Texas woman sentenced to 37 years in prison for her role as leader of several robbery crews
Atlanta sources stated that Chaka Castro, 44, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. district court Judge Laurie J. Michelson of the Eastern district of Michigan, who presided over the trial, according to a Department of Justice press release. After a five-week trial, Castro was convicted of one count of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and four counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to evidence presented at trial, from 2011 to 2014, Castro and her robbery crews committed a string of home invasions in georgia, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Texas. The leader of the robbery crews was Castro, who would generate lists of robbery targets in various states around the county, specifically families of Asian and Indian ancestry, and then assign crews to carry out the armed robberies of these families within their homes.
Once Castro assigned a crew to a particular area, members of the group would travel to that location, conduct surveillance and execute the robberies. The crews utilized a particular modus operandi in each of the robberies.