Eduardo "Eddie Boy" Castro, a 59-year-old Hispanic man, was a long-time member of the Mexican Mafia, having joined the prison-based syndicate in the early 1990s. He and his older brother, Ernesto, grew up in the Varrio Nuevo Estrada gang based in the Estrada Courts housing project in Boyle Heights. While his brother was described as being focused on business, Eduardo was known more as a "gangster" and an "enforcer."
On the afternoon of May 17, 2019, Castro was riding his bicycle south on
South Concord Street, in an industrial area of Boyle Heights. At about 12:30 p.m., a pickup truck that had been circling the block stopped next to him. A passenger leaned out of the window with a .45-caliber handgun and shot Castro six times. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:28 p.m. The coroner later confirmed his cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.
For years, the murder remained unsolved. Investigators and underworld sources believed the motive was tied to Castro's life in organized crime. He had reportedly refused to take sides in the Mexican Mafia's internal wars, and some imprisoned members resented that he was rarely incarcerated himself. A significant factor was also his family history: his brother, Ernesto, had become arguably the most damaging informant in the history of the Mexican Mafia. In the 1990s, Ernesto wore a wire for two years and later testified in a landmark racketeering case that helped prosecutors convict a dozen of his fellow members. During the 1997 trial, Eduardo sat in the courtroom and glowered at his brother from the front row as he took the witness stand.
After five years of investigation, detectives made an arrest. In early June 2024, authorities took Vincent "Spanky" Armendariz, 60, into custody. Armendariz, a reputed member of an East Los Angeles gang called Winter Gardens, was charged with the murder of Eduardo Castro. At his initial court appearance, he did not enter a plea. As of June 2024, the case against Armendariz is proceeding through the court system.
