Phoenix Police Officer Seth Castillo, who is facing DUI charges, failed to appear at a pretrial conference in Gilbert Municipal Court last week. The Arizona Republic reported that missing his court date prompted a judge to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.
Missing even a pretrial conference can be a big deal and could have landed Seth Castillo in jail. However, an Arizona DUI attorney was able to come to the Maryvale Precinct patrol officer's rescue and file a motion to quash the warrant. The DUI attorney explained that the legal staff had failed to correctly calendar the event and notify the defendant of the court date.
The motion to quash the bench warrant was accepted and Seth Castillo now has a jury trial scheduled for September 14 and 15. The Arizona DUI attorney plans to defend the Phoenix officer of an extreme DUI charge and a failing to obey a police officer charge.
The officer's DUI charge has gotten the attention of many people in the Valley, as the man reportedly had a blood-alcohol of .173 at the time of his arrest. This is over twice twice the legal limit in Arizona.
Yet Seth Castillo is furious with the Gilbert Police Department over his arrest and is actually suing the town of Gilbert, alleging that his civil rights were violated by the Gilbert police officers when he was arrested. He also claims that the arrest caused damage to his reputation and emotional distress. For these reasons, the officer is now demanding $500,000 from the city. If a DUI attorney can prove that the man's civil rights were violated in the arrest process, he could be found not guilty of the criminal charges that he faces. More information about the incident can be found through our Related Resources pages.
Related Resources:
- Phoenix Officer Seth Castillo Files Claim Against Gilbert After DUI Arrest (FindLaw's Phoenix DUI Blog)
- See a Phoenix DUI Attorney (FindLaw)
- Phoenix Police Officer Facing DUI Charges (FindLaw's Phoenix DUI Blog)
