Decorated Iraqi veteran arrested for crime
BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter
Former Pitman High School track standout Jacque Villagomez, 19, was murdered in San Clemente, Calif. early Tuesday morning, apparently beaten to death at the hands of 25-year-old John Needham who was believed to have been her boyfriend. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrested Needham Tuesday on one count of murder.
Villagomez ran track at Turlock Junior High before coming to Pitman, where she still holds school records in both hurdle events. Villagomez helped to lead her team to a league title during her sophomore year, the last year she spent at Pitman.
“When she came to us, she was just an awesome girl,” said Pitman track coach Thad Moren. “She did everything that we asked of her; she was a good student too.”
When she wasn’t on the track, Villagomez could most often be found in drama classes and participating in school plays. She hoped to follow in the footsteps of her mother to become a model and actress.
Unfortunately, Villagomez’s mother died when she was young, leaving the track star in the hands of her grandmother. During Villagomez’s junior year, she made the tough decision to leave a somewhat-trying situation with her grandmother in Turlock in order to pursue her acting ambitions in Los Angeles.
“She just definitely was looking forward to trying to go down to Los Angeles and trying to follow a dream,” Moren said.
“We tried to give her the best advice we could on trying to move out on her own,” he continued. “We were kind of worried that it may not be the best situation for a young person to do, but we gave the best advice that we could.”
Villagomez lived with friends in LA for several years as she attempted to earn a living as a model. The details are hazy as to how she came to know Needham, but according to the OC Sheriff’s Department Villagomez and Needham were living together in a San Clemente condominium along with Needham’s brother, father, and potentially another 19-year-old female whose name has not been released.
Needham served the U.S. Army in the Iraq war, where he received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during combat in 2007. According to the Army, Needham retired after two years of service due to medical reasons.
The OC Sheriff’s Department was first alerted to a disturbance when the other 19-year-old female called just before 11 p.m. to request deputies “keep the peace” while she removed her belongings from the condo. When deputies arrived at 15 Paseo Luna, Needham answered the door nude, confrontational, and combative.
According to OC Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Jim Amormino, the two deputies on scene Tasered Needham before overpowering him. Additional deputies were called to assist, and they eventually restrained him.
After securing Needham, deputies began a thorough search of the house. They found Villagomez badly beaten and alone in a back room.
“She was battered, unconscious, but alive,” Amormino said. “She was transported to (Mission Hospital, near San Clemente), and at 12:15 a.m. she was pronounced dead.”
At press time, it was unclear if a weapon was used or any other residents were in the house at the time of the murder.
The Sheriff’s department does not believe that the 19-year-old woman was physically involved in the altercation, but neighbors pegged a potential love triangle as motivation for the murder.
Though Villagomez has lived in Southern California for several years now, the loss is still felt by those who knew her from her time here in Turlock. Even as she pursued her modeling career, Villagomez never forgot about the folks back home.
“(Villagomez) would always come back for the homecoming games,” Moren said. “She came by and visited last year or the year before and talked to all the old coaches to let us know she was doing okay, moving down there on her own.”
Everyone helped Villagomez as best they could when she made the decision to leave. Now, seeing the repercussions of that decision, it makes looking back at Villagomez’s departure even more difficult.
“We wanted to keep her around here as long as we could,” Moren said. “We knew that keeping kids like her in our community is better off in the long run, and that’s an understatement.”
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
Originally published in the Turlock Journal 9/3/2008
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.