Fort Worth.
Fort Worth police had issued an Amber Alert for Mirella on Sunday night, fearing that the girl had been kidnapped after she was seen leaving the scene inside a vehicle with Sigala and another male. The alert was canceled Monday evening after an unharmed Mirella walked home alone and Sigala surrendered to police a short time later.
Police said Tuesday that because Mirella insists she went willingly with her ex-boyfriend after the shooting, Sigala will face a charge of delinquent conduct/murder, not capital murder.
Sigala’s father covered his face with his hands and cried while his son, who has a juvenile criminal history, awaited a detention hearing Tuesday afternoon. The father declined to comment after the hearing, in which Associate Judge Tim Menikos ordered his son to remain in custody.
Assistant District Attorney Tim Bednarz said no decision has been made on whether prosecutors will seek to certify Sigala as an adult.
Homicide Detective Sarah Jane Waters said a second male who had been with Sigala at the time of the shooting has been identified and questioned but not arrested.
"At this point we have no evidence that he was an active participant," Waters said.
Erika Collazo, Mirella’s 18-year-old sister, said Mirella returned home crying and distraught over the ordeal but seemed most concerned for what would happen to Sigala.
"She was like, 'I’m never going to see Larry. What am I going to do without him?’ " Erika Collazo said.
Erika Collazo said she does not share her sister’s sentiments toward Sigala.
"I want him and the other to be put in jail for the rest of their lives," she said. "Between them and Juan, Juan deserves his life more than they do. Juan was a good person."
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