A 21-year-old Gillette man accused of attacking then kidnapping a woman and leading deputies across a two-county high-speed car chase didn’t help his defense by apologizing in court Thursday.
Ruben A. Castro appeared Thursday in Gillette Circuit Court on one charge of kidnapping, which is punishable by between 20 years and life in prison, plus $10,000 in fines, if a later jury finds Castro didn’t release his alleged victim willingly.
He’s also facing one count of strangulation of a household member (up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines) and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault and eluding (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines each).
Castro on Sunday night attacked and strangulated a woman he’d been dating, then he dragged her out of her home Monday and fled Campbell County into Johnson County at speeds reaching 170 mph, prompting law enforcement agents to spike-strip the vehicle he was driving, court documents allege.
In a series of emotional phone calls to his mother during the chase, Castro said he was “obsessed” with the woman and was taking her to Las Vegas after she tried to break up with him, claims the evidentiary affidavit in the case.
A Campbell County Attorney’s Office deputy prosecutor on Thursday urged Circuit Court Judge Paul Phillips to hold Castro on a $500,000 cash-only bond. This case involves violent crimes, and Castro has shown that he’s a flight risk by trying to flee law enforcement already, the prosecutor argued.
When it was Castro’s turn to speak, the judge warned him to address only whether he’s a flight risk and a danger to the community.
‘I Know What I Did Was Wrong’
Castro instead apologized for his actions and admitted to wrongdoing.
“I told the truth to the detectives,” he said. “I admitted everything to the detectives in the interview. Because I know what I did was wrong; I know what I did was wrong and at the time I was very sleep deprived.”
Phillips cut Castro off.
“You have the right to remain silent,” warned the judge. “This is probably not a good idea to try to tell your story here today.”
Circuit court judges often interrupt defendants who try to admit wrongdoing at their initial hearings, because initial hearings aren’t for discussing one’s guilt, but for setting bond. Admitting wrongdoing at that phase can jeopardize a defendant’s chances of launching a good defense later.
“I told the detectives nothing but the truth,” Castro continued. “I feel sorry for what I did.”
“Let’s just leave it at that,” said the judge.
Castro then promised to perform well if released from the jail and placed on house arrest with an ankle monitor.
Phillips said Castro would be put on an ankle monitor if released, but first he’d have to post a $500,000 cash or surety bond.
The judge made a finding that Castro is a flight risk and a danger to the community.
The weight of the evidence against Castro could only increase his risk of trying to escape the law, and that weight “has only been added to by statements you’ve made here today,” Phillips said.
“I had a mental episode,” said Castro.
“Well, that’s what you should tell your attorney,” the judge countered.
Spike Strips
An evidentiary affidavit by Gillette Police Department Detective Ryan Mussell tells of a violent romantic fallout and a two-county car chase ending with a spike-strip blowout.
At about 2:08 Monday afternoon, a man driving in Gillette called police to report that he’d spotted a woman in trouble in a 2013 black Chevrolet Cruze with Wyoming plates in the area of South Burma Avenue and Westover Road, says the document.
The man said a female in the Cruze was trying to get his attention. She was crying and banging on the windows, so he started following the Cruze, the man told police. The vehicle was driving erratically and at high rates of speed, until the caller lost sight of it, he added.
Officers later found the Cruze speeding through the Foothills subdivision, where it was reported to have hit another car and fled.
The man driving the Cruze, later identified as Castro, also escaped police, threw the woman’s phone out the window and fled to Johnson County at speeds reaching 170 mph, the woman told police later.
In Johnson County, authorities spiked the vehicle and arrested Castro, who tried to flee the vehicle on foot, the document says.
Interview
In an interview with Mussell, the victim said she and Castro had been in a dating-type relationship, but she tried to break up with him Sunday night.
Castro threw her on the bed, plugged her nose, grabbed and slapped her mouth, wrapped his hands around her neck and shook her by the neck, the woman told Mussell.
In the morning, she took him to work and then broke up with him via text. He was only at work for a half hour before he got a ride back to her home and dragged her, fighting and struggling, out the door and to the Cruze, the document alleges.
The affidavit also says Castro plunged a knife into her phone.
Physical evidence from the home corroborates the woman’s account of her fighting Castro on the way out, Mussell wrote.
They got into the Chevy and the alleged pursuit followed. During the drive, Castro called his mother repeatedly, and the mother tried and failed to coax Castro into returning the alleged victim home safely, the affidavit says.
Castro’s alleged victim told law enforcement that during this drive, Castro was coordinating with a friend via phone to stay in Las Vegas.
Castro told his mother that he was “obsessed” with the woman he allegedly kidnapped, and that he was unsure why he’d done these things, but that he had a mental breakdown, the affidavit says.
Castro’s preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 7 in Gillette Circuit Court.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
