Castillo-Alvarez receives 50-year sentence

(Photos by Michael Fischer) Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez stares into space as he is sentenced in the kidnapping and death of Gregory Sky Erickson Friday at the Clay County Courthouse. Castillo-Alvarez faces a 50 year sentence, of which 70 percent must be served before he would be eligible for parole.

Daily Reporter Staff

A quiet and, at times, seemingly disinterested Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez received a 50-year prison sentence Friday for his role in the disappearance and death of a Estherville teenager almost 11 years ago.

Joni Ketter, the mother of murder victim Gregory Sky Erickson, collects her thoughts while addressing the court Friday at the Clay County Courthouse. Ketter wanted the maximum sentence possible for Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez, who was convicted of kidnapping, conspiracy and second-degree murder in her son's death.

Castillo-Alvarez was the last of 10 people charged in the June 1997 plot to end 15-year-old Gregory Sky Erickson's life over an unpaid drug debt and his possible role as a police informant.

Judge Don Courtney found the former Estherville restaurant owner guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony Jan. 25 at the Palo Alto County Courthouse in Emmetsburg. The guilty verdict came after a trial that spanned parts of three days in September.

The murder charge carries a 50-year sentence in prison. Castillo-Alvarez, who is 38, must serve at least 35 years of the sentence. He will be 73 years old before parole can be considered.

Courtney allowed him to serve the sentence for murder, the possible 25-year sentence for kidnapping and the 10-year sentence for conspiracy at the same time. The Algona judge had the option to make Castillo-Alvarez complete time on the murder charge before starting the clock on his kidnapping and conspiracy charges.

"I believe in my heart that the sentences should have been consecutive and that there should never be a chance that he'll ever walk as a free man," Ericksons, mother, Joni Ketter, said after the hearing. "But the fact is: It is mandatory that he is going to be spending 35 years in prison. He'll be in his 70s by the time he is out, so I think I'll find some solace in that."

Ketter was the only witness to testify at the sentencing hearing. Castillo-Alvarez had the opportunity to address the judge or Erickson's parents. He declined. He also avoided any visible displays of emotion. He briefly waved to his supporters in the courtroom as deputies escorted him out.

Castillo-Alvarez also seemed distracted during the court process, at one point telling a court interpreter "no, I'm not really paying attention to what the judge said."

"I think he did what he needed to do," Sky Erickson's father, Greg, said of the judge's sentence. "Maybe if I had given a victim impact statement, then it may have persuaded the judge a little bit more, but I kind of doubt it -- just by the way he delivered his whole sentence, I think he had his mind made up beforehand that he wasn't going to do it consecutively."

Mike Williams is the Assistant Public Defender who handled the case on behalf of Castillo-Alvarez. He thinks the absence of Castillo-Alvarez from the most violent parts of the crime may have factored into the judge's sentencing philosophy.

"It has to make a difference -- in my view," Williams said. "In light of the evidence that actually was there -- it's not an overwhelmingly clear case of guilt. I think the judge made that clear because of the time it took to make the ruling. He must have been concerned about something -- to make sure he made the right decision in his own heart. I think it's very important to put it into a whole context as to what my client's involvement was."

Without hearing the comments from Williams, Charles Thoman, the Assistant Iowa Attorney General who prosecuted the case said: "That's the judge's job to make that kind of decision. Obviously we asked for consecutive, but I defer to the court's best judgement in the end."

"I think it's time that we finally reached this point and I'm happy we have the convictions we have and the defendant's going to pay the price," he added.

Castillo-Alvarez has 30 days to file a notice of appeal at the Clay County Clerk of Court's Office. Williams and Thoman both expect the defendant to continue the legal process.

"Further briefing will be done and arguments will be made in front or the Iowa Supreme Court of Iowa Court of Appeals -- probably in about a year or so would be my guess," Williams said. "It could be a little bit less than that, because the trial was fairly short and the issues are fairly well-defined. It shouldn't take an awful lot of time."

Troubles began in 1996

Castillo-Alvarez was in the United States illegally and operated his Estherville restaurant under his brother's name, Ricardo Castillo. The Mexico Lindo restaurant also served as a front for his drug operation. Drugs were stored in a broken cooler, marijuana and methamphetamine left the building in food take-out bags and weapons, including the gun used to kill Erickson, were hidden above the ceiling tiles.

Erickson became friends with members of Castillo-Alvarez's inner circle. He also developed an addiction to methamphetamine -- a fact Ketter was candid about in her victim impact statement.

"I really just wanted parents to be aware of this drug, even though, apparently, its prevalence in Iowa has lessened over the years," she said after the hearing. "It's still here. I also just wanted people to know Sky was really a very cool kid. He was incredibly bright and had this magnetic personality that just drew other people to him."

Sky began having trouble with members of the Los Crazy Boyz after events of Dec. 29, 1996. Milford Police Officer Allen Kruger stopped a suspicious vehicle parked near a car wash. The driver was Gregory Sky Erickson. Officers seized marijuana and $728 in cash. The $1,400 debt became a source of tension.

Officers called Sky's father, Greg Erickson, in for a conference after the arrest. Sky was pressed for information about his suppliers and the Estherville drug operation. Greg Erickson sued and eventually reached a settlement with the city of Spencer because he felt officers didn't do enough to protect their underage informant.

"There's a heck of a lot more to the story than what you all know about," Greg Erickson said. "Of course specifically, I'm talking about how everything worked out the way it did. At the time it all went down, I did everything I felt I could do and to be totally honest, the cops didn't give us a whole lot of choice."

At times, the younger Erickson continued the relationships with his friends. He avoided members of Castillo-Alvarez's inner circle as pressure from the unpaid debt mounted.

In the morning or early afternoon hours of June 6, 1997, five of the gang members gathered at a residence in Estherville. One of the "enforcers" brought out two guns and sent two others out to buy bullets. Two carloads of gang members then went to Spencer to find Sky.

Sky often stayed at a specific apartment in Spencer, but was not there when the group arrived. Luis Lua, the man eventually convicted for firing the bullet that killed Sky, dispatched a couple of less-hostile delegates to retrieve Sky from a local golf course. While waiting, Lua offered Sky's marijuana business to one of Sky's friends. Lua then called Castillo-Alvarez from a pay phone and discussed the decision.

Sky was taken into a bedroom and beaten by a couple of gang enforcers. The gun was pointed at his head and fired without ammunition. The pistol was also shoved down Sky's throat, causing him to vomit. The gang members then took Sky to Lua's apartment in Estherville. Sky was then transported to Mexico Lindo restaurant, owned by Castillo-Alvarez.

A group of five gang members received the following instructions from Castillo-Alvarez, according to testimony: Take Sky out to the country and punish him. The group went to Fort Defiance State Park in Estherville, then drove to an area near Swan Lake, which is close to the town of Superior. Sky was severely beaten at the location. Lua pulled out a gun and was ready to shoot him. He was talked out of it by other gang members who suggested a better location.

Erickson was then thrown into the trunk of the car and taken to an abandoned farmhouse in Jackson County, Minn., where he was killed by Lua. The murder weapon was eventually returned to Castillo-Alvarez and hidden. A property owner came across the crime scene, less than two miles from the Iowa border, on June 14, 1997.

Investigators wanted to question Castillo-Alvarez as the suspected leader of the drug ring, but he fled to his native Mexico as authorities began piecing together details of the conspiracy. He remained a fugitive for almost a decade.

Federal investigators monitored the whereabouts of Castillo-Alvarez though contact with Mexican authorities.

A conclusion,

but not closure

Once the diplomatic channels could be navigated, the extradition process came together quickly in October 2006. Federal authorities used an arrest warrant to bring Castillo-Alvarez over the border to Harris County, Texas. He was detained on a charge of flight to avoid prosecution.

Castillo-Alvarez was then transported to Houston and taken before a magistrate where the flight to avoid prosecution charge was cancelled and he was held on Clay County warrants for murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. Castillo-Alvarez was charged with state offenses as part of an agreement with Mexican authorities. Federal charges could have carried the death penalty and would have hindered extradition for the State Department.

"We got the life sentence through no actions of our own," Ketter said after sentencing. "It was a life sentence that was imposed upon us through the brutal actions of other people. He (Castillo-Alvarez) made those choices, so for him to not really serve a life sentence seems unjust."

During her statement, Ketter said closure will likely never be an appropriate term.

"It brings me satisfaction to know that all of the people who were involved will be punished through the judicial system," Ketter said. "But it's a little different than closure."

She also expressed relief that the process is over. Excluding Castillo-Alvarez, four of the nine conspirators involved in Sky's abduction and death are serving time in the federal system and are scattered in facilities from Wisconsin to Arizona. Three gang members were convicted of state charges because they were teenagers 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.