WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) – An officer with the Wichita Falls Police Department saved the life of 23-year-old Alexis Castro-Sandoval, suspected of burglary of habitation with the intent of committing other felonies, according to WFPD.
On Dec. 24, 2023, at around 2 a.m., WFPD officers were called to investigate in Wichita Falls. When they arrived, they found Castro-Sandoval with a gunshot wound in his abdomen, according to court documents.
According to Charlie Eipper, WFPD public information officer, one of the officers on the scene used his own medical equipment and military experience to seal the gunshot wound in Castro-Sandoval’s chest. Eipper said the air from the wound was pushing against Castro-Sandoval’s lung, preventing him from breathing. The seal then relieved this pressure, allowing the lung to expand again.
The officer who administered aid to Castro-Sandoval later received a Life-Saving Bar from the WFPD for saving the suspect’s life.
After his wound was sealed, Castro-Sandoval was taken to the United Regional Health Care System to be treated.
While some of the officers investigated the home, other officers stopped a vehicle leaving the area with a woman who had been shot in the hand and two of her family members. American Medical Response was called to treat the woman and transport her to the hospital.
Detectives with the WFPD Crimes Against Persons unit obtained a search warrant to investigate the home where the incident took place. The detectives found blood trails in the living room, hallway and bathroom as well as blood in the bed of one of the bedrooms. The detectives did not find any firearms or bullet casings in the home, according to court documents.
Follow-up interviews with victims and another suspect, Kevin Bladmir Canizalez Perez, revealed that Castro-Sandoval, Perez, and a third unidentified suspect originally went to the Astin home to find money Perez paid to a woman who does not live at the home.
According to court documents, Kevin paid the woman $100 for sexual favors, and she left after receiving the money. This was confirmed after detectives searched through Perez’s phone with his consent, convicting Perez of soliciting prostitution.
According to Perez, the three suspects went to the Astin home, knocked on the door “and gunshots started.”
The two female victims living at the residence told detectives that two of the three suspects entered the home without consent and were holding handguns. The suspects went into the victims’ bedrooms and held them at gunpoint. During the incident, the right hand of one of the females was shot by one of the suspects.
The gunshot victim went to tell her father she had been shot, according to court documents. The father then reportedly loaded his handgun and shot one of the suspects twice. Eipper confirmed that Castro-Sandoval was the one shot by the father.
When describing who entered the home, the female gunshot victim’s descriptions matched that of Perez according to court documents. She also chose Castro-Sandoval out of a sequential photo line-up during her interview.
Perez was arrested on March 7 for burglary of habitation with the intent of committing an aggravated robbery as well as for soliciting prostitution. This places Perez under bonds totaling $45,000.
Castro-Sandoval was arrested on March 17 for burglary of habitation with the intent of committing an aggravated robbery, placing him under a $25,000 bond.
Copyright 2024 KAUZ. All rights reserved.