Posted on 12/06/2006 4:07:05 PM PST by Dysart
The father of a man charged in the random slaying of a north Dallas office worker said Wednesday that he was confused and saddened by the accusation against his son.
Police, acting on a tip, when to the northwest Dalls home of Jose Castro, 24, and took him in for questioning. Castro was formally arrested about 3:30 a.m. at police headquarters and then transferred to the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.
He was in a Dallas County jail early Wednesday on a charge of capital murder with bail set at $750,000. Police said Castro also is wanted by the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency as an illegal immigrant.
Karen LaFon, 51, of Garland was shot repeatedly as she walked to her car after work around 5:20 p.m. Monday.
Castro's father, Heriberto Castro, said he was shocked when he saw an image taken by a surveillance camera of a man, believed to be his son, riding elevators for about eight minutes before following LaFon to the parking lot.
The images were released Tuesday and led to the tip that resulted in Jose Castro's arrest, police said.
"I don't like what I saw," Heriberto Castro said.
Castro said his son recently graduated from a computer training program at a local technical school and planned to take more classes early next year at a downtown Dallas campus.
He also said his son had worked for a company that prepared income tax returns.
"We feel bad about all this that happened," the father said. "I don't know what happened with him."
Castro has a criminal record, said Sgt. Larry Lewis, a Dallas homicide detective.
Public records show that Castro was serving 10 years' probation after receiving deferred adjudication in a 2005 aggravated robbery case in Richardson.
LaFon, a mother of two adult sons, was a manager for the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.
The state agency, located on Greenville Avenue near Northwest Highway, worked in programs for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Her body was found on the sidewalk outside the office building, shortly after shots were heard, police said.
Investigators believe that the suspect randomly targeted LaFon because she was carrying some bags, said Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez, a Dallas police spokeswoman.
The killer did not take any of the items, Hernandez said, but investigators believe he was prowling for someone to rob inside the building, judging by his behavior on the surveillance video.
Numerous tips were phoned in to police after they released images from the video late Tuesday afternoon, Lewis said.
Jose Castro was taken into custody without incident at his home in the 9600 block of Forest Lane, near Interstate 635. Neither Lewis nor Hernandez had information about the tipster.
Detectives will be checking to see if he is a suspect in any unsolved crimes, Lewis said.
"The investigation is ongoing," Lewis said. "It's not over by a long shot."
If this is the same case profiled tonight on the First 48, this cold, heartless illigal scumbag needs a lethal dose of deportation out of civilized society. That man had absolutely no conscience acout his actions. All to common wiht those whose first acts coming into this country are illegal and often violent.
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