Retrial ordered in Tyrone Castillo murder case

Trenton Smith

Tyrone Castillo was gunned down at a wake in September of 2007 and Trenton Smith was accused of the murder. After over two years a decision on Smith’s fate was placed in the hands of a jury of eight women and four men. But today jurors spent almost five hours deliberating and could not come up with a decision. What that means is that Smith will spend more time in prison and in court because he will have to be retried on the charge of Murder. Seven witnesses were called during trial, including Jervis Valencia who said he personally witnessed the shooting, which took place at the wake for George “Junie Balls” McKenzie. Valencia’s testimony didn’t hold any water because he claimed he saw Smith shoot Castillo five times at close range, but Dr. Mario Estradabran found that he was shot from at least three feet away. Smith also took the stand and claimed that he was at home when the shooting occurred and that he never knew he was a suspect until he was detained. Smith now returns to the Hattieville Prison until a date is set for his retrial to start.