Nageezi man sentenced in ax attack

GALLUP

A Nageezi, New Mexico, man has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his involvement in attacking another man with an ax.

Henderson Castillo, 27, was sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque on federal assault charges.

According to the complaint, Castillo got into an argument with another Navajo man, who was not identified, on Dec. 4, 2015 at the Red Mesa Store in Torreon. During the fight, the victim had been kicked several times in the face and struck with an ax during an altercation with Castillo and Orlando King, Castillo’s brother.

The victim later told federal agents that he had gone to store to get snacks before going home when Castillo and King walked up to him.

He said Castillo asked him, “Why did you hit my dad?” to which the victim responded by claiming it was because Castillo was shooting at the victim’s sister, an incident that was at the time being adjudicated in tribal court.

Castillo and King then attacked the man, according to the complaint, hitting him in the face and pushing him to the ground after which Castillo went to the bed of the victim’s truck and came back with an ax.

The complaint said Castillo then swung the ax at the victim trying to hit him with the sharp part. The victim said he kept rolling around to avoid being hit. He managed to avoid the ax four or five times, causing it to hit the ground near him.

Castillo then turned the ax around and began striking at him with the blunt side up, hitting him in the left arm and in the back.

One of the employees of the store, identified as KJ, came out, saw what was happening and joined other bystanders in yelling at the two to stop. She said she saw King and told him, “Get in the truck and leave. We called the cops.”

Before they left, witnesses said they saw the two kick the victim in the face several more times.

KJ said when the two left,she saw the man on the ground screaming in pain.

“A bone was sticking out from his left elbow,” she said. “It was white and there were bubbles coming out around it.”

The victim sustained an open fracture to his left humerus, a bone between his elbow and shoulder. He was airlifted to the University of New Mexico hospital where he had surgery.

Castillo pleaded guilty to the assault on June 24. Besides the prison sentence, Castillo will be on supervised probation for a year after his sentence is completed.

As for King, he pleaded guilty to assault back in March and was placed on probation for three years,

One of the conditions of his probation, however, was that he refrain from taking drugs and on Aug. 25, he was back in federal court for violating his probation.

According to his probation report, he submitted urine samples on June 20 and June 30 that came back positive for amphetamines.

Then, on July 16, he was arrested by state police who were at the Torreon store, recognized him and saw that he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. They also found an open container of an alcoholic beverage in his truck.

After admitting that he had been driving the vehicle, he was given field sobriety tests which he failed and then blew a .16 and a .18 on his breath alcohol test. State police also noticed that he had children in his vehicle and they were not secured by child restrain seats.

He is now in the Bernalillo District Court facing charges of abuse of a child, aggravated DWI and having an open liquor container in his vehicle. No trial date has been set.

He was then arrested by federal agents on Aug. 25 for his failed drug tests and failing to abide by a condition of his probation not to get arrested by local or state authorities.
He is waiting for a trial date on that matter.

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