Tenant who shot painter trying to get in apartment won’t face charges, NC cops say
The man who shot a painter hired to work at a North Carolina apartment complex isn’t facing charges, police say.
The painter, 48-year-old Byron Castillo, was hired to work at Chatham Woods Apartments in High Point last week and was shot by someone inside one of the units when he showed up to work on it, McClatchy News reported.
Castillo went to the wrong unit, said he was with maintenance and knocked on the door, the High Point Police Department said in a release Tuesday.
He then tried to get inside using a key that didn’t work, police said
The man inside the unit, identified as 28-year-old Gregory Sims, thought someone was trying to break into his apartment, police say.
He could see Castillo trying to open the door and saw that he was holding something to unlock the dead bolt, according to the release.
Sims was scared so he opened the door and fired a shot at Castillo, hitting him in the chest, police say.
Castillo needed surgery and was still in intensive care as of Tuesday, police said, but he is improving.
Prosecution was “declined” for Sims after the case was presented to the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office, according to police.
“Through unfortunate circumstances, Mr. Castillo attempted to gain entry mistakenly into the wrong apartment and Mr. Sims perceived that as a threat and fired his weapon,” police said in the release.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Tenant who shot painter trying to get in apartment won’t face charges, NC cops say."
