Stabbing Victim in Strip Club Melee Shows Jury His Scar

By Maggie Rhoads [former] - August 16, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | stabbing | Suspects |

A stabbing victim employed as a strip club bouncer showed the jury graphic evidence of his injury in a trial before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Salerno’s courtroom on Aug. 15. 

Abraham Urrutia Castillo, 29, is charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and simple assault for his alleged involvement in a stabbing incident on Nov. 23, 2023, on the 2300 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW at the establishment, billing itself as a “gentleman’s club.” One individual sustained injuries which required hospital treatment.

According to court documents, the victim was allegedly stabbed by Urrutia Castillo, a customer at the club, when he removed him from the premises for touching a waitress. 

During the victim’s testimony, he detailed events leading up to the stabbing. He said Urrutia Castillo grabbed a waitress by her forearm, turning her around when she was leading his inebriated friend towards the exit. 

He said one of the nightclub’s rules explained to guests before they enter, is they are not allowed to touch the waitresses.

After Urrutia Castillo allegedly touched the waitress, the victim testified, he and another bouncer used physical force to remove Urrutia Castillo and his friend from the nightclub. In the process, the victim said Urrutia Castillo and his friend were acting “really aggressive.”

The victim said he could not recall whether Urrutia Castillo or Urrutia Castillo’s friend swung at security first.  

Once out on the street, the victim said he felt Urrutia Castillo allegedly stab him with a knife. According to the victim, the wound was about two inches long and a few inches deep. After the altercation, the victim said he also noticed a scratch on his chest. 

After he was stabbed, he testified, Urrutia Castillo tried to run over and allegedly stab his colleague who was putting Urrutia Castillo’s friend down on the street while waiting for officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to arrive. However, the victim was able to stop Urrutia Castillo from doing so by kicking him away. 

Later, MPD officers arrived and the victim identified the perpetrator as Urrutia Castillo. The victim was later taken by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to a hospital where he received nine stitches and a tetanus shot due to his injuries. 

During his testimony, the victim stood up and walked before the jury box to show his scar from the incident. 

During cross examination, Urrutia Castillo’s defense attorney, Damon Catacalos, argued the physical force by the gvictim was unnecessary given the victim’s and defendant’s height difference. According to Catacalos, Urrutia Castillo is five-and-a-half feet tall while the victim is over six-feet tall. 

Catacalos also said the victim pushed Urrutia Castillo’s jacket over his face. The victim said it was not his intention, it just happened.  

Following the victim’s testimony, prosecutors called the waitress Urrutia Castillo allegedly grabbed. She described him as “very aggressive,” stating he yelled at her asking where she was going with his friend and shouted expletives along with bursts of Spanish. 

Prosecutors also called on the other bouncer who removed Urrutia Castillo’s friend from the club. He said the friend smacked him with a hard object and though he sustained a cut to his head but did not need medical attention.

He testified that, once the unruly pair was removed from the club, he hit the friend back to “return the favor,” before pinning him on the ground as they waited for the police. 

Even though Urrutia Castillo’s friend was under control, the witness said he saw Urrutia Castillo allegedly running at him before watching the initial victim kick him away in an effort to protect his colleague from possibly getting stabbed. 

Catacalos again argued through the cross-examination that there was a very big height difference between the bouncer and Urrutia Castillo’s friend, and insisted physical force was unnecessary.

Parties are set to reconvene on Aug. 19.