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 Thursday, July 08, 2021                                                                      845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c

PRESS RELEASE

District Attorney Hoovler and Washingtonville Police Chief Zaccaro 

Announce Arrest in 2017 Home Invasion

Defendant Identified Through DNA Match

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Washingtonville Police Chief Brian Zaccaro, on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, announced the arrest of Oscar Castillo, age 33, of Monroe, in connection with a November 18, 2017, home invasion. Before being arrested, Castillo had been indicted by an Orange County grand jury, and had been charged two counts of Burglary in the First Degree and one count of Assault in the Third Degree. Castillo was arraigned on July 2, 2021, before Orange County Court Judge William L. DeProspo, and was ordered to be held in Orange County Jail in lieu of bail, pending further proceedings. 

On November 18, 2017, at about 8:00 p.m., two men forced entry into the rear door of a home on Cardinal Drive in the Village of Washingtonville. The homeowner confronted the perpetrators inside his home, and told police that they wore masks, carried a shotgun, and yelled “FBI” to him. The homeowner got into a physical altercation with the perpetrators and was injured during the burglary. 

Washingtonville Police processed the crime scene and collected evidence, which was submitted to the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center for analysis. DNA found on some of that evidence was then entered into the Combined DNA Index System, where it was matched to Castillo, who had previously been required to submit a DNA sample to the New York State DNA Databank. 

Washingtonville Police arrested Castillo on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Westchester County, with the assistance of New York State Parole. 

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Washingtonville Police Department, the New York State Police, the State Police Forensic Investigation Center, and New York State Parole for their assistance in the investigation of the case and in the arrest. 

“Violence committed by breaking into one’s home is every homeowner’s nightmare,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “and acts of violence like those deserve a strong commitment from law enforcement. We’re fortunate that DNA technology has evolved to the point where we can often solve cases like this one, based on some bit of biological material that a perpetrator left behind at the crime scene. That technology, with good police work backing it up, can bring many perpetrators to justice, and can bring relief to many victims and many communities.” 

“Over three years ago, Washingtonville Police Officers carefully and methodically processed a violent home invasion crime scene,” said Chief Zaccaro. “Because of evidence collected that night, we were able to match DNA collected from the scene to an offender who was not known to us previously during the investigation. I am so proud of the persistence and hard work of our officers involved, and wanted to also thank the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, the State Police Forensic Investigation Center, and New York State Parole for assisting us with this case. Hopefully, this arrest will bring some closure to the victim and will let others in our community rest a bit easier.” 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine Maggiore.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.