Chicago man gets 8 years for shooting man
A Chicago man was sentenced to eight years on Oct. 7 for shooting through a bathroom wall and wounding his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
Carlos Castleberry, 35, pleaded guilty Aug. 19 to aggravated battery and criminal recklessness. He faced up to nine years under the plea.
He “obviously made a bad choice and I think he regrets it,” defense lawyer Ben Murphy said at the hearing.
Deputy Prosecutor Tara Villarreal said Castleberry was a “violent” man with a lengthy record. The victim had a plate and two rods in his arm and bullets still in his leg.
It was “very lucky nobody died that day,” she said.
Castleberry apologized and said was “ready to move forward and get this case behind me.”
Judge Salvador Vasquez said Castleberry should not be “proud to be here” for a “horribly reckless act.”
Hammond Police responded Feb. 17, 2023 to a home on Drackert Street for a reported shooting.
A woman told police she got up early to wipe snow off her car and get her kids to school.
When she went to lie down again, Castleberry came into the house and “slapped” her in the face to wake her up, charges state. The woman’s boyfriend was in the bathroom.
“I knew I was gonna find out who your boyfriend was,” he said, according to the affidavit.
Castleberry pulled out a gun, and fired multiple times through the wall into the bathroom.
He chased the man, who tried to run out the back door, shooting at him again.
Castleberry texted the woman he wanted to “chill” on Valentine’s Day, but she refused. He then threatened to kill her, according to charges. The woman said he was recently not in the picture.
Officers recovered 12 bullet casings.
Highland man gets 3 years for breaking woman’s nose
A Highland man got three years in prison Oct. 7 for breaking a woman’s nose.
Anthony Acuna, 24, pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to domestic battery.
Deputy Prosecutor Tara Villarreal said Acuna was “going down this path of being a career criminal.” She asked for four years.
Acuna apologized in court, saying he was “embarrassed” and “disappointed” in himself.
Judge Salvador Vasquez noted Acuna had four other domestic cases with the same woman, including in Cook County and Porter County.
“That’s shameful,” he said.
Acuna was represented by defense lawyer Ben Murphy.
