PABLO – A 22-year-old Idaho man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a member of the Salish Kootenai College national championship basketball team.
Juan C. Aldana Villanueva, of Post Falls, Idaho, is charged with killing 21-year-old Tim Wolfe after an argument at a bar in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, late Friday night. Shortly after closing time, Villanueva allegedly pulled up in a car and shot Wolfe in the head.
Villanueva was arrested about nine hours later at restaurant where he worked. He remains in custody at the Kootenai County Jail with no bail after an initial appearance in District Court on Monday.
Prosecutor Marty Raap said Villanueva appeared to be making plans to return to his native Honduras when he was arrested. Raap said the suspect has no Social Security number and it was unclear if he was in the United States legally.
Wolfe, whose birth name was Timothy I. Williams, played in a four-on-four league at SKC on Thursday night and participated in a shoot-around with his teammates after classes Friday. He then headed home to Idaho for Mother’s Day weekend.
“I’ve been doing this 11 years, and had over 100 players come through here,” SKC men’s basketball coach Zach Camel said. “We’ve never lost anyone until now. This was one of our own. We’re a family, and we’re all hurt. We’re all shocked.”
Camel said Wolfe’s mother kept her son, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe from nearby Worley, Idaho, on life support so his teammates could say a final farewell.
Wolfe scored 14 points earlier this year as the SKC Bison won the American Indian Higher Education Consortium national championship, downing Blackfeet Community College 100-92.