Man accused of shooting security guard at Amarillo event center pleads guilty to federal charge

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A Mexican national accused of shooting a security guard in June pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge.

As we previously reported, Vidana-Najera is accused of entering an event center near Northwest 7th Avenue and North Fillmore Street and opening fire, seriously injuring the victim.

Police say that Vidana-Najera then forced a woman into his pickup truck and fled the scene. The woman was later located unharmed, but Vidana-Najera remained on the run for another two months.

In August, he was found at a home near Redwood Street and Pecan Avenue by a task force and taken into custody.

Vidana-Najera was booked into Potter County Detention Center on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Two weeks later, he was transferred to Randall County Jail on a federal indictment for illegal re-entry.

Federal court documents show that Vidana-Najera was previously deported from Laredo in 2020 after his incarceration for a felony offense.

He was previously placed on probation for assault of a family member by impeding breath in Potter County. A judge revoked his probation in 2017 and sentenced him to six years in prison.

He was deported after his release from prison. The documents do not state the date of his re-entry.

Vidana-Najera’s guilty plea in his federal case yesterday will ensure that no matter the outcome of his pending state charges, he will only leave American custody when he is released to Mexican authorities.

His sentencing for the federal charge of illegal re-entry is not scheduled yet.

His felony charges in Potter County are active and pending the next scheduled hearing.