Retired Teacher Takes Plea In 1994 Killings

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A 66-year-old retired high school math teacher pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for gunning down two Huntington Beach men in 1994.

Lamberto Ricci Castillo of Alamosa, Colorado, accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors that knocked two special circumstances murder counts down to voluntary manslaughter. Castillo would have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole had he been convicted at trial on the murder counts, but with credit for time served already in custody he could be eligible for release from prison in about seven years.

Relatives and friends of the two 23-year-old victims -- Kenny Paul Sommer and Chen "Cosmo" Maui Blanchard -- objected to the plea deal at Friday's hearing.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke explained to Orange Superior Court Judge Steven Blomberg, who acknowledged how rare the plea bargain was, that it was the best resolution to the case due to issues with proving the defendant's guilt. Prosecutors were handicapped by Castillo's wife, who invoked spousal privilege in refusing to testify in the trial.

Castillo's wife, mistakenly thinking her husband had committed suicide, told authorities about the killings, Burke said. Before that, Castillo was never a suspect in the case.

The law prevents prosecutors from compelling the defendant's wife to testify against her husband if she does not wish to do so. There were other issues with the case as well. Investigators never recovered the weapon used in the shooting and there was no forensic evidence tying Castillo to the crime scene, Burke said.

A phone call between the defendant and his son that Castillo made from jail could have been used to prove the case, but it was not a sure thing a judge would allow it, Burke said.

An acquittal would have been a "horrifying" verdict, Burke said.

Frank Sommer, Kenny's step-brother, recalled meeting him for the first time.

"We hit it off right away," he said, adding they became best friends.

"I named my oldest son after him," Frank Sommer said, adding he would have done so regardless of the shooting.

"He was one of those guys you could count on 100 percent," he said.

Jay Brewer, who was Kenny Sommer's boss and friend, said the victim was an "amazing person," who "had a passion for animals."

Brewer implored the authorities to keep working the case to find additional evidence, but Burke explained that investigators devoted a great deal of resources and time into finding corroborating evidence linking Castillo to the shootings.

Gina Vercnocke, the mother of Blanchard's son and a cousin to Sommer, told Blomberg how difficult it has been raising her son without a father since he was 3 years old.

"Every time I look at my son I see what was taken away," Vercnocke said. "My son and I lost years of making memories."

After the hearing she told City News Service that both victims "were into working out."

Blanchard had a passion for motorcycles and cars, Vercnocke said.

"Kenny was into snakes," she said.

"Both were family oriented," she said. "(Blanchard) was a good dad."

Sommer's mother, Alice, said she has "lived in hell" since the shooting.

"Every day was a fearful day for me," she told Bromberg.

"For years I wondered who and why and I finally got answers, but there's still no closure," Alice Sommer said. "I need to have a trial so he can be held accountable."

Alice Sommer said her son's father died a decade after the killing "of a broken heart."

Kenny Sommer's fiancee at the time, Robbie Shaner, said the two were three months away from marriage before he was killed.

"I lost my treasure, my best friend, my fiancee, my happiness," she said.

Castillo was charged in April 2017 with killing Sommer and Blanchard on March 31, 1994, in downtown Huntington Beach.

Castillo confronted the victims about 9:30 p.m. as they were urinating near Main Street and Orange Avenue, touching off an argument among the three. Castillo left and returned about 10:15 p.m. with a gun, then shot both multiple times before fleeing, according to prosecutors.

Colorado police called Huntington Beach investigators in 2016, identifying Castillo and his wife as possibly being involved in the argument with the two victims prior to the shooting, according to Huntington Beach police Officer Jennifer Marlatt.

The Castillos are both retired teachers. Castillo left California about a decade after the shootings. He taught in Orange County and Los Angeles County schools before retiring.

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