Many in Hillsborough unaware proceedings on national television

BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 918-1042

HILLSBOROUGH -- Tyron Bachus was standing in the Panther's Den at Orange High School on Aug. 30, 2006, when a bullet fired by Alvaro Castillo slammed through a window near his head.

"I was like in front of the windows where the bullet hit, and the bullet went over the top of my head," he said.

Bachus remembers the fear he felt as he ran for cover and the lockdown of the school that afternoon.

Bachus is currently working at Food Lion in Hillsborough as he prepares to enter community college. He has seen some news accounts of the Castillo trial, but he didn't realize it was being broadcast live nationally on TruTV, formerly known as Court TV, or that a couple of local television stations as well as CNN were streaming the trial live on their websites.

Bachus was surprised to learn of the national interest in the case. None of his friends have been talking about it, he said. That lack of attention is in stark contrast to the day of the shootings, which stunned northern Orange County and created a community buzz for weeks among residents trying to learn more about the case.

"I thought it was local news," Bachus said.

Now that he knows he can watch the trial, he said he'd watch the rest of it on his laptop computer.

The trial, involving charges that Castillo murdered his father then attempted to shoot students at Orange High School, will be in its 11th day when it resumes on Monday. The prosecution has rested its case, and Castillo's defense attorneys are now putting on their witnesses.

It appears that while the trial is being broadcast and discussed nationally, a number of people in Hillsborough either didn't know about it or don't care.

"I didn't know anything about it," said Asheley Skinner. "It would be interesting. I just haven't heard anything about it."

One woman, who said she was too busy to give her name, stopped by the courthouse, where the trial is being held, to pay a traffic ticket on Thursday.

Her son went to Orange High School, she said, but she thought the case had been resolved a long time ago. She didn't know it was being televised and didn't seem to care -- she was mad about that traffic ticket.

Only one member of the public has been consistently in the courtroom watching the trial. Phyllis Reklis' son knew Castillo at Orange High School, had classes with him and they ate lunch in the same group together, she said.

She started out watching the trial on the Internet but decided she wanted to be in the courtroom to see the proceedings for herself. She wanted to understand what happened so she'd be able to discuss it with her son since he knew many of the people who were involved in it.

"Because of that personal interest and awareness of the events, and because I'm concerned about the issues of family violence as a mother and citizen of North Carolina, I wanted to be present in the courtroom instead of watching the sound bites delivered to us daily," she said. "They are so different than the sound bites."

The trial has raised a number of concerns, she said.

"I am concerned by the additional evidence that there are serious flaws in dealing with people with mental illness and consistent care," she said.

Reklis wishes more Hillsborough people were in court watching the case "to understand what is going on rather than getting it from the media," she said.

Other people in Hillsborough who were asked at random if they knew the trial was on TV, said no, but added they might begin watching it now that they knew.

Another Hillsborough woman has been watching the trial on television, she said. As she was flipping through the channels one day, she came across the trial and has been watching it ever since.

"I was surprised it was on national TV," said Candice Mitcham, 26. "To me it's surprising because this is a small community to me."

As far as the evidence being presented in the case, Mitcham acknowledges Castillo "has some issues."

"I believe everyone knows right from wrong, regardless," she said. "I believe you know what you're doing. That's just how I look at it."