(Des Moines)– The Iowa Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of a man in a 1997 gang killing in northwest Iowa, saying the state failed to comply with his right to a speedy trial.
Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez was convicted in the death of Gregory “Sky” Erickson over a drug debt.
The Clay County Attorney’s office filed trial information in 2004 charging Castillo-Alvarez. He was jailed in Mexico in 2005 and returned to Iowa in 2006.
In his appeal, he claimed the state couldn’t show good cause for the delay between when charges were filed and his arrest.
In today’s (Wednesday’s) ruling, the Appeals Court called the County Attorney’s filing of the trial information a “miscalculation” but says the error didn’t excuse the state from meeting its speedy trial obligations.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office says it will seek an Iowa Supreme Court review.
(Story from the Associated Press.).
