Police arrested a Chattanooga man on New Year’s Eve after he allegedly menaced a man with a gun who had posted Snapchat photos of the defendant’s girlfriend.
Fernando Castillo, 20, of a Kinser Circle address, was charged with Aggravated Assault and Domestic Aggravated Assault. He is scheduled to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on Feb. 13.
According to an affidavit of complaint, police were dispatched to a Merrill Street address just after 1 a.m. on a disorder with a weapon. Dispatch relayed to officers that the victims, a man and a woman, had fled to the Mapco in the 6500 block of Ringgold Road after they had arrived at the Merrill Street address and Castillo allegedly pulled a gun on them. According to the victim’s, Castillo said he would “not be leaving the scene until they came back and that he was in a silver Infinity.”
The report states that when officers arrived at the Merrill Street address they saw an Infinity in the driveway with two Hispanic men in the front seat. Officers ordered both men out of the vehicle and detained them. Castillo told police that there was a gun under the front seat of the vehicle where he had been sitting. The report states that officer located the Beretta Px4 loaded with eight rounds. Officers also noticed one loose round in the floorboard and one spent shell casing in the back seat.
The report states that Castillo told police that he knew his girlfriend was out with another man and that he had seen her being dropped off at the Merrill Street address where she lives. According to the report, Castillo told police “my temper just got out of control and I just pulled my gun out on them.”
After being advised of his Constitutional rights, Castillo told police that he had never fired the gun from the vehicle. Castillo said that he got the pistol from a friend who he did not identify.
Castillo was arrested and transported to East Ridge police headquarters where officers had arranged for the victims to provide statements about the incident.
The male victim told police that he had taken a photo with Castillo’s girlfriend and uploaded it to Snapchat, and that Castillo had seen the photo and become angry. The man said Castillo called his girlfriend and said that he wanted the man who took the photo at her house and that next time “he wasn’t gonna hesitate to pull the trigger.”
According to the report, the male victim told police that he and the woman pulled up to the house and they saw Castillo parked in a nearby church parking lot. Castillo pulled out of the lot at high speed, got out of the vehicle, pulled a gun and pointed it at them. The victim said he put his vehicle in reverse and left the scene. The male victim told police that Castillo called his girlfriend and told her that he wasn’t leaving the Merrill Street residence until they returned.
_ 115 Fawn Dr.: Just after 3 a.m. on Dec. 29 police were advised of an auto theft in progress at the address. According to a police report, officers were advised that the victim was following the vehicle down Ringgold Road. The vehicle got on Interstate 75 and then onto Interstate 24 westbound before exiting onto North Terrace at South Moore Road. The report states the vehicle crashed at the intersection of Belvoir Avenue and North Terrace. The report states that when police arrived on the scene the victim told them that once the car crashed two suspects got out and ran. The victim told police that as he was following the suspects on Frawley Road he heard a gunshot as the passenger leaned out the window. the victim said he heard two more gunshots when the car approached the interstate at Ringgold Road. According to the report, officers went back to those locations and found two 9 mm shell casings at the entrance to I-75 North on Ringgold Road. The incident has been assigned to detectives for further investigation.
