Man facing federal charges gets educators’ support

BROWNSVILLE - A stream of educators requested leniency for a McAllen man facing federal charges that he tried to help a suspected drug trafficker escape from jail.

It apparently worked.

Against the request of federal prosecutors, U.S. Magistrate Felix Recio on Thursday did not pull the $100,000 bond on 29-year-old Antonio Castillo who has been free since depositing 10 percent in early July.

Castillo also pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to help Ricardo Garcia-Heredia escape from the Brooks County Detention Center in late June.

Instead of reconsidering the bond, Recio appointed Castillo's sister and Melissa Groetsch as Castillo's "third-party custodians."

The role of third-party custodians is to ensure that Castillo meets bond conditions.

Groetsch is an assistant principal at La Joya High School. She and McAllen administrator George Padilla Ph.D., Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District teachers Irma Salas and Maria Luisa Gonzalez, a former employer and friends wrote letters to the court on Castillo's behalf.

They describe him as a man who surpassed a troubled youth, served in the military, and became a responsible, hardworking husband and father who had dreamed of becoming a U.S. Customs agent.

Recio pointed out Thursday that Castillo appeared for the hearing and arraignment, is following bond conditions, and voluntarily attends mental health counseling.