Thursday, July 9, 2015

Trial date set for Journey drummer Deen Castronovo



A trial date has been set for Journey drummer Deen Castronovo following a pair of arrests last month relating to an alleged domestic dispute in Salem, Oregon.

The Statesman Journal reports Castronovo will appear before Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas Hart on October 22 at 9 a.m. for a two-day trial.

Castronovo was initially arrested on June 14 and charged with fourth-degree assault, coercion and menacing in the early morning incident. The drummer was released on $20,000 bail and was ordered to have no contact with the victim.

Following his June 15 release, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gardiner, Castronovo sent 122 text messages to the victim and called her 35 times.

The drummer was arrested on a grand jury indictment on June 29 that stated the alleged abuse took place between April 25 and June 29.

Castronovo was arraigned June 30 on five counts of fourth-degree assault, one count of first-degree rape, two counts of menacing, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of second-degree assault, one count of second-degree sex abuse, one count of coercion, one count of second-degree criminal mischief, and three counts of contempt of court, according to the indictment.

At a bail hearing July 1 details of the alleged domestic violence were revealed.

Gardiner said Castronovo threw the victim into a wall 14 times, pulled her hair, sexually assaulted her and forced her to have sex with him. Gardiner said the assaults left large bruises on the victim’s legs, arms and breasts.

It’s the second domestic violence incident involving Castronovo in recent years: he was also arrested in Oregon in 2012 for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.

The first incident saw the drummer charged with several crimes, including fourth-degree assault, resisting arrest, interfering with a police report and coercion.

Castronovo received a sentence of 80 hours of community service and was ordered to attend anger-management classes in the 2012 incident.

Journey hired drummer Omar Hakim for their summer tour of North America following Castronovo’s latest legal issues; he made his debut at the group’s Hollywood Bowl show on June 20.


See also:

Journey drummer Deen Castronovo jailed on rape charge
Neal Schon to open Canadian tour for Journey
VIDEO: Journey debut new touring drummer at the Hollywood Bowl
Journey hire drummer following Deen Castronovo’s arrest
Search Journey at hennemusic