Murder charges for 5 WA teens in beating death

Five teens were charged Friday with second-degree murder in the beating and stabbing death of a 17-year-old Marysville youth in this Snohomish County town.

Prosecutors say the five, all charged as adults, are members of the Sultan-based Brown Pride Soldiers gang.

The victim, Antonio Marks, was believed to be a member of a rival gang, Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Kathy Jo Blake said. He reportedly was dating the sister of two of the defendants at the time of his death.

Prosecutors say all five teens took turns kicking and punching Marks early Wednesday when they encountered him on a street. The attack was recorded by a surveillance camera. Court documents say Marks died from blows to his head and stab wounds.

Charged are two brothers, 19-year-old Marco Castillo and 16-year-old Adolfo Castillo, as well as 16-year-olds Jaime Michel and Ana Cary Ayala Bustos, and 17-year-old Ivette Rico. They could face a maximum 18 years in prison if convicted.

Marco Castillo is accused of stabbing Marks several times in the torso.

The victim visited the Castillos' house in Sultan on Tuesday, where he and Marco Castillo had some kind of argument, Blake wrote. Marks left but later encountered Marco Castillo and the other four as they were walking back from a store, according to court documents.

Marks was found lying in the middle of a street, just feet from City Hall. He was taken by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.

According to investigators, Marco Castillo said he didn't intend to kill Marks but wanted to hurt him enough so that he couldn't retaliate. It was not immediately known if the five were represented by lawyers yet.

The teen's death has saddened Sultan leaders who hoped they'd done enough to keep young people safe.

"I think we're in the same boat as any other community," said Snohomish County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Brand, who serves as Sultan's police chief. "There's really no Mayberry anymore."

Brand and Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick are asking youths around town to be home by 10 p.m. for the next few weeks.

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com