Tyler man allegedly robs man and threatens to kill his family

TYLER — According to an arrest warrant obtained by our news partner KETK News, a Tyler man was arrested after allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint and threatening to kill his family. Richard Vega, 28, of Tyler is accused of coming to a man’s house September 7 and demanding money he said he was owed, and that he needed drugs. The victim told police while he owed Vega $3,200, he does not sell drugs. Vega left and allegedly returned with three other men. One had “an ‘AR’ style rifle” and the other two possessed handguns. They then started taking items out of the victim’s garage:

SONY Audio System (valued at $760)
iPhone X+ (valued at $1,600)
Pressure washer (valued at $1,200)

After stealing the items, the men fired their guns into the air and began banging on the doors and windows of the home, according to the warrant. When deputies responded to the scene, Vega texted the victim again in Spanish threatening to kill him and his family while demanding the money again. Over the next week, police documented several times where Vega, or friends of his, harassed the victim’s family to pressure them in dropping the charges. Some even posted sensitive financial information to Facebook about the victim.

The warrant states that Vega continued to harass the victim to drop the charges or he “will harm his family.” Many of the victim’s friends and family have been inside the home when the calls come in and have terrified his children, police say. Vega is currently in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond and is charged with aggravated robbery. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Vega was arrested in June 2019 for an alleged DWI, but jail records show that the District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case.