Mistrial granted in murder trial of former PSJA baseball player
By XAVIER ALVAREZ and FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ | Staff Writers
EDINBURG — A judge on Friday granted a mistrial in the murder trial of a former PSJA baseball player after prosecutors revealed the suspect’s girlfriend had been granted immunity after the jury was selected.
That jury was selected Sept. 5 in the case of Carlos Julian Contreras, 23, who is charged with murder over accusations he shot and killed 19-year-old Genero Isaiah “Izzy” Castillo in a sugar cane field near Donna on Jan. 14, 2020.
The judge ruled Friday that the trial will start over Monday with jury selection and begin immediately after.
Castillo’s body was found that day at approximately 5:47 p.m. by a farmer. He had gunshot wounds to his leg, torso and head.
Contreras, who was 17 years old at the time, was arrested by Hidalgo County sheriff’s investigators the next day. Authorities said previously that Contreras and Castillo were involved in a criminal enterprise.
The immunity agreement was proffered to Contreras’ girlfriend — Miranda Luna — on Sept. 2. However it was not signed until after the jury was selected on Sept. 5.
During testimony on Tuesday, Contreras’ family members testified how investigators repeatedly called them searching for Luna while threatening them with prosecution for witness tampering.
Contreras’ attorney, O. Rene Flores, did not find out about the immunity with Luna — “a central witness in its case-in-chief” — until after the jury was sworn in, according to the motion.
That motion alleged prosecutors did this intentionally because prosecutors sent the immunity offer to Luna’s attorney three days before jury selection would begin.
“The agreement was memorialized ‘in writing’ on September 5, 2025, at or around 3:00pm after the jury had been seated,” the motion stated.
Flores said in the motion that this was calculated to place Contreras’ defense in a prejudiced position as the information was not available during jury selection.
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