Man Denies Murder of Teen Athlete

During a brief appearance in Ventura County Juvenile Court on Friday, a 21-year-old Santa Paula gang member denied murdering Ventura teen Jesse Strobel during an attempted robbery six years ago.

Jose “Pepe” Castillo, who is also a suspect in another homicide case, was facing charges in Juvenile Court because he was 15 years old at the time of Strobel’s slaying.

Castillo was arrested April 6 on suspicion of fatally stabbing the 17-year-old Ventura High School athlete.

Strobel was walking home from his father’s Pierpont pizzeria about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, 1993, when he was confronted by a group of men intent on robbing him, according to police.

The men allegedly jumped the football player, who police say was stabbed with a knife as he attempted to fight back.

Castillo was arrested years later at his Santa Paula home after police investigated a tip from a source who said Castillo was responsible for the slaying.

On Friday, Castillo denied a juvenile petition accusing him of murder and deadly use of a knife. A petition in Juvenile Court is equivalent to a criminal charge in adult court, and a denial is the same as a not-guilty plea. A trial is set for Aug. 27, and is expected to last two days. He remains in County Jail without bail.

Because juvenile offenders can only be incarcerated until age 25, the 21-year-old Castillo would be eligible for release from the California Youth Authority after four years if found responsible for the crime.

Prosecutors had hoped to try Castillo in Superior Court, where, if convicted, he would face a much harsher sentence.

But the law in effect at the time of Strobel’s killing prevented those under age 16 from being tried as adults. Although the law was changed in 1995, lowering the age juveniles could be tried as adults to 14 for serious crimes such as murder, it cannot be retroactively applied to Castillo.

More than a dozen friends and relatives of Strobel showed up for Castillo’s arraignment Friday.

Outside the courtroom after the hearing, the teen’s grandfather, John Strobel III, pledged to attend every court proceeding until the case ends.

Castillo and another gang member are also suspects in the June 1998 slaying of Mirna Regollar, a 25-year-old Santa Paula shopkeeper killed during a botched robbery. Both were arrested in connection with the slaying, but have not been formally charged by prosecutors.