The case involving a former high school baseball player from PSJA Memorial who allegedly shot and killed his friend will likely go to trial in June, according to his attorney and state prosecutors.
Carlos Julian Contreras, 20, appeared before state District Judge Marla Cuellar Wednesday morning for a hearing regarding the murder charge he received after allegedly shooting and killing 19-year-old Genaro Isaiah “Izzy” Castillo in 2020.
Contreras’ appointed attorney, O. Rene Flores, stated before the court that he believes the trial could begin in June following a final pretrial hearing to which prosecutors agreed.
According to Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra, the two men were involved in a criminal enterprise at the time of the shooting.
Castillo’s body was discovered Jan. 14, 2020, on a caliche road near a sugarcane field off of Valley View Road in the Donna Lakes area.
Guerra said that the call came in at about 5:47 p.m. from a farmer reporting that the body was found by one of his field workers.
Investigators estimated that Castillo died about 10 to 15 minutes before his body was discovered. He was shot in the leg, torso and head.
The sheriff didn’t elaborate and the probable cause affidavit didn’t provide details surrounding the alleged criminal enterprise both men were involved in, but the arrest affidavit details how investigators say Contreras sought a gun from an associate before allegedly shooting and killing Castillo.
Witnesses told authorities that Contreras had been looking for a gun “to ‘take out ‘Izzy’ and ‘Reggie’ before they took him out.’”
Guerra said that Contreras admitted to picking up Castillo and driving him to Donna Lakes with a man named George, but investigators determined that George doesn’t exist.
According to the sheriff, Contreras is the sole suspect regarding the murder.
“In the immediate area of the crime scene, investigators were able to locate tire tracks, indicating a vehicle had just left the location, and multiple 40-caliber bullet casings,” Guerra said at the time of the arrest.
“Through the course of the investigation, investigators learned that the victim was having issues with a friend named [Contreras], who drove a white Ford truck.”
He added that investigators found a napkin with blood stains along with multiple bullet casings inside the vehicle.
Contreras was originally held on a $1 million bond which was reduced to $250,000 and then again to $200,000 a few days before his release on Feb. 29, 2020..
