Trial Date Set in Death of Mother of 2
A Jan. 26 trial date has been set for Jose “Pepe” Castillo in the slaying of a Santa Paula market owner.
Mirna Regollar, 25, was gunned down June 2, 1998, inside her Oak Street grocery store during an attempted robbery, according to police. The mother of two small children was shot in the head and chest.
Castillo, 21, was arrested in April in connection with the shooting. Three months later, he was indicted by the grand jury on charges of murder, attempted robbery and burglary, as well as allegations that the slaying occurred during a robbery and burglary.
Prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty.
The decision was influenced in large part by Castillo’s involvement in a 1993 homicide. This year, he admitted in Juvenile Court to fatally stabbing 17-year-old Ventura High School student Jesse Strobel as the teen walked home from work.
Because Castillo was 15 at the time, the case was handled in Juvenile Court, where he received the maximum sentence after admitting to the stabbing. The sentence was incarceration in a juvenile facility until age 25.
Castillo is being held at Ventura County’s main jail in Ventura without bail.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
