The preliminary hearing for a man charged with the murder of a man he met via a tarot card reader in Stafford is due to start on May 17.
Romeo Garza-Castrejon, 28, faces a first-degree felony charge for the murder of Spencer Brown on June 20, 2017. Brown died of multiple gunshot wounds outside an America’s Best Value Inn and Suites at Stafford.
According to court documents, the murder was the result of a narcotics partnership between three men. The partnership, states Garza-Castrejon’s tenure, was facilitated by a tarot card reader known as Lilia “Lilly” Arzaga.
Arzaga told investigators she had read Brown’s tarot cards “for years,” and he frequently mentioned her drug deals in the readings, the warrant says. Arzaga gave Brown the coordinates of Johnathan Trevino, whose cards she also read for an extended period.
Arzaga claims she put the two in touch because Brown and Trevino had discussed their drug dealings with her. Trevino, however, told investigators the business relationship was related to a car wash and not illegal drugs.
Garza-Castrejon was allegedly a narcotics transporter between the two, according to court documents.
The partnership went south, however, and Trevino told the Tarot Card Reader on June 18, 2017 that Brown owed Trevino $35,000.
The court documents do not make it possible to know whether or not Garza-Castrejon intervened between the two and their dispute.
Two days after Trevino told Arzaga that Brown owed him money, deputies from the Stafford Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired around 11 p.m.
While multiple CCTV cameras show a man matching Garza-Castrejon’s description approaching the victim with what appears to be a weapon, the actual shooting is not visible in the footage.
After a lengthy investigation, Garza-Castrejon was arrested on September 16, 2017, and charged with Brown’s murder.
James Rivera, Garza-Castrejon’s lawyer, maintained that his client had long maintained his innocence. Witnesses in the case, he said, were unreliable and had grounds to attribute the murder to Garza-Castrejon.
“You have to look at the quality of the witnesses and the motivation they would have for their statements,” Rivera said. “Who benefits from (Brown’s) murder? Not my client.
“He has always maintained his innocence. He’s a good guy,” Rivera continued. “He works hard. Lives with his parents. It’s not something he would do.
Apart from arrests for traffic offences, Garza-Castrejon has no criminal record.
“We are looking for our day in court where we can present the facts to a jury,” Rivera said. “I truly believe that when the jurors hear all the information about the case, they will know that my client is not guilty.”
A jury trial date for Garza-Castrejon has yet to be set.