The victim picked him and Taveras out of a photo lineup. According to the report, Castillo confessed to the crime, stating "he needed to burglarize to feed his crack habit." He pleaded guilty and received five years of probation, which he violated twice by not paying $500 fines he still owes.
On March 30, 2010, Castillo was driving a red Chevrolet sedan near NW 50th Street and 97th Avenue in Doral when he was pulled over by a Miami-Dade Police officer working a burglary detail. According to a police report, the cop saw Castillo "circling the area, which has been victim to residential burglaries." The officer claims he found a fake social security card in Castillo's wallet. "My mother got it for me so I can work because I don't have any papers," Castillo allegedly said. He was criminally charged with fraudulent and criminal use of an ID, but prosecutors declined to move forward with the case.
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When Soto asked Yamil why he was around Castillo so much, she claims her cousin told her: "I don't judge anyone."
Shortly after dusk September 30, Yamil invited Soto to hang out at his house. She took a pass when he informed her Castillo would be there. He was also bringing along his girlfriend and Rolando Tato, another employee of the Rolling Stove. Thomas had given them the night off after a heavy rain. He left the food truck in Castillo's possession.
Around 9:15 p.m., Yamil called his friend Maggie (she asked that her real name not be used), who was seven months pregnant. "He just wanted to tell me how happy he was for me," she says.
During the conversation, Maggie says, she overheard Castillo and Tato asking Yamil when he was going to get off the phone. "I guess they wanted him to join the party," she says. "Around 11:30 p.m.,Yamil texted me that he was having a good night."
Throughout the evening, Yamil and Castillo were goofing around by giving each other "nut-checks," a game in which one male friend softly taps or slaps another male friend's testicles when he is not looking, according to secondhand accounts told to Maggie, Soto, and two friends who spoke on background. Around 3 a.m., Tato allegedly left the party. A few minutes later, he received a phone call from Castillo's girlfriend that Yamil had "nut-checked" her boyfriend again. Castillo began hitting Yamil, who defended himself.
Claudia slept through the commotion. She never realized her son was in any danger, even though neighbors told police they heard yelling. The neighbors didn't call 911 or come out to see what was going on. According to the Miami-Dade medical examiner, Yamil died at 3:41 a.m.
Sometime during the day, detectives first made contact with Tato, who subsequently called Castillo to tell him the cops were looking for him, according to Thomas, the food truck owner.
Later that afternoon, Tato called Thomas to ask about the location of the Rolling Stove. Thomas believed Castillo was on his way to a food truck rally at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. But when Thomas arrived, neither Castillo nor the food truck was there. That's when Thomas sounded the alarm on Twitter and Facebook.
Thomas says he found out Castillo panicked after learning the police were looking for him. He left the truck near the Restaurant Depot on NW 12th Avenue in Miami and, along with his girlfriend, went to the Hialeah Police Department headquarters around 6 p.m. "They questioned Nagib for three hours and they let him go," Thomas says. "He acknowledged getting into a straight old fistfight with Yamil, but there was no gun involved and no bludgeoning involved like some of Yamil's friends have suggested around town."
Soto and Yamil's parents claim Hialeah police officials have not questioned Castillo's girlfriend or Tato, who are obvious witnesses. The department's spokesman, Eduardo Rodriguez, declined to comment because Yamil's death remains an open case. Meanwhile, Castillo is still grilling burgers for the Rolling Stove. His boss didn't fire him.
"[Castillo] has worked hard to turn his life around," Thomas insists. "He got into trouble when he was younger." But not anymore, the Rolling Stove mastermind asserts. Thomas says Castillo is so ashamed of his past that he wears long-sleeve shirts to hide his gang tattoos. "All he wants to do now is support his family," Thomas says. "He has never been late to work or called in sick or taken a dime from the register. In the United States, you are innocent until proven guilty."