Joseph Castro’s father was gone from the house for only a short time. When he came back early Sunday, his 18-year-old son was lying in the driveway after a shooting outside a house party in Casa Grande.
Police said the gunfire broke out around 1:20 a.m. September 20 in the 1200 block of East Delano Drive. Officers had received multiple reports of shots being fired outside the home. When they arrived, they found Castro with multiple gunshot wounds. He was already dead.

The shooting took place near Trekell Road and Rodeo Road while a party was being held at the residence. A neighbor said she heard several shots and then saw people running down the street and cars leaving the area. She also saw a neighbor attempting to perform CPR on Castro before police arrived.
Castro had turned 18 just two weeks earlier. His father later said he had left the home to make a quick trip to a gas station and had told his son that everyone needed to be gone when he returned. Instead, he came back to a scene he never expected to see.
By Monday, investigators had made an arrest. Detectives identified a vehicle believed to have been involved in the shooting and used Flock automated license plate readers through the city’s Safe City Initiative to locate it in Casa Grande. A high-risk traffic stop followed, and a 16-year-old driver was taken into custody without incident.
The juvenile was booked into the Pinal County Juvenile Detention Facility. Police said the teenager faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct with a firearm, minor in possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a firearm.
Investigators believe the case may involve more people. Police said they have obtained significant evidence indicating that additional suspects were involved in the shooting. Officials have not released all the details about what happened before the gunfire or explained the roles of those other people.
Family members returned to the home Sunday afternoon and lit candles where Castro was killed. His father said the family was struggling to accept what had happened and described his son as responsible and mature for his age.
The investigation remains active as police work to establish the full sequence of events. Detectives are still looking for information that could help explain why the shooting happened and identify anyone else connected to it.




