Former wife of slain Turlock intruder speaks out

The man shot to death by a Turlock resident while breaking into his home was identified Tuesday as 30-year-old Juy Anthony Gastelo.

Since 2014, Gastelo had been charged more than a dozen times for theft and drug-related crimes in Stanislaus County; prior to that, his criminal history consisted of one conviction for an assault in 2004.

Police say Gastelo broke into a home in the 300 block of North Thor Street on Monday afternoon and was shot by the resident.

Investigators have not released further details about the incident. The resident said he’d talk after the investigation is complete.

Gastelo’s ex-wife, Jamie Gastelo, filed for divorce several months after his first drug arrest in 2014.

“We went our separate ways and he started getting into trouble and everything,” she said. “I tried to be there as much as I could without being an enabler.”

The two had been best friends since childhood, were married 10 years and have four children together – 4- and 6-year-old boys and 8- and 10-year-old girls. The oldest turns 11 Thursday.

After telling her children of their father’s death, Jamie Gastelo said, “They wrapped their arms around me and I told them I would always be there for them.”

Jamie Gastelo knew about Juy Gastelo’s drug use, but she said she was not aware of recent arrests for theft and burglary.

She said he was transient but stayed mostly with family and friends in Turlock. She added that he would “show up out of the blue” at her Ceres home to visit the kids. Jamie Gastelo said her ex-husband would take the children to the park, have picnics with them, read to them or listen to music.

Gastelo said despite his criminal activity, Juy Gastelo was a good father and he never brought that criminal lifestyle around the children. But because of his drug use, Jamie Gastelo said she’d start to worry when she didn’t see or hear from him after about a week.

She last saw him a few days before he was shot; he played video games with the kids and they went to a taco truck for dinner before she drove him back to Turlock.

“He was a good man; he just made some bad choices,” Jamie Gastelo said.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Former wife of slain Turlock intruder speaks out."