Three men get 2-5 years in attack on house sitters

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

Three men who in May broke into a residence thinking they were going to rob a drug dealer, but instead ended up shooting at and assaulting two house-sitters will each spend at least two years in prison.

Andelew Castleberry was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison, and Tomas Rivas and Jerry Vaughn each received two- to five-year prison terms after pleaded guilty to lesser charges before District Judge Sally Loehrer.

The trio had originally been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping with a weapon, home invasion, burglary with a weapon, robbery with a weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery. Under the original charges, each man faced a maximum of three life sentences.

But in exchange for their guilty pleas, prosecutors reduced the charges to conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery and burglary.

Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said the less than abundant amount of evident in the case and the circumstances of the robbery led to the plea bargain.

"They (Castleberry, Rivas and Vaughn) thought they were going to rob a dope house and ended up robbing innocent individuals," DiGiacomo said.

Metro Police dispatchers received a call around 11 a.m. on May 7, 2004, from a man who screamed that someone had "kicked in the door" and that he had been shot in the leg, police said.

Officers arrived at the home in the 8600 block of Copper Knoll, near Gowan Road and Durango Drive, and found Seth Bennett with a gunshot wound in his leg and Eduardo Garcia suffering a possible concussion.

Officers searched the area and arrested the 20-year-old Vaughn, 27-year-old Castleberry and 28-year-old Rivas.

A stolen Honda was recovered in the 8600 block of Copper Knoll and was believed to be the car used by the three men, police said.