Simi Man, 18, Gets Life Term in ’93 Slaying

Calling him a “sociopath” with “extremely violent and predatory tendencies,” a Superior Court judge Friday sentenced an 18-year-old Simi Valley man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the robbery and murder of a Porter Ranch pizzeria manager.

Dusty Tyrone Castillo was also sentenced to 36 years and 8 months in state prison on another 20 felony counts, including at least a dozen assaults and bank, restaurant and clothing store robberies he committed during a crime spree from November 1992 to January 1993.

Handcuffed and wearing jail blues and a white rosary, Castillo smiled at members of the Holden family who told Castillo how he destroyed their family the night in 1993 when he killed John Michael Holden, 19, a Moorpark College student.

“You took my brother, and you took my sense of family,” Kelly Holden said. “You are a predator of society.”

The victim’s mother, Carol Holden, said two murders actually were committed that night.

“The first murder was of my precious son, the second was my family,” she said.

Judge Charles L. Peven said Castillo “would scare the hell out of everybody” and seemed to derive excitement and pleasure by inflicting fear and pain in others. Because of Castillo’s violent nature, Peven said he would recommend sending Castillo to a maximum-security prison, such as San Quentin or Pelican Bay.

A probation report from the California Youth Authority recorded Castillo’s long list of crimes and his violent nature. In it, Castillo blamed a deprived childhood for his criminal tendencies, and said anyone who tried to help him was wasting their time.

“My son is the kind of guy, who if someone like Dusty walked up to him, he’d help him,” Carol Holden said. “We need more Johns, not more Dustys.” Castillo was reported as saying, “I will always smile and outlive the relatives of the victim who cheered at my trial.”

“He’s smiling at me right now,” Peven said as he passed sentence. “He smiled throughout the whole trial.”

According to police, Castillo and two others--Alex Velasquez, 19, and Oscar Villanueva, 18--went to Ameci In & Out Pizza and Pasta restaurant in Porter Ranch the evening of Jan. 14, 1993. While Villanueva waited in the car, Castillo and Velasquez confronted Holden and demanded money.

Holden gave them $450 and offered them the checks from under the register, his mother said, but Castillo shot him anyway, point-blank in the chest.

All three were under 18 years of age when the killing occurred, but were ordered to stand trial as adults.

Villanueva pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 16 years to life in a state prison, though he will serve the first seven years in a juvenile facility. Velasquez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of 26 years to life in prison.

Lydia Nelson, Castillo’s mother, said she has shed a lot tears for the victim’s family, but believes she and her son have been persecuted throughout the trial.

“But I will not abandon him in his hour of need,” she said.