New details revealed in death of aspiring El Paso rapper in parking lot drug deal shooting
A shooting that killed a young man in the parking lot of an East El Paso apartment complex stemmed from a drug deal for THC "dispos" — disposable vape devices, according to court documents.
Aldo David Flores, 17, was arrested on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Bryan Raul Castillo on the night of May 14 in the parking lot of the Vista Village Apartments, 10535 Montwood Drive, El Paso police officials said. No attorney was listed for Flores on court records.
Castillo was an aspiring local rapper known as GGRI$H with more than a dozen music videos on YouTube, according to social media posts offering condolences.
Relatives witness fatal shooting of Bryan Castillo
Police had initially said that the shooting took place during an argument involving a group consisting of two men, a woman and a child and a second group but the investigation revealed the shooting was tied to a drug theft.
Castillo was accompanied by at least two relatives when he was shot in the parking lot, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by a police detective obtained by the El Paso Times.
The relatives told investigators that Castillo had picked them up from the Ysleta border port of entry and told them that he need to stop somewhere to sell something, the affidavit stated.
Castillo parked at the Vista Village Apartments where he met with two males who arrived in a black four-door vehicle with damage to its front, the affidavit stated. The buyers attempted to get into Castillo’s vehicle, but decided not to when they saw Castillo’s relatives inside the vehicle.
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Castillo, who was holding a shoe box, met with the males by their vehicle before he was shot by the driver, who then pointed a handgun and threatened one of Castillo’s relatives while driving away from the parking lot, the affidavit stated.
Castillo was transported to Del Sol Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The shooter was later allegedly identified as Flores during a homicide investigation by the police Crimes Against Persons Unit with assistance from the Gang Suppression Unit, which had previously dealt with Flores.
Fatal shooting tied to THC 'dispos' deal
The affidavit stated that a separate witness informed detectives that a drug deal had been set up between Flores and Castillo, who was supposed to sell Flores "dispos" containing THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Flores allegedly told the witness that he had shot Castillo and taken the "dispos," the affidavit stated. Five boxes containing THC cartridges were found by detectives in the back cargo area of Castillo's vehicle.
Detectives doing surveillance at Flores' last known address saw a black four-door vehicle with front end damage parked in front of the house similar to the vehicle description given by witnesses to the shooting, the complaint stated.
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After the witnesses identified Flores as the shooter in a photo lineup, Flores was arrested May 17. He remains jailed under a $500,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown, according to a jail log.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso rapper killed in drug deal shooting. New details revealed.
