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A 20-year-old Donna man on Tuesday was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a shooting at the Lopez Drive Thru that killed a 23-year-old man and sent two others to the hospital.
Francisco Alberto Castillo pleaded guilty to murder and attempted capital murder of multiple persons. He received 10 years on the latter charge.
In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutors dismissed two counts of attempted murder, court records show.
Castillo was booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on Jan. 15, 2022 on the charges after Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies linked him to the Jan. 12, 2022 shooting that happened at the intersection of Trenton and Val Verde roads in rural Donna at approximately 9:40 p.m.
Deputies who responded to the scene found three men with gunshot wounds, as well as a Mercury Grand Marquis with bullet holes. The men were taken to DHR Health in Edinburg where Roberto Carlos Mendez died.
The survivors of the shooting told investigators the shooting took place at a raspa stand located in the 600 block of Canton Road in rural Donna.
The investigators obtained surveillance footage from the raspa stand and learned it had been rented to Castillo, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Authorities were able to identify Castillo in the footage and the two victims and raspa stand’s owner identified Castillo as one of the shooters.
Authorities also arrested three juveniles for their alleged role in the shooting as well.
Since they are minors, the statuses of their cases are not available.
Castillo will get credit for a little more than two years that he spent in the county jail awaiting the resolution of his case.
