A West Sacramento man has been sentenced to 26 years and eight months in prison for a gang assault in which he struck a youth in the head with a hammer.
A Yolo County jury convicted Christopher Lee Castillo, 21, for his role in a March 2010 attack on two black juveniles. He was sentenced Friday by Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen L. Mock.
The two victims and their family had been harassed by gang members during the two months before the assault, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. When the two victims went to confront the gang members, they were ambushed by numerous gang members armed with weapons and a pit bull. Castillo struck one of the victims in the head with a hammer, creating a deep gash, authorities said.
Gang members continued to threaten and harass the victims' family after the assault, causing the family to move twice.
Ten suspects were arrested, and nine entered pleas to various charges, according to the news release. Castillo was the 10th and final defendant.
He was sentenced following a hearing in which the judge considered a probation report, attorneys' comments, and letters from Castillo's family and friends. The sentence was increased because Castillo inflicted great bodily injury, personally used a weapon, assaulted multiple victims and committed the crime with other gang members, according to the news release. Castillo also committed the crime while on felony probation for a gang-related stabbing, a "strike" crime.
The District Attorney's Office offered Castillo a plea bargain of 16 to 17 years before the trial, but said Castillo rejected the offer.
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