Men Involved in Shootout Here Illegally, Police Say

Des Moines Register ^ | 1-27-04 | Tom Alex

[nonliberal]

Men involved in shootout here illegally, police say

By TOM ALEX
Register Staff Writer
01/27/2004

Two men charged in connection with a double homicide, rolling gun battle and attempted burglary in Des Moines on Saturday were in the country illegally, police said Monday.

Police Sgt. Todd Dykstra said police have not yet determined where the suspects obtained the gun or how many bullets were fired in the gun battle with police.

Investigators refused to release the 911 tape in the homicide investigation.

Jorge Perez-Castillo, 23, of Guatemala was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder. He allegedly was firing at police while driving a truck and trying to flee his pursuers.

Hernando Sandoval, 28, of Mexico was charged with attempted burglary for allegedly trying to break into an apartment in the 2800 block of Douglas Avenue at the conclusion of the shootout.

Dykstra said he did not know how long Perez-Castillo and Sandoval had been in the Des Moines area. He said as dangerous as it was for those in the area early Saturday, it could have been worse had the two suspects managed to get inside an apartment at the end of the police chase. As it turned out, they were cornered and arrested without further injury.

Perez-Castillo is accused in the shooting deaths of Santo Bueso Sr., 49, of Des Moines and Manuel Mulloh, 27, of the Omaha area.

Two groups of men became involved in an altercation early Saturday morning at the Casa Vallarta restaurant, 2327 Euclid Ave. A scuffle occurred about closing time, and the men were asked to leave.

Mulloh and Bueso Sr. were killed and Bueso's son, Santo Bueso Jr., was wounded. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center. His condition on Monday was listed as serious.

Dykstra said the victims apparently were unarmed. Police would not say what the men were arguing about, or why an armed man allegedly opened fire on a group of unarmed men.

[nonliberal]

It is rapidly becoming a major problem here in Iowa. Especially with the Meth traffic.

[nonliberal]

I wonder if these guys would be eligible for President Bush's guest-worker (amnesty scheme)when they are released from prison?

They would be using prison space that American criminals would not want. :)

[Missouri]

Great tagline.

[jimt]

There's a difference between being prejudiced against folks because of their ethnic background, and being prejudiced against folks for criminal actions.

There's nothing wrong with the latter.

Personally I am also prejudiced against folks who have additional kids while they're on public assistance. Does their color or ethnic background matter ? Not a bit. I dislike them all equally.

The complainers on the thread (including me) are irritated by the crimes these guys committed, and the fact that they're here illegally. Had our government deported them as it should, they wouldn't have been here to do the crimes.

Does the fact that they're from Guatemala and Mexico matter ? Not particularly, except that the Mexican government seems bent on sending more criminals this way, and protecting them when they commit crimes here.

[Porterville]

Being against illegal aliens in this country is fine; using racist adjective and showing a genuine disdain for Hispanics regardless of their status is nonsense.