Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Criminal Sentencing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Man pleads to trespass, obstruction and battery; sentenced to concurrent terms and ordered not to return to Shell station
Summary
Marco Zarate Castillo pleaded nolo contendere to criminal trespass and obstruction, and guilty to simple battery on a police officer. Judge Hayward imposed concurrent 12-month sentences with 90 days to serve and suspended balance, and barred him from returning to the Shell station at 4183 Thurman Road.
Marco Zarate Castillo appeared by Zoom Jan. 14, 2025, and entered pleas to three cases arising from an Oct. 27, 2024 incident at a Shell station in Forest Park. Castillo pled nolo contendere to criminal trespass and obstruction and guilty to simple battery on a police officer.
Deputy chief/prosecutor described officers' account: when officers responded to 4183 Thurman Road they were told Castillo had previously been told not to enter the premises; when officers attempted to detain him he fled and, later, while being processed at the police vehicle, allegedly spat on an officer. Defense counsel said Castillo's version is that he sneezed and that any saliva reaching an officer was accidental. The defense also said Castillo stopped and cooperated quickly after fleeing and that he has no intent to return to the business.
The state recommended concurrent sentences of 12 months with 90 days to serve and the balance suspended, and a condition not to return to the Shell station at 4183 Thurman Road in Forest Park. The court accepted the recommendation and imposed 12 months, with credit for 90 days already served, and suspended the balance on the conditions the defendant commit no new offenses and do not return to the Shell station. The court also noted an outstanding warrant from Kissimmee, Florida, for grand theft auto (larceny, felony), which the state said may be a Florida-only detainer and might not lead to an immediate extradition.
Why it matters: The plea and sentence remove a person charged with multiple public-safety-adjacent offenses from the community for a short custodial period, then place conditions designed to prevent repeat contact with the location and people involved. The existence of an out-of-state warrant could affect Castillo's custody status after he completes the local sentence.
What came next: The court ordered concurrent sentences as recommended; Castillo will receive jail credit for time served and must not return to the Shell station. The sheriff's office and probation will enforce the stay-away condition; the Salt Lake of Florida detainer will be handled by the sheriff's office in coordination with prosecutors and the Florida authorities as appropriate.
