Racial Statistics on Grand Jury Sought

Defense attorneys in a Santa Paula death penalty case have told a judge that they want to examine the racial and ethnic composition of the grand jury that returned a murder indictment against their client.

The public defenders are questioning whether the Ventura County Grand Jury, which indicted Jose “Pepe” Castillo in July, fairly represents minorities and women in the county.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley recused himself from ruling on the motion Wednesday. The issue is expected to come before a Santa Barbara County judge in the coming weeks because the entire Ventura County bench voted for the 1999-2000 grand jury and has a conflict of interest.

Castillo, 21, is accused of fatally shooting Santa Paula store owner Mirna Regollar, 25, during an attempted robbery June 2, 1998. Regollar, a mother of two and a nursing student at Ventura College, was shot in the head and back.

Police believe there were two shooters and arrested a second suspect, but the other one was later released for lack of evidence.

Castillo has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted robbery and burglary, as well as two special-circumstance allegations that would make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted.

Assistant Public Defender Jean Farley has requested statistics on the racial and ethnic makeup of the grand jury members who indicted her client, as well as grand jurors who have served since 1985.

Farley also wants information about the age, socioeconomic background and criminal histories of the grand jurors on the grounds that the panel may not reflect a fair cross-section of the community.

At the time of Castillo’s indictment, the grand jury was comprised of 19 members--four women and 15 men. Farley argues that women represent nearly 50% of the county’s population but only 20% of the current grand jury.

Based on initial statistics, Farley also states in her motion that it appears there are no African Americans, Asian Americans or other non-Latino minorities on the panel. There were four Latinos on the grand jury when Castillo was indicted.

Farley’s motion is similar to one brought five years ago in the death penalty trial of Mark Scott Thornton, who was later convicted of murder in the shooting death of Westlake Village nurse Kellie O’Sullivan. That motion was rejected by a Santa Barbara County judge.

Castillo is scheduled to stand trial April 3.