Details of fatal stabbing by El Paso man who previously burglarized victim's apartment
An El Paso man arrested in the fatal stabbing of another man inside a Lower Valley apartment had burglarized the victim's residence in the past, court documents state.
Jan Carlo Castillo, 23, is facing a murder charge in connection with the Sept. 11 death of Brian Valentin Almanza, 28, inside an apartment at the San Montego Apartments, 9133 Kernel Circle, El Paso Police Department officials said. Almanza's body was found Sept. 12.
Castillo was arrested Sept. 21 after a police officer saw him jaywalking and recognized him from surveillance videos from the apartment complex the night of the stabbing, officials said.
He also faces a charge of evading arrest or detention with a previous conviction after fleeing from the officer.
Castillo was booked Sept. 22 into the El Paso County Jail. A $1 million bond was set on the murder charge, while the bond on the evading charge was set at $5,000, jail records show.
He has yet to post bail and remains jailed as of Thursday, Oct. 5, jail logs show.
Surveillance videos led to Jan Carlo Castillo's arrest
Almanza was found dead by his ex-wife after she went to his apartment to check on him because she had not heard from him for several days, a complaint affidavit filed for the murder charge states.
The ex-wife told police the front door of the apartment was broken open. She found Almanza kneeling on the floor, covered in blood.
Officers found that the door appeared to be kicked in as footprints were visible outside the door, the affidavit states.
Almanza had "numerous large slashes and lacerations all over his body, and there was a large amount of blood spread around the apartment," the affidavit states.
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An investigation revealed Almanza previously reported a burglary on Sept. 3 wherehis door also had been kicked open and some property had been stolen.
Officers investigating the Sept. 3 burglary also found a footprint on the door. The footprint left on the door "had a distinct tread mark comprised of the Adidas 'leaf' logo," the affidavit states.
El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Persons unit investigators obtained surveillance from the apartment complex.
The video showed a man, who was wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt and black pants, entering the front gate of the apartment complex about 9:30 p.m. Sept. 11 and walking toward Almanza's apartment, the affidavit states. He is not seen holding any weapons and had no visible blood on him.
About 12 minutes later, the man is seen in the video walking away from Almanza's apartment. He is now wearing a white tank top and carrying the long sleeve shirt under his arm.
The man allegedly carried an object wrapped inside the shirt with a bladed edge sticking out, the affidavit states. The object looked like a large knife or machete, an officer wrote in the affidavit.
He then leaves the San Montego Apartments and walks into the neighboring Martin Luther King Memorial apartment complex, 9101 Butternut Street.
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Surveillance video from Martin Luther King Memorial apartment complex allegedly showed the man with blood on his hands and forearm, the affidavit states.
The video also shows a tattoo sleeve covering his right arm. The tattoos are "in a distinct pattern and it can be seen that there is a vacant space between the tattoo on the subject's right forearm and a tattoo that encircles the subject's right wrist," the affidavit states.
The man is then seen leaving the apartment complex.
Photos of the man were disseminated to El Paso Police Department officers, who were told he was wanted for questioning in a murder case.
Jan Carlo Castillo flees from police during jaywalking incident
On Sept. 21, an El Paso officer saw Castillo jaywalking in the 8500 block of Alameda Avenue, officials said.
The officer believed Castillo matched the description of the man in the surveillance video and had the same tattoos, the affidavit states. He also recognized Castillo from a previous robbery case where a convenience store clerk was assaulted.
The officer yelled at Castillo to stop, but Castillo looked at him and then ran away, another affidavit filed against Castillo on the evading arrest charge states.
Castillo allegedly ran toward a backyard of a home in the area and jumped a rock wall. The officer drove around the block and saw Castillo running in the middle of the street in the 8500 block of Dorbandt Circle.
The officer ordered Castillo to stop and to get on the ground. Castillo was then arrested.
He was then taken to El Paso Police Department headquarters in Central El Paso.
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Castillo has "tattoos covering his right arm which match the pattern as the subject seen in the video," the murder complaint affidavit states.
Castillo allegedly had "a scabbed over cut on his left palm which appears to be consistent with a cut from a knife or bladed weapon," the affidavit states.
He also was wearing a pair of red Adidas tennis shoes. The shoes "matched the distinct tread mark which had been left" on the door of Almanza's apartment during the Sept. 3 burglary, the affidavit states.
Castillo's brother later provided a voluntary statement to police. In his statement, the brother identified Castillo as the man seen in the surveillance videos, the affidavit states.
Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Fatal stabbing suspect previously burglarized victim's apartment
