HOWELL, Mich., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The suspect in the Interstate 96 corridor shootings near Detroit testified he fired at cars after hearing coded messages during Detroit Tigers baseball games.
Raulie Wayne Casteel, 44, said he returned to Michigan in 2012 after losing his job in Indianapolis in 2009. He said the government and his former employer were colluding to blacklist him from further employment and there was a conspiracy to harm his family. Casteel blamed some form of government intervention for the two miscarriages his wife had and skin rashes his 3-year-old daughter suffered, the Detroit News said.
But on cross-examination In Livingston County Court, Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend sought to prove Casteel was aware the consequences his actions could have -- and that he was aware shooting at some 23 cars could have killed someone, the Daily Press & Argus of Howell reported.
"You knew that shooting into a vehicle could certainly hurt somebody, isn't that true? You knew that," Townsend asked.
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"In hindsight, yes," Casteel replied.
"No. You knew that then. You have a gun. You know what a gun can do, is that correct?" Townsend pressed. "You shot target practice and you shot at things, so you knew what a bullet could do, correct? So when you shot at a car, you knew it could hit someone and it could kill them, correct?"
"Yes," Casteel replied in a barely audible tone to each of the questions.
Closing arguments were scheduled for Tuesday.
Casteel also faces sentencing in a related case in Oakland County, where he is expected to receive a prison term of 10 to 12 years after taking a plea deal.
