Reports: 3 arrested in teacher’s death confessed to role in crimes

By Jackie Valley

Monday, Nov. 8, 2010 | 1:48 p.m.

Three men arrested Friday in connection with the death of an Eldorado High School teacher and a series of robberies last month allegedly confessed to the crimes when interviewed by detectives.

The three suspects arrested — Marcos Castrejon, 20, Saul Favela, 19, and David F. Rosas, 19 — implicated each other while confessing to their involvement in the robberies, including the death of 50-year-old Timothy VanDerbosch, according to arrest reports released Monday.

"Suspects gave information which only would have been known by the victims and the suspects who committed the crimes," the arrest reports state.

Castrejon, Favela and Rosas, all from Las Vegas, are being held on suspicion of one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of robbery and five counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.

During the five robbery attacks in the early morning hours of Oct. 20, the suspects allegedly stole money, cell phones, jewelry, credit cards and clothing items from victims while brandishing handguns or knives, according to the arrest reports.

In the first two robberies, the suspects allegedly ordered victims out of their parked cars while stealing personal property inside the vehicles and on the victims. Victims in the second robbery told police the suspects ordered them to be still or "they were going to blow their heads off," the arrest reports stated.

During the fourth robbery, one suspect allegedly stabbed the victim in his left calf after he fell to the ground trying to avoid the swinging knife. Another suspect punched the victim in the face after the stabbing, authorities said.

Victims of the other robberies reported being punched, kicked, stomped and pistol-whipped by the suspects regardless of whether they cooperated, police said in the reports.

The three suspects said the vehicle used in the robberies, described as a white Nissan Maxima, belonged to Rosas.

Police said names of three additional suspects haven't yet been disclosed. A few of the victims told police a female was in the suspects' vehicle at the time of the attacks, officials said.

Castrejon, Favela and Rosas are being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center, police said at a news conference Saturday.

Two juveniles also were arrested on suspicion of robbery, but police said they haven’t been charged in the death of VanDerbosch. Police said the investigation is ongoing and there could be more arrests and additional charges in the case.

VanDerbosch, a physics and chemistry teacher at Eldorado High, died after police said he was beaten and robbed, then hit by a car as he tried to run away. The incident occurred near Washington Avenue and Betty Lane as VanDerbosch was walking to school in the morning.

“What shocks the consciousness of the public is the fact that this was a teacher; this was an individual who didn’t have a lot of means. He was just going to school to teach kids in an area that has socio-economic issues, an older school in an older area,” Metro homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said at a press conference Saturday. “He enjoyed teaching there. The kids enjoyed him being there. He was a very, very talented teacher from everything we got, and he was murdered for no reason.”

Police said the same suspects are believed to be responsible for at least eight robberies and some other beatings on multiple nights.

The arrests were made after police conducted surveillance on the suspects and executed multiple search warrants, Roberts said.

Sun reporter Kyle Hansen contributed to this report.