Nyssa man accused of killing officer has violent record, including previous shooting

Lt. Mark Duncan of the Oregon State Police gives a thumbs up to Ontario Police Chief Mike Iwai on Northwest First Street on Monday, April 17, after the state police SWAT team arrested Rene Castro near downtown Ontario. Castro is accused of killing Joseph Johnson, a Nyssa Police Department reserve officer, on Saturday, April 17. (PAT CALDWELL/The Enterprise)

The Nyssa man suspected of gunning down reserve officer Joseph Johnson had long-standing disputes with his sometime girlfriend, who lived in the house where the shooting occurred on Saturday, April 15, according to court records.

Police arrested Rene Castro, 36, early Monday, April 17, in Ontario. 

Johnson, a reserve with the Nyssa Police Department since 2018, was responding to a call about someone damaging property and threatening others, according to a statement from Malheur County…

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