Police arrested a St. Croix man for allegedly beating his niece unconscious at a Peter’s Rest nightclub without obvious motive, according to court records. The woman’s step-cousin was also arrested for assaulting her.
The victim told police she was at the Media Luna Bar with her boyfriend between midnight and 1 a.m. Oct. 21. After several drinks, she asked the bartender not to serve him more. This caused her uncle, Dario Castro, who was married to the bar owner, to fly into an unexpected rage.
“Pay and leave,” Castro allegedly shouted.
When the woman asked what was wrong, she said Castro shouted, “Pay and get out!”
When she agreed to pay, he allegedly grabbed her by the ear and attempted to pull her out of the nightclub.
Meanwhile, Castro’s stepson, Alfredo Guerrero, allegedly came from behind the bar and placed the woman in a chokehold. When she gasped that she could not breathe, he pulled her left arm behind her back and threw her out into the street, according to court records.
Guerrero then allegedly slammed the victim to the ground in the mud. Castro allegedly struck her with a Michelob Ultra bottle. The victim told police blood was running from her head as she lost consciousness. She awoke, according to court records, with a bartender holding a bottle of alcohol under her nose to help him wake up. Castro allegedly shouted at the bartender, “This what I pay you for?”
The woman’s boyfriend carried her to a car and drove her to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where police met her half asleep but groaning in pain.
Police issued wanted posters for Castro and Guerrero, who eventually turned themselves in Oct. 30. Guerrero was charged with assault. Castro was charged with assault and carrying a dangerous weapon during a commission of a crime of violence. Castro was released on $1,500 bail. Guerrero was released on $1,000 bail.
