Preliminary hearing postponed for domestic violence suspect who escaped police custody

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — A judge granted a defense motion Thursday to postpone a preliminary hearing until Sept. 22 for Joaquin Albert Castro, a handcuffed domestic violence suspect who escaped from San Diego police headquarters and was later re-arrested in the harbor near the G Street Pier.

Castro, 42, is charged with attempted murder, hot prowl burglary, resisting arrest and trying to take a firearm from an officer.

At Castro’s arraignment last month, Deputy District Attorney Samira Seidu alleged that the defendant went into his ex-girlfriend’s home on July 23, took her phone and threatened to kill her, then choked the woman and held a knife to her throat.

After Castro’s arrest, he escaped from police custody and was on the run for about an hour before being spotted in the harbor, the prosecutor said.

Castro, who has a criminal history dating back to 1993, including an escape in 2015, faces nearly 16 years in prison if convicted, Seidu said.