PEACH ORCHARD SHOOTING LEADS TO 23-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR RUTHERFORDTON MAN

A North Carolina man received a 23-year prison sentence today for shooting a man to death in a Cherokee County peach orchard.

Jorge T. Pedro, 25, of Rutherfordton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter before Circuit Judge Mark Hayes.

Pedro shot Sylvester Castillo, 23, of Edneyville, NC, to death on Aug. 4, 2003 at Cash Peach Farm on Battleground Road. Castillo bled to death as a result of a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

Pedro and Castillo are former roommates. Investigators believe the men had been fighting over a women in the days leading up to the shooting. After the shooting, Pedro walked to a nearby road and got into the car of Martin P Jimenis, 21, of Rutherfordton, NC. Jimenis drove Pedro to a near-by convenience store.

Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies arrested Pedro in North Carolina. Deputies also charged Jimenis with accessory after the fact of a murder. The case against Jimenis is pending.

Pedro will serve 85 percent of the prison sentence before he is eligible for release.