Reserve Deputy Charged With Murder

By Elizabeth Scarborough

POSTED: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

UPDATED: 10:34 am CDT June 9, 2009

HOUSTON -- His job was to uphold the law, but a Harris County Precinct 6 reserve deputy constable is now on the other side of the law, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

Angel Erevia, 31, had a daughter, Angelina, who just turned 1 on Sunday. Now she's left without a father.

"He was a sweet person," said Erevia's mother, Santos Rodriguez. "He always helped people."

Houston Police said reserve deputy constable Jose Castillo shot Erevia to death.

"What kind of law do we have if they can just go up to somebody and shoot them like an animal?" asked Rodriguez.

Police said that at about 2 a.m. Friday, the two men's girlfriends got into a fight inside Buffalo Fred's on North Shepherd Drive. Employees kicked everyone out who was involved, and police said Castillo, 39, was one of them.

But the fight didn't end there.

"I just remember the gunshots," said Erevia's girlfriend, Araceli Sanchez, who witnessed the shooting.

Police said Castillo shot four times. Sanchez said Erevia never had a chance.

"He wasn't even armed," said Sanchez. "She's just not that type person."

Erevia died before he got to the hospital.

"I don't have no alternative but to terminate him," Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino said.

Castillo had been working as a reserve deputy as a volunteer for 14 years. Trevino said he was never on the Precinct's payroll and had no disciplinary problems.

"He seemed like a family guy, a hard working guy," said Trevino. "I was shocked."

Castillo is no longer a peace officer. Instead, he's charged with murder.

"They need to put him away. He took a life," said Sanchez.

Castillo made an arrangement with HPD to turn himself in. He'll be held on $100,000 bond. HPD said he already admitted to the shooting in a written statement, but said it was self-defense.