A 39-year-old man who was caught hiding behind a bed found himself behind bars Thursday after a nasty battle with a man who was removing belongings from their residence.
The victim told Marion County sheriff’s deputies that he had gathered some of his belongings and put them in his vehicle, but when he went to get the remaining items, Mark James Castillo had locked him out of the house. He said he started “screaming and pounding on the door” before Castillo flung it open, a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim said he stumbled backwards onto the ground and Castillo grabbed his leg and drug him closer to him. He said Castillo started striking him with closed fists and he waived a knife around in self defense but it was tossed onto the ground, the report says.
The victim claimed Castillo hit him in the head and torso area several times. He said his glasses were knocked off his head and he became disoriented. He added that while searching for his glasses, Castillo went over to his vehicle and started striking the hood, grille and headlights with a shovel, resulting in $345 in damage, the report says, adding that deputes noticed two red and swollen bumps on both sides of the victim’s head.
An eyewitness told deputies she heard the victim screaming and pounding on the door before Castillo grabbed him and “began punching him in various places.” She said she also saw Castillo hit the victim’s vehicle with the shovel and once he had called 911, Castillo left the residence on foot heading in an unknown direction, the report says.
A deputy returned to the residence later in the evening and after getting permission from the homeowner to enter the house, he found Castillo hiding behind a bed. After being read his rights, Castillo denied attacking the victim and claimed he didn’t damage his vehicle.
Castillo was then taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with domestic battery, criminal mischief and failure to appear in court on a past charge of driving while license suspended, revoked or canceled. He was being held on no bond on the domestic battery charge and $1,500 bond on the other charges and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
