THE BRONX — Assault charges are imminent against the two suspects in a blast that killed FDNY Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, and even more serious charges could be on their way, according to the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
Suspects Garivaldi Castillo, 32, and Julio Salcedo, 34, were initially both hit with charges of criminal possession of marijuana, but when the men appeared in court on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Christine Scaccia announced that she planned to charge them with assault as well.
Scaccia had said at Castillo's arraignment last Thursday that the Bronx District Attorney's Office was considering charging him with murder but did not mention this on Tuesday, although she did note that the crime scene is still active and that charges could be elevated as the case moves forward.
Salcedo appeared at the hearing wearing a white collared shirt and gray pants, while Castillo was in a light brown jumpsuit.
Both suspects declined to testify before a grand jury and are due back in court on Oct. 19. They will remain held without bail.
Castillo and Salcedo are suspected of being involved with the marijuana grow house inside the building at 304 W. 234th St. that exploded on the morning of Sept. 27, killing Fahy, whose children described him as a "wonderful father" and a "hero" at his funeral on Saturday.
Although investigators do not believe Salcedo played a very large role in in the pot farm, they suspect Castillo of being a pivotal figure in the operation.
The courtroom on Tuesday was packed with dozens of firefighters, and Battalion 14 Chief Daniel O'Donnell said they had been there to show their support for Fahy.
O'Donnell, who heads up Battalion 14, said he was much more concerned about Fahy's family than he was about what would happen to the two defendants.
"I have no real feelings toward them," he said. "We just want to be here to support the family."
"It’s a sad thing. It’s a tragedy, really," O'Donnell continued. "He is the same rank as me. That could have been me standing in that street."
Alexander Sanchez, a criminal defense attorney based in the South Bronx who's not involved in the case, said he would be very surprised if prosecutors were ultimately able to charge Castillo and Salcedo with murder, as he sees a substantial amount of distance between them maintaining a pot farm and the building exploding and killing Fahy.
"It seems to me that there’s such a distance between what these guys were doing by pumping gas to heat up the place and an explosion that blew part of a building away and hit this guy," he said. "It’s so unforeseen, and there was no attempt on anybody's part to commit harm against anybody."
