(Memphis) Police have arrested and charged a man with the killing a murder in Northeast Memphis.
The body of Santos Castillo was found early Sunday morning in a driveway on Reed Ave.
Samuel Hernandez, 29, is charged with first degree murder.
Police say it appears Castillo and Hernandez were fighting when the murder happened.
People who live in the area say the house where he died has been attracting trouble to the neighborhood, and now they are dealing with a murder.
Two candles mark the spot where police found the Castillo’s body.
Friends and family say Castillo was just photographed last week by Memphis Daily News for an article about outdoor landscaping.
He was left for dead Sunday morning by someone who shot him and drove away.
“So, someone was parked there and shot him?” asked Reporter Sabrina Hall.
“Yeah,” said the man who lives in the house.
Those who live in the house where Castillo was found in the driveway say Castillo had come there to drink Saturday night, but say they didn’t hear the gun shots and don’t know who might have done this.
“Did you find him out there?” asked Hall.
“Yes,” said the man.
Other people saw him too, including a woman’s 90-year-old grandmother who was awakened at around five in the morning by police lights.
“She could see it all lighting up the house so she looked out there and said ‘Oh my Lord’ and there was a body lying there,” said the woman.
The woman, who didn’t want to be on camera, says she’s been worried about her grandmother’s safety in the neighborhood that she says has been deteriorating for some time, “You hear gun shots a lot. You see a lot of drug transactions. You see a lot of people walking and stopping and talking and pulling stuff out of their pockets.”
“So, is this gang related?” asked Hall.
“No,” said the man in the house.
Friends of Castello say his murder wasn’t gang related yet the stopped short of saying they wanted someone caught for the crime.
“We don`t want any problems,” said a woman in the house.
“You don`t want any problems?” asked Hall.
“No,” said the woman. “What happened happened, you know?”
People who live in the Nutbush area are hoping police will step-up patrols.
In the meantime, police are asking anyone who knows anything about this crime to call CrimeStoppers and 901-528-CASH.