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By AMANDA MILKOVITS PROVIDENCE -- The soldier accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend on Monday while he was home on leave has been released on bail. Richard Reyes-Tavares, 21, was charged with murder yesterday, hours after Betsy Rodriguez died after being shot in the side. Reyes and Rodriguez, 22, were sitting in their Chevy Trailblazer, parked in his family's driveway in the West End, when Reyes' gun went off and fired a bullet through her abdomen, the Providence police said. Rodriguez was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she underwent surgery, but she died 12 hours later. Reyes told the police he was handling the weapon when it went off, said Maj. Thomas Oates, head of the investigative division. The police are working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to trace the origin of the .40-caliber Glock, Oates said. Reyes, of 165 Wendell St., was released yesterday on $50,000 bail with surety, after signing a waiver of extradition that allows him to return to active duty. His lawyer, state Rep. Peter Petrarca, did not return a call seeking comment. Reyes is an Army specialist, working in petroleum supply, in 108th Quartermaster Company, within the 49th Quartermaster Group, based at Fort Lee, Va., according to the Fort Lee public affairs office. Reyes has been in the Army since May 2006. Reyes was spending the day with Rodriguez on Monday, while their four-year-old child was being cared for by a grandparent, according to the police. CommentsLeave a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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i cant believe the state of rotten island is far gone that we are letting murderers walk the streets at night. gee i feel much safer that he was jus handlin the gun. lets see gun in hand check. gun loaded check. gun ponted inconspicously right at her check. an plus she broke up with him so i see a murder of passion n a killer walking freely.
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its sad when u hear that someone has lost their life to someone saying they was mishandling a gun in the first place and a child is involve no matter where we live we hear things like this all so often when does it end
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I was station with this guy in korea, i always thought of him as a wild cat...But whats sad about this too is that he is in the military, we hold weapons almost everyday, its what we do, its what we signed up for when we raised our hands and singed the dotted line. Im sorry but i really dont believe that the weapon had went off accidentally!
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I cant believe theres no one there defending or representing Betsy....what are the cops and detectives doing? Have they questioned her relatives or friends? MAYBE there is something MORE the mishandling a gun... Just because hes a soldier doesnt mean nothing. They shouldnt have give him any bailout, others dont get much slack like he did SPECIALLY the next day. And what? he went home? Where is the baby? I wouldnt let a crazy guy near my kid. It would be smart when sad things like this that happen to try to question the patient while they can get a few words out. Maybe she wanted to speak out. May God have her in his arms and consoles her and may she rest in peace. God will do the rest down here.
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First of all, no one commenting really knew what happened. She could have done it to herself and he cmay have said it was an accident in order for her to save face. Maybe they were arguing and it accidentally went off. The point is, don't be too quick to point the finger and judge someone without knowing the whole story. Everytime you point the finger, there's always three pointing back at you ! Reyes was a good guy. They both had issues when they were in Korea. How about having some kind of concern for Ilene ( their daughter). She already lost one half of her life, let's hope she doesn't lose her other half. Pray for Ilene. She will be the one that needs it the most now.
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All I would like to add to this is that I went 2 school with both of them. But didn't know tavares I only knew betsy we went 2 High School 2gether. And she was a really quiet girl. Very loving. And sometime down the road before or after we graduated she bumped into him and fell in love and had a beautiful daughter. Then only thing betsy cared for was her man and her daughter. I have heard they had a lot of problems since a while back but I ain't ne1 to point fingers. All I pray for is that the truth comes to the light about what honestly happened in that vehicle. So my friends memory can rest in peace. I miss you gurl. And for ileen I pray that she grows up around people that will love her and treat her as good as betsy did. And for the person that claimed she coulda did this to herself and he is covering up for her. Please that does not even sound right. Why would a mother want to leave such a beautiful child? Any way we will always love and miss you betsy. Everyday I think of you. So young and full of life. Hopefully the truth will come out soon.
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This Soldier has been discharged from the military in october. I can't wait to see the outcome of this case though.
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