El Monte, USA - A man who served federal prison time for his role in a 1993 gun battle between members of the Branch Davidian cult led by David Koresh and federal agents in Waco, Texas has died, according to a longtime friend.
Jaime Castillo, 40, who grew up in El Monte, died at the UCLA Olive View Medical Center in Santa Clarita, according to childhood friend Ernie Rodriquez, of Monterey Park.
He suffered from Hepatitis C and died as the result of liver failure, officials said.
"It's a real bummer," Rodriquez said. "Of course he lost a big part of his adult life, but he had started a new chapter."
Castillo served 15 years in various federal prisons for his role in the killings of four Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agents on April 19, 1993. The agents were killed attempting to serve a search warrant at Koresh's Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas.
The standoff began in February 1993 after federal agents attempted to serve a search warrant based on tips about stockpiling of weapons at the compound. Four agents and six Davidians died when gunfire was exchanged during the raid.
A subsequent FBI siege ended on April 19 when agents assaulted the compound with tanks and tear gas. The battle and ensuing fire resulted in the deaths of 76 people, including Koresh and 21 children.
Attorney General Janet Reno faced heavy criticism for authorizing the assault, although federal agents said they were concerned for the safety of the children inside and the possibility Koresh would lead his followers to a mass suicide.
Survivors of the sect, including Castillo, were later placed on trial for weapons charges and voluntary manslaughter. His initial prison sentence was for 40 years, but the U.S. Supreme Court later reduced it and Castillo was freed on parole in 2006.
Rodriquez said Castillo talked very little about the incident, but once described watching mothers shielding their children from the fire before perishing.
"He said it was horrific," Rodriquez said. "Mothers were hovering over their children to keep them from being burned to death."
Castillo also described fleeing the building and his subsequent arrest.
"He said he just started running and was finally tackled by a Texas Ranger."
Castillo, a rock, met messianic cult leader David Koresh in 1988 through a newspaper advertisement seeking a drummer. Responding to the advertisement led Castillo to join Koresh's band, and move into the cult leader's home in Pomona.
Then, "He just got sucked in to the whole religious aspects of it," Rodriquez recalled. "He believed that God put him through all that to test him."
During Castillo's 1994 federal trial, family and friends recalled him as "gentle" and "mellow."
Many said they had a hard time reconciling their memories of Castillo with a portrait federal prosecutors painted of the Mountain View High School student they had known.
Prosecutors claimed that far from being a mild-mannered rock drummer, Castillo was a trusted member of Koresh's inner circle, known as the "Mighty Men."
"Jaime told me that all the people who testified against him lied," Rodriquez said. "All he did was resist arrest."
Upon his release in 2006, Castillo had moved to Sylmar and was a personal trainer at a local gym.
"When he was sick, I talked to him. He was at peace with himself spiritually and he knew where he was headed."