Castillo Salmeron
By Noah Crenshaw | (Franklin) Daily Journal
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An Indianapolis man will serve five years in prison for the April shooting death of his brother in Edinburgh.
Pedro Castillo Salmeron, 20, was sentenced Thursday by Johnson Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent to five years in prison for Level 5 felony reckless homicide. Reckless homicide has a sentencing range between one and six years, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Elliott
Castillo Salmeron pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to the charge filed in May after the shooting death of his brother, 14-year-old Jonathon Elliott of Edinburgh. Castillo Salmeron will serve the first three years of his sentence at an Indiana Department of Correction facility, with the remaining two years to be served at the Johnson County Community Corrections Work Release Facility, prosecutors say.
“Make no mistake,” Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said in a statement. “If you recklessly kill a person in this county, you will go to prison … and that’s what happened in this case.”
On April 29, Castillo Salmeron was playing with a handgun when it discharged at a home on the 600 block of South Pleasant Street in Edinburgh. The bullet struck Elliott, who was playing video games, in the chest. He later died at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis.
As firefighters loaded Elliott — who was still alive — into an ambulance, he told police Castillo Salmeron was the person who shot him. He said he was playing video games when he “felt something hot,” according to court documents.
Castillo Salmeron was Elliott’s foster brother, Christina Abney, Elliott’s mother, said in a May interview. Abney and Elliott’s grandmother, Kathy White, described Elliott as a happy kid who was always willing to help others.
He was also kind to everyone he met, Abney said.
“John was always a happy, goofy little kid. Everyone he met, he told them he loved them; it didn’t matter if he knew them or not,” she said. “He loved everybody and wanted to help everybody. That’s just how he was.”
There were three other children in the house at the time of the shooting, but they were unharmed. David Brandenburg, another son of Abney, told Castillo Salmeron to call for help but the gunman said he couldn’t get the call to go through. Brandenburg then called the owner of the house to tell him about the shooting, followed by 911, according to the affidavit.
After Brandenburg told him he was calling an ambulance, Castillo Salmeron fled the scene and hid the gun. He eventually came back to the house, which is where he was arrested, according to the affidavit.
The investigation by Edinburgh police concluded that Salmeron’s actions were not intentional but were reckless. Prosecutors argued for an aggravated sentence and prison time.
“It was an honor to serve Jonathon’s loved ones,” said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Robinson, who prosecuted the case. “I am pleased that Mr. Salmeron received an aggravated sentence.”
