As seen on video, a New Mexico mother held onto the hood of a moving SUV as it crossed an intersection (h/t KRQE). It wasn’t just any SUV. It was hers. A woman allegedly carjacked her as her two young children remained inside.
Regina Castillo is now charged with unlawful taking a motor vehicle; aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer; resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer; three counts of failure to appear; and two counts of child abuse, according to cops out of Hobbs, New Mexico.
Officers said they responded on the Fourth of July to 3709 N. Dal Paso regarding a stolen vehicle.
A mother parked her vehicle in front of a store and went inside, but on her return, a female stranger–later identified as Castillo–shoved her out of the way and entered the vehicle, officers said. That stranger drove off with the Hyundai Santa Fe while the mother’s 6-year-old daughter and and 11-month-old son remained in the vehicle.
Bodycam footage shows the mother telling police her children were inside.
“She was going that way, and she was going crazy,” she said.
The stranger ended up abandoning the girl at the intersection of Apache Drive and Fowler Street before the police pursuit began, officers said.
“The pursuit ended when the suspect abandoned the stolen vehicle and fled on foot,” cops said. “Officers saturated the area and located the subject hiding behind a pickup in a residential neighborhood. The subject was taken into custody at the 1500 block of North Steven and was identified as Regina Castillo. At the time of Castillo’s arrest, she had three active arrest warrants for failure to appear on the charges of Concealing Identity, Shoplifting and Failure to Appear for traffic violations.”
Regina Castillo
Castillo was previously charged with crimes including battery against a household member; and resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, cops said.
EMS treated the children, who ended up reuniting with their mother, police said.
Castillo was locked up at the Hobbs City Jail.
From cops:
If anyone has any information regarding this incident, they are urged to contact the Hobbs Police Department at (575) 397-9265 or Lea County Crime Stoppers at (575) 393-8005.
[Booking photos via Hobbs Police Department]