Daily Reporter Staff

A culture of drugs and weapons carried a heavy price for the people involved in the death of a 15-year old Estherville boy in 1997.

As of Friday afternoon, 10 people were accused and 10 people were held responsible for the disappearance and death of Gregory Sky Erickson.

Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Evidence presented at a bench trial last fall convinced Judge Don Courtney that Castillo-Alvarez ordered, or should have anticipated, the death of Erickson in June 1997.

Castillo-Alvarez fled to Matamoros, Mexico, as investigators began looking into suspicions about Erickson's death. The former restaurant owner from Estherville remained in hiding for about 10 years. He was extradited and brought back to Clay County on Oct. 4, 2006.

During Castillo-Alvarez's time as a fugitive, nine people were charged and convicted for roles in Erickson's death.

Four of the nine conspirators are serving time in the federal system and are scattered in facilities from Wisconsin to Arizona. Three people were convicted of state charges because they were teen-agers at the time of their arrests. They were tried as adults and are serving time at three different facilities in Iowa. Two participants in the crime have been released after serving time in the federal prison system.

* Luis Lua, 31, will spend his life in prison. He confessed to orchestrating the kidnapping and torture that led to the end of Erickson's life. He also fired the bullet that killed Gregory Sky Erickson in an abandoned farmhouse in Jackson County, Minn. He is being held in the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Ariz., which is a high-security prison for males only. Lua pleaded guilty, in federal court, to charges of kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and use of a firearm during a crime of violence on Feb. 17, 1998. He avoided the death penalty as part of his plea agreement.

* Aurelio Ortiz, 31, was one of the main distributors in Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez's drug operation and participated in the attack on Erickson in a Spencer apartment. He is serving time in the medium security United States Penitentiary in Marion, Ill. He was sentenced on Aug. 3, 1999, after entering a guilty plea in federal court for using a firearm during a crime of violence. His anticipated release in the federal system is Feb. 22, 2013.

Ortiz also was sentenced to 35 years in state prison on May 7, 1998, after being convicted on four counts involving methamphetamine distribution in Emmet County. Iowa District Judge James Scott ordered service on Ortiz's state sentence not begin until after he has finished "any prison term for pending federal charges."

* Shawn Knakmuhs, 32, was believed to be the main enforcer for Ortiz. He was present at the apartment when Erickson was beaten and taunted Erickson as he was being taken to Estherville. Knakmuhs also went to the death scene to set fire to the building and dispose of evidence.

Knakmuhs pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and using a firearm in a crime of violence. He was sentenced to slightly more than 18 years in prison on Aug. 13, 1998. He is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution medium security prison in Beaumont, Texas. His expected release date is Sept. 10, 2013.

* Ryan Wedebrand, 27, is serving a life sentence at Anamosa State Penitentiary after a Clay County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and kidnapping in February 1998. He was one of four conspirators who accompanied Lua to the farmhouse where Erickson was murdered. After Lua fired the fatal bullet, he handed the weapon to Wedebrand. Each gang member at the farmhouse was asked to fire a bullet at Erickson as a gesture of solidarity.

Wedebrand fired the second bullet and handed the gun to another conspirator. Both of Wedebrand's convictions carry life sentences without the possibility of parole. District Court Judge Frank Nelson handed down the sentences on April 10, 1998.

* Juan Astello, 27, was prepared to fire the third bullet into Erickson's body at the farmhouse, but the gun jammed. He also participated in the torture of Erickson along the route to Minnesota. He was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping by a Kossuth County jury in March of 1998. The kidnapping conviction carries a life sentence. He was sentenced on April 10, 1998 -- about an hour after Wedebrand received his sentence. He is being held at the Fort Madison State Penitentiary.

* Ramiro Astello, 28, is being detained in the medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wis. He was sentenced on May 17, 1999, after convictions for kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, drug trafficking and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. He also was in the car on the way to the rural Minnesota crime scene and was in the basement when Erickson was killed. He is serving life in prison.

* Thomas Mann, 27, entered a guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge and was sentenced on Monday, Aug. 3, 1998, at the Clay County Courthouse. The charge carries a 50 year sentence. He is currently being detained at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. He is the only suspect of five at the Minnesota farmhouse who is not serving a life sentence. His tentative discharge date is Jan. 2, 2040.

* Sarah Kozak, 29, was Lua's girlfriend, according to evidence at her July 1998 federal trial. She was accused of luring Erickson into a Spencer apartment where he was beaten, and transporting him to Estherville against his will. She entered a guilty plea to a two-count indictment charging her with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to being an accessory after the fact to violent crimes in aid of racketeering. She was sentenced to 60 months on one count and 63 months on the second count and allowed to serve both sentences at the same time. She was released on April 14, 2004.

* Ben Alden, 29, received an eight-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He sold drugs and was present as Erickson was being beaten in the Spencer apartment. He also tried to cover up aspects of the death. He was sentenced on Aug. 13, 1998 and released on Sept. 25, 2005.