Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
A man who was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery grabbed for the arresting officer’s gun, police say. Unsurprisingly, Mario Castro appeared before the criminal court judge with a black eye and his arm in a sling. The judge entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of the defendant and assigned him a public defender.
According to the police report, Castro body-slammed his girlfriend and punched her in the face over an argument concerning a phone. Police were called to the home at 7:30 p.m. The victim told police that Castro made “rude comments” about her children so she demanded that he leave. She told police that Castro responded by body-slamming her in front of her children.
Castro left the apartment before police arrived but returned later and the police were called again. At about 8:10 p.m., they arrived at the scene, again too late. This time, Castro had taken the woman’s cellphone and punched her in the face. Castro came back a third time, and police found him hiding in a pantry closet. Castro was asked to step out and did but he pulled away from police when they asked him to put his hands behind his back. Castro was taken down, still struggling. He managed to grab a gun magazine and strike the officer in the arm with it. He then attempted to remove the gun from the officer’s holster but was repelled in the attempt. Eventually, the police tased Castro, but the taser was not enough to prevent him from continuing to struggle. Eventually, police were able to get him in handcuffs, but Castro continued to struggle, so they sprayed him with pepper spray.
A Lot of Felonies
Castro has been charged with numerous felonies. These include disarming an officer of the law (level-5), two counts of felony domestic battery (level-4), aggravated battery to a police officer, and a couple of misdemeanor counts.
Of these, the most serious crime is battery on a police officer. However, because Castro’s attempts at harming the police officer were ineffective, he is unlikely to face significant prison time. However, if you add up all the charges against Castro, they end up somewhere between 10 and 15 years as a maximum. In other words, one guy losing his cool one night will cost him for the next 10 years of his life.
Worse still, there are several other crimes the defendant committed for which he has not been charged. He could also be charged with aggravated stalking, burglary, and endangering the welfare of his girlfriend’s children.
This will make it more difficult for his defense attorney to gain leverage for a plea deal. The prosecution can begin tacking on more and more charges as the case moves forward. If the victim is willing to help them with their case, then her testimony can provide extremely damaging evidence against him.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney
If you are charged with aggravated battery on a police officer, you do have options. Call David Freidberg today at (312) 560-7100 to discuss your options in more detail.
