Bond set at $1.5 million for 3 men charged in ‘for-hire murder’ shooting

COLUMBUS — An Ohio judge set bond at $1.5 million on Monday for each of the three men charged with aggravated murder for their alleged roles in a deadly shooting over the weekend.

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News Center 7 previously reported that officers with the Columbus Division of Police were called to the 5400 block of Malibu Drive around 8:20 a.m. Saturday, on a report of shots fired.

While responding, they were directed to the 100 block of Elmsbury Court, where they found a woman suffering from gunshot wounds.

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The woman, later identified by police as 26-year-old Neysa Casaleno, was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, our news partners WBNS-10 TV reported.

Police identified the suspects as 35-year-old Renan Castro-Gil, 19-year-old Jose Carlos-Martinez, and 18-year-old Carlos Figueroa-Castro.

All three were arraigned in Franklin County on Monday.

After taking the men into custody, records say Figueroa-Castro told police that Castro-Gil offered to pay him and Carlos-Martinez $3,000 each to shoot the woman.

Castro-Gil reportedly made a plan involving staged vehicles and knowledge of the woman’s location and the time she would be there. Records say he also had a plan to hide the vehicle used in the shooting.

According to documents, Figueroa-Castro confessed to his role in the incident and said he was present when Casaleno was shot.

Carlos-Martinez denied his involvement but acknowledged multiple aspects of Figueroa-Castro’s confession

“Mr. Carlos-Martinez was the person who actually fired the weapon,” a prosecutor said in court.

During Monday’s arraignments, a state prosecutor described the shooting as a “for-hire murder” situation, WBNS-10 TV reported.

The prosecutor also said that Casaleno was Castro-Gil’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child.

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