Man arrested after allegedly assaulting a South Lake Tahoe police officer and stealing his baton

A South Lake Tahoe man is sitting in the El Dorado County jail after being arrested on suspicion of several charges including headbutting a police officer, grabbing his baton and trying to also grab his weapon.

37-year-old Richard David Castello is being held on $192,500 bail for taking an officer's weapon, obstruction of justice and battery on a peace officer.

On February 22, South Lake Tahoe police officers went to a home on Aspenwald Road after a woman called, saying a man broke through her front door and she and her children were inside and scared. When officers arrived, the found the front door open and two men inside fighting. The woman had made it to a vehicle with her children, but when officers arrived they were unaware of that and tried to assess the situation from the front porch.

Officers called out to the men with no response. According to SLTPD Lt. David Stevenson, it was apparent the men had been drinking. The police tried to intervene, with Castello not responding to their commands to stop. When they tried to detain him he headbutted one officer and fought with him. Castello then allegedly grabbed the officer's baton and attempted to grab his holstered gun. he was handcuffed and arrested.

The other man involved was not arrested.

Castello had some facial injuries after the fight and was treated at Barton Hospital before being released into custody. The unnamed officer was not injured.