Lubbock police make arrest in armed robbery, drive-by shooting cases
LPD police chief unveils 2024 murder, crime statistics for Lubbock
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A monthslong Lubbock police investigation into three separate, violent crime reports resulted in the arrest of an 18-year-old man in September, according to court records obtained by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Adrian Castilleja was booked Sept 7 into the Lubbock County Detention Center and a grand jury returned indictments against him on Sept. 16. charging him with felony counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm in a municipality.
He is accused of robbing a central Lubbock convenience store in December, shooting at his girlfriend’s house in April and bearing her in May during which he threatened her with a pistol, according to court documents.
His charges stem from a monthslong Lubbock police investigation that began Dec. 22 after patrol officers responded about 3 a.m. to an EZ Mart convenience store in the 4400 block of 34th Street.
Responding officers spoke with a store clerk who said a masked robber entered the store, fired a shot into the ceiling before leveling the weapon at her and demanding money from the register.
The employee refused to comply, and the robber left on foot.
Investigators obtained video from the store’s security cameras, which captured the robber wearing a black mask, black shoes and a black hoodie that bore the phrase, “Make Money, Not Friends.”
The robber appeared to be about 5’03”, weighing about 120 pounds. Jail records list Castilleja’s height as 5’07” and his weight as 120 pounds.
Investigators also collected a spent shell casing and the projectile from the scene, the warrant states.
On April 26, officers responding to a 12:41 a.m. shots-fired call in the 4400 block of Wayne Avenue collected five shell casings from the roadway, which was around the corner from a home in the 4800 45th Street where a homeowner told police his vehicle was shot.
The man said he believed his daughter’s boyfriend, whom he identified as Castilleja, was the shooter.
He said his daughter recently broke up with Castilleja because he was abusive. The man said Castilleja, whom he knew to drive a Nissan Altima, had also sent him threats via social media earlier that night, the warrant states.
Investigators also collected video captured by security cameras from nearby homes that showed the shooter appeared to be driving in a silver or gold colored Nissan Altima with temporary tags.
Lubbock police officers spotted the vehicle at Castilleja’s home in the 4000 block of 39th Street.
Meanwhile, members of the LPD’s forensics unit analyzed the shell casings from the EZ Mart robbery in December and the shots fired call in April and found that they appeared to have been fired from the same gun.
On May 24, Lubbock police officers returned to the home on 45th Street to speak with a woman who told them that her boyfriend, Castilleja, beat, choked and threatened her with a gun earlier that night, the warrant states.
The woman said she was at Castilleja’s home in the 4000 block of 39th Street where he slapped her multiple times, punched her repeatedly, pushed her to the ground, strangled and hit her, the warrant states.
When she tried to leave the house, she said Castilleja pulled out a black handgun, pointed it at her face and told her, “I want to see your brains and a hole through your face,” the warrant states.
The woman said Castilleja continued to beat her and she ran into a closet where she begged him to let her leave.
She said Castilleja ultimately let her go and she walked home, the warrant states.
In June, a Lubbock patrol officer pulled over a Nissan Altima with temporary tags driven by Castilleja and ticketed him for a traffic violation.
In July, Lubbock police searched Castilleja’s home where they found a black handgun, a black full-face mask and 62 rounds of 9mm ammunition, the warrant states.
A warrant for Castilleja’s arrest was issued Sept. 3 and he was arrested in the 4800 block 45th Street, according to jail records.
He remains held at the Lubbock County Detention Center. His bond is set at $150,000 on the aggravated robbery charge and $50,000 on the aggravated assault charge.