Sixth man charged in apartment slayings
Published 10:37 am Friday, February 13, 2009
A Birmingham man is the latest to be charged in the brutal slayings of five men at a north Shelby County apartment complex last August.
Torre Jovan Gholston, 28, was arrested in Jefferson County Feb. 6 and charged with two counts of capital murder, said Capt. Ken Burchfield, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Gholston is being held at the Shelby County Jail without bond.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office received information that linked Gholston to the slayings, said Bill Bostick, chief assistant district attorney. Bostick declined to elaborate on the information, citing the ongoing investigation.
A court date has not been set.
Authorities say the slayings at Cahaba Lakes Apartments off U.S. 280 were revenge killings for more than $400,000 in drug cartel money.
The victims — Angel Horacio Vega-Gonzalez, 23; Gustavo Vega-Gonzalez, 24; Ezequiel Rebollar-Terevan, 23; Jaime Echverra, 30; and Armando Ibarra Mendoza, 31 — had been tied up and their throats slashed. They were also beaten and electrocuted.
Five men have already been charged in the case. Alejandros Castaneda, 31; Juan Francisco Castaneda, 25; Christopher Scott Jones, 40; Jaime Duenas-Rodriguez, 22; and Derrick Renone Green, 22 all pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing last November. All were charged with two counts of capital murder.