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Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 24 July 2017 24 July 2017

By Roger Lanse

UPDATE:

On Monday, June 19, a warrant for the arrest of James Anthony Castillo, 43, of Arenas Valley, was issued out of Grant County Magistrate Court. Castillo was charged in the warrant for concealing identity, and resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer. According to an arrest report, he was arrested by Silver City Police Department officers on Thursday, June 22, at the KISS building on the corner of 13th and Bennett streets and booked into the Grant County Detention Center.

Sunday, July 23, Arizona law-enforcement officers were allowed to extradite Castillo back to Arizona to face multiple charges in that state, according to GCDC staff.


The Sunday, June 18, house fire at 1450 S. Highway 90, the Beat reported on earlier in the week, turned into standoff between a subject’s knife and an officer’s firearm.

When a Silver City police officer arrived at the burning single-wide mobile home at about 5:30 p.m., the officer noticed a male, later identified as James Anthony Castillo, squatting down in the trees to the west of the structure fire, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant. When the subject came to the officer at the officer’s request he identified himself only as “Jimmy,” and refused to give his last name.

The affidavit stated that the officer seeing a bulge under the subject’s shirt in the front of his waistband. When the officer asked what that bulge was, Castillo said it was a knife. He then pulled the knife out, which was sheathed, even though the officer had warned him not to touch it.

At gunpoint, the affidavit said, the officer ordered Castillo to drop the knife and he threw it on the ground but refused to turn around and place his hands behind his back, saying, “No, you are not going to detain me.” Castillo then began to run east and did not comply with orders to stop.

Pursuing on foot the officer advised he lost visual of Castillo and he was never relocated for arrest.

At the time Castillo concealed his identity and resisted arrest he had four active warrants for his arrest.