A California town is divided over the sentencing of the man who shot and killed his former Boy Scout leader, claiming he had been molested by the scout leader for many years. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
This man shot and killed one of the most respected men in town. Prosecutors in Fort Bragg, California call Aaron Vargas a danger to the community.
So why do so many of his neighbors call him a hero?
Vargas admitted killing Darrell McNeill, a Boy Scout leader and real estate salesman. But, he said he had a good reason for killing McNeill. He claims McNeill was a sexual predator who molested him since he was a child.
Armed with a gun, his heart filled with revenge, Aaron Vargas drove to McNeill's remote home in the California redwoods. When McNeill opened the door, Vargas shot him point blank, right in the face, right in front of his horrified wife. Then the killer stood over McNeill and waited for him to die before he would let the distraught wife call 911
911 Operator: "911 what are you reporting?"
Caller: "My husband's been shot. Aaron waited until he was dead before he left."
"He was abused by this man for 20 years, he had the right to feel angry," Vargas's sister, Mindy, said. She said her brother finally had enough.
He claimed the molestation began on a fishing trip when he was only 11 years old and says the sexual abuse continued into adulthood.
During his sentencing on manslaughter charges, several other men claiming to have been victimized by the former scout leader came forward with their tales of abuse.
"He invited me over, gave me beer and marijuana and manipulation. I was a shy, reclusive kid," Todd Rowan, an alleged victim, said.
Townspeople rallied to defend Vargas as a victim and a hero. They wore buttons and put bumper stickers on their cars.
Even McNeill's widow asked for Vargas to be put on probation. But, the judge didn't buy those arguments. On Tuesday, Vargas was sentenced to nine years behind bars.
"Uh I don't know what to say about the sentence, I don't agree with it," Vargas told INSIDE EDITION.
As Vargas headed off to prison, his sister said he will never forget the abuse that drove him to kill.
"It will take him the rest of his life to heal from it and he just needs that chance to do that." Mindy said
