A 25-year-old Hilo man who pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and firearms offenses for the Feb. 19, 2025, shooting death of 36-year-old Brandon Castillias in Waiakea Uka was already sitting in jail when indicted last week, unable to make $1.06 million bail for a separate but apparently unrelated attempted murder charge.

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A 25-year-old Hilo man who pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and firearms offenses for the Feb. 19, 2025, shooting death of 36-year-old Brandon Castillias in Waiakea Uka was already sitting in jail when indicted last week, unable to make $1.06 million bail for a separate but apparently unrelated attempted murder charge.

The attempted second-degree murder charge faced by Gilberto Diaz Escobar — in addition to charges of first-degree terroristic threatening and first- and second-degree assault — are in connection with an incident April 3 at the Maile Street apartment of an ex-girlfriend.

According to county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen, Escobar entered the woman’s residence without permission and attacked her then-new 25-year-old boyfriend and her 62-year-old mother.

Once inside the apartment, Escobar allegedly punched the 25-year-old man in the mouth before placing him into a rear-naked choke.

Escobar then allegedly threatened the man and attempted to stab him with a kitchen knife before chasing the victim into the apartment complex’s parking lot, where bystanders later intervened.

Before fleeing the scene, Escobar allegedly shoved the 62-year-old woman to the ground.

Police tracked down Escobar and arrested him April 6 at a Waikoloa residence.

Deputy Prosecutor Kirsten Selvig filed a motion in April in the attempted murder case requesting Escobar be held without bail. That motion was denied by Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach, who maintained Escobar’s $1.06 million bail.

According to the motion, Escobar — who also has an active case that includes charges of felony domestic abuse of the same ex-girlfriend by strangulation, plus felony domestic abuse in the presence of a minor and auto theft — was ordered by the court in February to not contact, threaten or harm his ex-girlfriend or their daughter.

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The motion states that Escobar sent his ex-girlfriend a text after the April 3 incident, telling her to “watch out.”

“You do me dirty like this. Imma do you dirty. Hahaha. I liked when he was begging for his life,” Escobar wrote in the text, the document states.

According to the motion filed by Selvig, a judge may deny bail when “the charge is for a ‘serious crime’ and there is a serious risk that the person will flee … or there is a serious risk that the person poses a danger to any person or the community, or there is a serious risk that the person will engage in illegal activity.”

Selvig wrote that the state’s position is that Escobar is charged with a serious crime and “fills all other criteria” in the law cited.

“While he was pending an imminent trial date for allegedly abusing (his former girlfriend), and while he was under conditions of no contact with (his ex), he learned that she was in a relationship with another man, and almost immediately went to her residence to attack and kill that other man,” she wrote. “He then fled the scene, taunted and threatened (his ex), and remained hidden from police for nearly four days.”

No motive has been disclosed by authorities for Escobar’s alleged slaying of Castillias, nor are court documents publicly available that explain why authorities arrested and charged Escobar with the homicide.

At Escobar’s arraignment Friday, Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota maintained Escobar’s bail in the murder case at $3 million and scheduled a hearing today to assign defense counsel, because the Office of the Public Defender withdrew due to a conflict.

Convictions for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder carry a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

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Escobar remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.

Email John Burnett at [email protected].