At The Castillo Law Office, Oakland criminal lawyer Ernie Castillo has nearly 15 years of proven experience successfully fighting cases in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco County ranging from murder charges to drug charges. One of Mr. Castillo's cases was recently published in various media outlets including KTVU on February 27, 2014. The case involved the attempted murder of a driver on 580 in the Hayward area. If convicted of attempted murder, his client would have faced a strike and a sentence of more than 15 years to life in California state prison. On March 28, 2014, Mr. Castillo got the attempted murder charges dropped against his client in Alameda County Superior Court.
KTVU previously reported that a gunman opened fire on a busy 580 freeway in Hayward on February 27, 2014. The person said the gunman targeted him in his black Chevy Blazer, firing five or six rounds. The shooting left bullet holes in the grill, hood, and front windshield of his SUV.
The person who was shot said he was driving his Chevy Blazer westbound along I-580 when he noticed a silver Chevy sedan driving erratically.
"They were in the fast lane, stepping on it, and slamming on the brakes whenever anyone got behind them," said the person shot who was shot at. "I was like, 'whatever,' and I ended up passing them."
According to the witness, before he knew it someone in a silver Chevy opened fire on him. "They pulled out a handgun, I guess. All I did was just duck, and slam on the brakes, and got over as fast as I can."
CHP investigators arrived on scene shortly after, and closed down traffic on Westbound I-580 between Highway 238 and the 164th Avenue exit, to search for evidence. That closure led to miles long backups at the height of the evening commute.
Mr. Castillo was hired to defend one of the persons charged in the shooting. Mr. Castillo's client was wrongfully accused and was not involved in the attempted murder. A subsequent investigation showed that Mr. Castillo's client was in fact somewhere else at the time of the shooting.
Through the use of GPS data from the client's telephone company, surveillance cameras from various locations and the interviews of alibi witnesses, Mr. Castillo was able to show that his client was clearly falsely accused of attempted murder. The tipping point in this case came when, during a physical lineup, Mr. Castillo's client was exonerated by the actual victim who confirmed that Mr. Castillo's client was not involved. Ultimately, the charges of attempted murder against Mr. Castillo's client were dismissed on March 28, 2014 in Alameda County Superior Court.
If you are facing criminal charges contact our Oakland criminal lawyer Ernie Castillo at The Castillo Law Office for a free consultation.