Sultan gang beating suspect refuses deal
Published 10:33 pm Thursday, January 7, 2010
EVERETT — Prosecutors on Thursday took the first step in possibly sending a 16-year-old girl to prison longer than four other teenagers blamed for a gang-related killing in Sultan.
Ana Cary Ayala Bustos, 16, is accused of participating in the beating and stabbing death of Antonio Marks, 17, in downtown Sultan. She is charged with second-degree murder.
Four other young people have pleaded guilty in connection with the June 17 slaying.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors said they’d recommend 10- to 15-year sentences for the defendants.
Bustos declined to accept the plea agreement and plans to take her case to trial in March.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow on Thursday amended the charge against Bustos to include an aggravating factor that would increase punishment. He alleged that Bustos participated in the murder to maintain her membership in the Brown Pride Soldiers, a Sultan-based gang.
If Bustos is convicted and a jury also finds the gang ties an aggravating factor, the girl could face up to life in prison. Otherwise, the judge would be limited to a standard-range sentence of 10 to 18 years in prison.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry asked Bustos on Thursday if she understood the ramifications of her decision.
The girl, shackled at her hands and ankles, quietly said she did.
Bustos pleaded not guilty to the new charge.
Detectives reported that during their interview with her, Bustos smiled when she learned that Marks was dead. She allegedly told investigators that she kicked him about 10 times in the groin and stomach. She told detectives that Marks was to blame for what happened, court records said.
Although his family says otherwise, prosecutors in court papers say Marks was a member of a rival gang. He also was dating a sister of two of Bustos’ co-defendants. Investigators learned that in May, the leaders of the gangs involving the teens made it clear they were at war with each other. Members were expected to assault any rival they encountered on the street, Darrow said.
A video surveillance camera captured the slaying on tape. The tape shows Marks being kicked repeatedly in the head and then stabbed several times in the chest in the 43-second-long attack.
Bustos is expected to be back in court later this month as attorneys argue if a jury should be allowed to hear the statements she made to detectives.
Sentencing is scheduled this month for Ivette Rico, 18, and Jaime Santana, 16. Both have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Marco Castillo, 20, was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors believe he stabbed Marks. His brother Adolfo Castillo, 17, was ordered locked up for 10 years.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
