U.S. Marshals Apprehend Oswego Fugitive Wanted In Bar Murders

OSWEGO, IL — An Oswego fugitive wanted in connection with a double murder at an Aurora bar was apprehended this week by U.S. Marshals as he attempted to flee his home, police said. Members of the marshals' Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force caught up with 39-year-old Serafin Castellanos as he attempted to leave in a vehicle that was stopped in the area of Washington Street and Route 31, the Kendall County Sheriff's Office said.

U.S. Marshals had been conducting surveillance on Castellanos, who was wanted on a Kane County warrant for four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to police.

Castellanos is charged in connection with the March 10, 2017 deaths of two men who were gunned down outside an Aurora bar. A third man was also shot and survived, but sustained permanent injuries to his eye, police said.

Just before 1 a.m. March 10, police responded to a report of a shooting outside a bar/restaurant in the 700 block of South Lincoln Avenue. Victims Jermaine P. Taylor, 35, and Alselmo V. Fernandez, 57, were taken to an area hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Another man, 37, was wounded.

The double murder was not Castellanos' first brush with the law. He was previously charged in connection with a shooting and brawl at a Joliet bar in 2015. In October, he was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after reports of shots fired and a related crash on Orchard Road that left two people dead.

Aurora police continue to investigate the 2017 double murder and say they haven't ruled out the possibility that additional suspects were involved. At the time of the slayings, police reported that two assailants were seen fleeing the area on foot after the shooting. They said the murders were not a random act and "at least one of the victims appears to have been targeted and has had several contacts with police."

On Wednesday, the Kane County State's Attorney's office announced first-degree and attempted murder charges against Castellanos in the bar killings.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Aurora Police Department Investigative Division at 630-256- 5500 or Crime Stoppers 630-892- 1000.

Photo: Serafin Castellanos via the Kane County State's Attorney's Office