Urachi F. Romero, the landlord who was also sued in California by José Rivera in the case for the theft of the $2,000 million Powerball ticket that Edwin Castro claimed, asked the authorities to release the video from security cameras of the business where he was purchased the ticket.
“All they have to do is say, ‘here’s the video,’” Romero told The US Sun last week.
“They say that Castro is 100% the winner, so why don’t they show us that he is 100% the winner?” questioned the defendant.
Romero, nicknamed “Reggie,” made the statements outside the Alhambra court where the lawsuit is being heard. Both Castro, Romero and the California Lottery are named in the legal appeal in which it is requested that the prize money not be disbursed to Castro until the lawsuit is resolved.
“They don’t want to show us anything about the recording. “Why don’t they want to show us the recording,” she insisted.
“That would have put a stop to this a long time ago,” the defendant said.
Castro’s lawyer, identified by the California Lottery as the winner of the top prize, assures that the images confirm that his client was the one who bought the ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena.
The California Lottery has argued that the video from the business is confidential content that is part of the investigation and that cannot be disclosed publicly.
Romero claims that his former tenant, Rivera, was the one who bought the ticket at the gas station.
Romero related that a recent criminal case in which he was involved was the result of the civil lawsuit over the ticket.
Last year, the Hispanic man was charged with weapons possession and illegal possession of a controlled substance while armed.
In the lawsuit, Romero is named as the person who stole the ticket that Castro ended up collecting.
Specifically, authorities found a weapon in his vehicle and 15 others in his home. Romero claimed that the reason he had the weapons was to protect himself from him because he was being threatened.
“If they had closed this, I wouldn’t have had to go to prison; I would not have had to carry weapons because I was being threatened,” he argued.
“That’s why I was carrying a gun when I was arrested,” he said.
“This is something that has gone too far that I don’t deserve to be going through,” he added.
“Why the f**k am I involved in this shit?” he questioned.
“I’m happy that the son of a bitch got the winning ticket, but I’m angry that the son of a bitch lost it,” he continued, referring to Rivera, whom he sheltered in his house for a time.
Romero also rejected Rivera’s allegations that he allegedly showed $100 bills to a neighbor and indicated that they were from Castro.
The landlord also denied having told one of Rivera’s cousins that he was going to get $200 million from Castro.
“I wish it were true, it would be good if someone gave me money for all this,” he said.
Romero said he believes Rivera has a mental problem or illness.
In the lawsuit filed by Rivera, he identifies Romero as the person who appropriated the winning ticket from the drawing held on November 8, 2022.
The document does not specify how the ticket passed from one hands to another or the relationship between the parties.
Romero has insisted that he did not take the ticket. Furthermore, he claimed to have no ties with Castro.
Keep reading:
Video shows José Rivera looking for the winning ticket for the $2 billion Powerball that was supposedly stolen from him in California
Hispanic who sued Edwin Castro for the $2,000 million Powerball in California will fight until the end
Edwin Castro’s rival in lawsuit over $2 billion Powerball says pizza photo proves he is the winner of the fortune