Drive-by shooting victim paralyzed in similar incident

LAKELAND — Neighbors thought it was too early for fireworks Monday when they heard gunshots during a drive-by shooting turned shootout in their West Lakeland neighborhood shortly before sunset.

Seventeen-year-old Jake Castillo was killed by the gunfire six and a half years after he was paralyzed in a 2011 drive-by shooting that killed his brother. Castillo was confined to a wheelchair because of his injuries from the first shooting.

“This appears — I underscore ‘appears’ — at this point to be a gang-related shooting,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in during a news conference Monday night.

Castillo’s legal guardian, Hortencia Ortega, his aunt, could not be reached for comment this week, but shared on her Facebook page a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her nephew’s funeral expenses. The campaign raised $270 of its $15,000 goal by midday Wednesday.

“Jake Castillo was a victim of a drive-by shooting at the age 11 which led him to be paralyzed,” the GoFundMe page says. “Unfortunately, six years later he was once again a victim of another drive-by shooting and passed away.”

According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting Monday took place about 7:45 p.m., when Dario Trejo, 18, Jose Tinoco, 24, and Christopher Garcia, 18, all of Lakeland, drove past 2602 Tennessee Road three times. On the third pass, they came to a stop. Witnesses said gunfire started and Castillo was hit, according to public information officer Michele Cash.

An occupant of the house, who deputies said on Wednesday was identified as 29-year-old John Lugo, retrieved a shotgun and is accused of returning fire, Cash said. Trejo and Tinoco were wounded by the gunfire. The car sped off and crashed into a ditch shortly after, Cash said.

Betty Bozeman, who has lived in the neighborhood for almost 30 years, said the sound of gunshots is common, but she has never seen as many police and Sheriff’s vehicles than she has this week.