A Hood River circuit judge has ordered a 16-year-old accused in a January shooting to be released from custody while his case plays out, after finding prosecutors seriously dropped the ball on turning over evidence to the defense.
On Thursday, Judge Karen Ostrye granted pretrial release to the teen, who had been held on murder and weapons charges at the NORCOR juvenile facility. In a written ruling, she concluded the defense had been prejudiced by major discovery failures and signed an order freeing the youth as the criminal case continues.
Ostrye found that Hood River County District Attorney Matthew Ellis’s office failed to provide material it had been ordered to turn over, including autopsy records, police body-worn camera footage and cellphone data. She wrote that the omissions added up to significant discovery violations. The order also notes that prosecutors tried to move the case into adult court, a request the judge denied, according to reporting from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The charges stem from a shooting just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 17 in the parking lot of the Columbia River View apartment complex at 1695 Oak Street. Officers arrived to find 21-year-old Yahir Castillo-Alvarez with multiple gunshot wounds; he died two days later at a hospital. Police arrested the 16-year-old on Jan. 28 on counts that include second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and several weapons-related charges. Local coverage has reported that investigators believe a second person also fired shots during the incident.
Hood River Police and the Columbia Gorge Major Crimes Team say they have issued a warrant for 30-year-old Noel Hernandez in connection with the case and are still asking the public for tips. The department publicly extended condolences to Castillo-Alvarez’s family and urged anyone with information to contact Detective Ben Oka, according to a police release reviewed by Columbia Gorge News.
Judge Says Evidence Gaps Hurt Defense
During a hearing, Ostrye bluntly told the district attorney that his office could not decide on its own which evidence seemed important enough to share, stressing that the Constitution does not allow the government to pick and choose what to disclose. She concluded that defense lawyers were missing crucial materials and noted that a defense investigator had raised concerns about a witness’s credibility, factors that weighed heavily in her decision to grant release.
Coverage of the April hearing also describes an overheard remark by a prosecutor in court that troubled the judge and influenced her assessment of the case, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
What Comes Next
The judge’s ruling does not toss out the charges. Prosecutors still have the option to keep building their case, work to fix the discovery problems, or ask the court to revisit the teen’s custody status if new information comes to light.
Defense attorneys argue the decision validates their complaints about missing evidence, while investigators maintain that the hunt for a second suspect remains active. Police continue to ask anyone with tips to contact the Hood River Police Department and Detective Ben Oka as the local investigation moves forward.
