Published: October 17, 2009 05:45 am



Chain-saw suspect claims no memory of incident

By Julie Manganis



DANVERS — Angel Castaneda insisted to a judge yesterday that he has little memory of wielding a chain saw at a police officer and then using it to carve up his mother-in-law's house in Danvers last Sunday morning.

"I don't remember exactly what I did," said Castaneda, 35, who is charged in what both a prosecutor and the judge called "one of the scariest cases" either had dealt with in their legal careers.

Castaneda is facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction in a domestic dispute that turned into a standoff with police, with Castaneda armed with a running chain saw outside his Putnam Lane home.

"Whatever they're telling me, whatever the papers say," Castaneda said, he would admit to — but, his lawyer said, only on the condition that he serve 90 days in jail, then be handed over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who now want to deport him for being here illegally.

Salem District Court Judge Richard Mori told both Castaneda and his lawyer that he'd consider nothing less than a two-year jail term for Castaneda. That led Castaneda to withdraw his plea and ask for a trial.

Prosecutor Colleen Cashman said her request for a 21/2-year jail term is "a generous offer" from prosecutors, who still haven't ruled out indicting Castaneda and seeking state prison time.

"The fact that he was chasing people around with a chain saw indicates that he clearly intended to harm someone that morning," said the prosecutor, who pointed out that Castaneda "went after an officer."

Castaneda's lawyer, Gail Nastasia, said her client was "in an intoxicated state" that morning and "used some bad judgment," but didn't really plan the incident.

She told Mori that her client was on his way to work as a landscaper and happened to have the chain saw in his truck.

"This was an isolated incident," Nastasia said, downplaying a 1999 domestic assault incident and a conviction for disturbing the peace.

"He's got essentially no record," the lawyer said.

"Even when he's released from this case, he's going back to Guatemala," the lawyer said, where he hopes to find work to support his four children — three with a former girlfriend and one, a 5-year-old boy, with his wife in Danvers.

She said a 90-day sentence would allow him to get back to work more quickly so he could resume supporting those children.

Mori was not persuaded.

"Let me just say, in over 30 years this is one of the scariest incidents I've ever seen. You've got a defendant who is completely out of control. He's lucky to be alive today. I think the officers had a right to use deadly force."

When Mori said he would go along with the district attorney's recommendation, Nastasia told the judge that her client was withdrawing the plea and seeking a trial.

Nastasia did not contest Cashman's motion seeking to have Castaneda held without bail as a dangerous person for 90 days or until trial, meaning he will remain in custody, not allowed to post bail, while the case is pending.

Castaneda is due back in court Nov. 16.

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