Cab company dispatcher held in killing of fellow cabbie

Thursday, Nov. 13, 1997 | 9:19 a.m.

Weston Sirex, 24, was arrested after Churchill County authorities sought assistant from Washoe deputies in locating Sirex for questioning in a sniper case there.

During questioning, the Washoe County sheriff's office said Sirex implicated himself in the Oct. 26 killing of John Castro Jr., 49.

Castro was found shot in the head in his cab in Cold Springs several hours after picking up two men in southeast Reno. He died the next day.

Sirex was booked into the Washoe County Jail on charges of murder with a deadly weapon, robbery and conspiracy. He is being held without bail.

Investigators said two others also face charges in the case.

Shawn R. Harte, 20, of Fallon, who was arrested in the Churchill County case, will be charged in Castro's death.

A third person, Latisha Babb, 18, also of Fallon, is facing charges of conspiracy and robbery with a deadly weapon.

Harte was arrested in an Oct. 14 incident in which two men driving into Fallon were shot at on U.S. 95 about 20 miles south of town. They were unhurt even though four slugs hit their vehicle, investigators said.

They found distinctive tracks from unmatched tires on the vehicles and traced them to a Fallon business where Harte worked, the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard reported.

A search of his home revealed newspaper articles about Castro's murder and the Churchill County shooting, according to KOLO-TV in Reno.

Harte implicated Sirex and Babb, prompting their arrests.

Rewards in the case that total $8,500 were initiated by Whittlesea, where Sirex worked.