Castillo-Alvarez conviction overturned

(File Photo)

Castillo-Alvarez fled to Mexico as co-conspirators were questioned and his restaurant was being searched for evidence 12 years ago. Court filings from the Clay County Attorney's Office led to Castillo-Alvarez's apprehension in Mexico and paved the way for his extradition back to Iowa.

Those same filings started the clock on the defendant's right to a speedy trial and Castillo-Alvarez did not waive his right to respond to charges within 90 days.

"We will ask the Supreme Court to review the split decision by a panel of the Iowa Court of Appeals," Spokesman Bob Brammer said, in a statement from the Iowa Attorney General's Office. "Meanwhile, Mr. Castillo will remain in custody pending the outcome of our request that the Supreme Court review the matter."

In reflecting the majority view of the Iowa Court of Appeals panel, Chief Judge Rosemary Shaw Sackett said prosecutors knew Castillo-Alvarez was in Mexico and to arrest him they needed to deal with Mexican authorities. Wednesday's ruling suggests prosecutors should have taken the potential delay into account before filing charges and, in their view, violating the defendant's right to a speedy trial.

"The county attorney was well aware that defendant was a citizen of Mexico and that he was located there," Sackett wrote. "The fact defendant went to Mexico in 1997 does not shed light on why there was delay" between the time trial information was filed in 2004 and the time he was arrested in October of 2005.

Brammer said the Mexican government issued an arrest warrant for Castillo-Alvarez before the state filed trial information or criminal charges.

"Formal extradition proceedings commenced immediately following the defendant's arrest in Mexico 13 months later," Brammer said. "United States authorities maintained regular contacts with Mexican authorities during that period but had no jurisdiction to do more to ensure prompt location of the defendant and execution of the outstanding arrest warrant. In short, we argued that the delay was attributable to Mr. Castillo."

Castillo-Alvarez's attorney, Patrick Parry, of Sioux City, told the Associated Press he was pleased with the ruling.

"I think they rendered a decision that is consistent with the law and the facts and they didn't get caught up in the fact that it was a notorious case and that it was a child that was killed," he said.

Greg Erickson, Sky Erickson's father, credited Parry for making some good points at the appeal hearing and said he wasn't surprised by the ruling. He said he hopes the Iowa Attorney General's Office can "find a way to turn it around again," and get the conviction restored with a ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court.

"I'm disappointed, obviously," he said. "The guy is guilty as sin."

District Court Judge Don Courtney agreed with prosecutors, who found Castillo-Alvarez responsible for the delay. Courtney then found Castillo-Alvarez guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony Jan. 25, 2008, at the Palo Alto County Courthouse in Emmetsburg. The guilty verdict came after a Clay County bench trial spanned parts of three days in September 2007.

"When we seek further review, it is discretionary on the part of the court," Brammer said. The Iowa Supreme Court could choose not to hear the case, could hear the case and uphold the Iowa Court of Appeals ruling or it could restore District Court Judge Courtney's conviction.

If the conviction is restored, Castillo-Alvarez will continue to serve Courtney's sentence of 50 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge. 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.

Castillo-Alvarez was to serve at least 35 years of the sentence. He would have been 73 years old before parole would have been considered.

Joni Ketter, Sky Erickson's mother, said she was shocked to learn the appeals court decision Wednesday.

"The emotions I'm feeling right now are pretty much indescribable," she said. "To reward this guy for skipping this country -- to avoid capture and prosecution -- I think is a real miscarriage of justice.

Nine others from Estherville were convicted for roles in Erickson's disappearance from a Spencer residence and murder in an abandoned farmhouse in Jackson County, Minn. Castillo-Alvarez was the last of 10 people convicted in the June 1997 scheme to end 15-year-old Erickson's life.

"When he (Castillo-Alvarez) was found guilty, I thought 'OK, we're finally done.' The other defendants had all appealed, but none of them went anywhere," Ketter said.

Evidence suggests Castillo-Alvarez used his brother's identity to stay in the country and operate his Mexican restaurant in Estherville. It was also a front for a drug ring . Weapons were hidden above the ceiling tiles. Drugs were stashed in a broken cooler and handed out in food carryout bags under his direction.

The gang members were unhappy with Erickson about a debt he owed Castillo-Alvarez and his enforcers. Erickson lost about $1,400 in money and marijuana after officers stopped a suspicious vehicle parked near a car wash in Milford on Dec. 29, 1996. Erickson began working with investigators as an informant following his arrest.

Two carloads of gang members caught up with Erickson on June 6, 1997. After beating him at a Spencer apartment, they pressured him into returning to Estherville, presumably to see "the man," referring to Castillo-Alvarez.

A jury trial was waived and prosecutors were able to convince Courtney that Castillo-Alvarez saw Erickson, or at least encouraged the violence, on the night of his murder. Erickson was beaten at Fort Defiance State Park near Estherville, then again at a remote location near Superior in Dickinson County.

From there, five gang members took Erickson to the abandoned farmhouse in Jackson County, Minn. One of Castillo-Alvarez's enforcers, Luis Lua, was convicted of first-degree murder for firing the fatal bullet.

Erickson's body was discovered on June 14, 1997. Castillo-Alvarez, who wasn't present at the farmhouse, fled the country as investigators began to piece together the gang's involvement in the murder.

Federal authorities believe Castillo-Alvarez was in Matamoros, Mexico, during his 10 years as a fugitive. A complicated extradition process came together in October of 2006, when Castillo-Alvarez was returned to Clay County after a court process in Texas. Mexican authorities wouldn't extradite one of its citizens on federal charges because the penalty contained the possibility of a death sentence or life in prison without parole. Castillo-Alvarez was returned to Clay County on state charges instead.

He received his sentence on April 25, 2008. He filed his appeal on May 15, 2008. The Iowa Court of Appeals heard the case in May 2009 as part of the 86th Annual Lawyer's Chautauqua in Okoboji.