News Anchor Charged With Criminal Mischief Following Heated Confrontation

News Anchor Charged With Criminal Mischief Following Heated Confrontation,A Texas news anchor is facing a criminal charge. Shortly after her Thursday, April 27 evening broadcast, KFOX-TV anchor Erika 'Castillo' Bryan turned herself into the El Paso Police Department's fast-tracking unit after she was charged with criminal mischief. Bryan was arrested, booked on the [...]

News Anchor Charged With Criminal Mischief Following Heated Confrontation

A Texas news anchor is facing a criminal charge. Shortly after her Thursday, April 27 evening broadcast, KFOX-TV anchor Erika “Castillo” Bryan turned herself into the El Paso Police Department’s fast-tracking unit after she was charged with criminal mischief. Bryan was arrested, booked on the single charge, and later released.

The charge stems from a June 2021 incident in which Bryan allegedly drove her vehicle onto the front steps of a man’s home in West El Paso, according to the complaint affidavit obtained by KTSM. Ring door cameras caught the news anchor driving her 2018 Jeep Cherokee onto the sidewalk of the property located in the 3900 block of Las Vegas Drive in Mission Hills. Bryan then proceeded to drive the Jeep approximately 37 feet onto the lawn before parking the vehicle between two large pine trees on the front steps of the home. According to the outlet, when a witness went to the front yard and told Bryan that the victim was not home, Bryan began “yelling that the victim was stealing money from her husband.” A witness informed the victim of the incident when he returned home, and when the man inspected his property, he noticed cracks in one of the concrete stairs leading up to the home and contacted police.

Although the vehicle was registered to Bryan’s husband, Shawn Bryan, the victim was able to describe the woman in the footage and identify her as Bryan. The man told police that he had an ongoing civil dispute with Bryan’s husband over funds from a business dealing. Shawn previously owned a local car dealership SuperStar Motors, though the business is not currently in operation. It is unclear if the business dealings were in relation to that business. The man also showed police text messages he received from Bryan in which the news anchor said that she “need our title that you owe us ASAP and that’s why I was there and I need them ASAP.” In a later text, she wrote, “We will get the step repaired. I sorry [sic] but I told you last week I park as close as possible because it is so steep and I was in a hurry.”

Two estimates the victim provided to police showed the damage to his property would cost around $1,000 to repair. Although the incident occurred in June 2021, charges were not filed against Bryan in County Court until April 16, 2023. Bryan ultimately turned herself into police on April 27 and was booked on a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge. She was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond. In a statement, KFOX management said, “We are aware of the situation and are assessing the matter internally. We do not have any further comment at this time.”

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