Opinion ID: 2709091
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Murder and Carjacking

Text: At approximately 3:00 PM on December 21, 1996, Martha Castro looked out her window and saw her husband, Mario Castro, lying on the ground. A man dressed in a black cap, jacket, and pants was leaning over him and searching his pockets. Mrs. Castro and her nephew, Alberto Varela, ran outside. Varela struck the man dressed in black. In response, the man in black picked up a gun and fired it once before running into the alley. Varela followed him briefly, but stopped once the man fired the gun a second time. Mr. Castro later died from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The Castros’ neighbor, Juan Medina, looked out his window when he heard the gunfire. He saw the man in black searching Mr. Castro’s pocket. Medina then walked into the other room to tell his wife Mr. Castro had been shot. When he returned, he saw Varela hit the man in the shoulder and the man fire a shot at Varela. A few blocks away, Ruth Morales-Santana turned into the alley. When she parked and got out of her car, the man in black approached her, gun drawn, and demanded her car keys and purse. Morales-Santana handed over her bag and keys and the man climbed into her car.