Family of Akron mother shot during kidnapping say shooting was preventable
The sisters of an Akron woman who was shot multiple times in front of her 4-year-old son, whose kidnapping prompted an Amber Alert on Monday, say the shooting was preventable after she tried to get multiple protection orders against her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, according to Beacon Journal news partner News 5 Cleveland.
Akron police said the woman's ex-boyfriend and father of the child, Jose Castro, shot the woman and kidnapped their son Monday in the 1100 block of Tulip Street in South Akron.
Castro, 24, of Akron was arrested early Tuesday morning in Cleveland. He's charged with one count of kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony. He was arraigned Wednesday morning after refusing to come out of his cell for his scheduled Tuesday arraignment.
Castro's bond was set at $1 million. An additional hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
The woman, Elsie Rivera Ortiz, was upgraded to stable condition late Tuesday night, police said.
The boy, who is currently in Jenitza’s care after being dropped off unharmed to a family friend who brought the boy to a detective, "saw everything. He saw his mom laying on the ground and his dad shooting at her," said Elsie's sister, Jenitza Rivera.
Akron Amber Alert:Child safe, suspect arrested in Akron kidnapping after 4-year-old's mother shot
“She loves her kid, that’s her life. She would do anything for him. She’s a wonderful mother,” Jenitza told News 5 Cleveland. “She brings joy to everybody.”
Her sisters Genesis and Jenitza Rivera told News 5 Cleveland that Elsie, 24, is stable and conscious but has a long road of recovery ahead of her after being shot 11 times, including in the pelvis.
Jenitza said Elsie was supposed to drop her 4-year-old son off at her house before she went to work Monday, but she never dropped him off, and Jenitza feared that "he did something to her."
The sisters said Elsie left Castro a few months ago and that she lived in fear of him.
Castro involved in previous case involving ex-girlfriend in June
According to records from the Akron Police Department and Summit County Common Pleas Court, Castro was previously arrested June 13 after shooting a gun into the ground while looking for Elsie in Akron’s Firestone Park neighborhood. Genesis Rivera was the one to call police.
“He wanted to talk to her. I told him that she didn’t want to talk to him, so he got upset,” she told News 5 Cleveland.
A Summit County grand jury indicted Castro on charges of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony; aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor; drug possession, a first-degree misdemeanor; and discharge of firearms, a third-degree misdemeanor.
Kenmore shooting:Man arrested in murder of Kenmore woman found fatally shot in her driveway in April
Bond for Castro, who pleaded not guilty, was set at 10% of $25,000, or $2,500, and he was required to have no contact with the victims in the case. Castro was released on bond ahead of pretrial, according to court records. The first pretrial in the case was scheduled for Sept. 9, but was continued until Oct. 13.
Elsie's sisters told News 5 Cleveland that Castro continued to come around.
“Just this Saturday, on Saturday morning there was another incident where he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her all over the floor,” Genesis said.
Akron police told News 5 Cleveland that the June incident was a verbal argument and didn't result in a domestic violence charge. Genesis said that Monday morning, hours before the shooting, Elsie tried to get a protective order, the second time her sister had tried to do so.
“She went to the court and they told her the same thing, that the police report said that he had scratches all over him, so they didn’t know who was the aggressor,” she said told News 5 Cleveland.
A spokesperson for Akron police told News 5 Cleveland that they weren’t aware she tried to get a protective order, but that they’ll look into verifying the information.
“Just thinking that it could be prevented is what breaks my heart,” Jenitza told News 5 Cleveland.
For more, read the News 5 Cleveland article here.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mother of boy in Akron Amber Alert in stable condition, sisters speak out
