A jury has convicted a San Bernardino resident of murder in the shooting death of a 52-year-old man who suffered from mental disabilities and had special needs.
Isaac Castillo, 29, was found guilty of First Degree Murder, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, First Degree Burglary, two counts of Criminal Threats and two counts of False Imprisonment. The jury also found true multiple gun allegations.
The conviction stems from a December 26, 2016, incident in which the victim, William Jackson, had been seated on his porch eating a bowl of cereal while talking to his neighbor.
According to Deputy District Attorney Jason Liso, who prosecuted the case, the neighbor noticed a black 4-door, Honda Accord pull up across the street.
"The neighbor noticed that the driver was wearing glasses, and a hat and hoodie but had a very distinctive eye tattoo that bisected his left eye," said Liso. "The neighbor also noticed several large trash bags in the back of the car."
The neighbor went inside to get his coffee and when he walked back out, the victim was now down the street and his cereal was on the ground. The neighbor looked down the street and saw the same car that pulled up earlier now going in the opposite direction.
According to Liso, the neighbor saw a person rack a round into a shotgun, aim and fire at the victim, and then jump back into the driver's seat and leave.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two days later, the shooter showed up at his girlfriend's house in an agitated state holding a shotgun in his hand. When the police showed up at scene, Castillo broke out a window to the house with the shotgun, entered the home and held his girlfriend and her cousin at gunpoint. Shortly after the standoff began, the cousin created a ruse to escape and was rescued by a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy. However, the girlfriend remained in the house until the standoff ended over eight hours later.
Fortunately, with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's SWAT team, the defendant surrendered and the girlfriend was safely recovered.
It was later determined that the defendant was driving a black 4-door, Honda Accord and was found with a sawed-off shotgun he had stolen from his girlfriend's uncle on Christmas Day--the same weapon used to murder William Jackson. There were also several large trash bags in backseat of the car.
Castillo faces life in prison when sentenced Feb. 5, 2018 at the San Bernardino Justice Center.