Rogelio Castillo, shown above, was arrested Monday on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder in the gunshot slaying of 17-year-old George Torres, shown in the inset.
PIERSON, Fla -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrested a 25-year-old man early Monday morning on a first-degree murder warrant for Saturday night's shooting death in Seville.
Deputies had responded to 1898 Barton St. that night in response to a report of someone having been shot. Upon arrival they found 17-year-old George Torres outside on the ground where he had succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds.
Through witness interviews and solid investigative work, Sheriff's Office Major Case investigators obtained the warrant for Rogelio Castillo and had him in custody before the weekend was over, agency spokesman Brandon Haught said.
Deputies had responded to 1898 Barton St. that night in response to a report of someone having been shot. Upon arrival they found 17-year-old George Torres outside on the ground where he had succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds.
Through witness interviews and solid investigative work, Sheriff's Office Major Case investigators obtained the warrant for Rogelio Castillo and had him in custody before the weekend was over, agency spokesman Brandon Haught said.
Investigators learned that Torres had gone to 1898 Barton St. Saturday and got into a fight with a man known as "Heroacha," Haught said.
"A moment later, Heroacha's brother, known by the nickname Paco, pulled out a gun and started shooting," Haught said. "When Torres collapsed to the ground, Paco and Heroacha fled, and a witness called the Sheriff's Office at about 6 p.m. Investigators didn't yet have the brothers' real names, but they learned that the men lived at the Barton Street address and they obtained a search warrant for the home. Their investigation soon revealed that the gunman's name was Castillo and he had fled to Crescent City."
With the assistance of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, investigators found Castillo in Crescent City and he agreed to return to Volusia County to be interviewed, the Sheriff's spokesman said.
"Castillo told investigators that he had fired the gun, but that shooting Torres was accidental," Haught said, adding the accused killer told investigators he had only intended to scare the Pierson teen. Castillo was then arrested and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach at 3 a.m. Monday.