Minn. Judge Sends Man To Prison For Killing Iowan

JACKSON, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota judge has sentenced a man to 44 years in prison in the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa teenager in 1997.

A Jackson County jury in January convicted Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and felony kidnapping.

The Spencer Daily Reporter in Iowa says Castillo-Alvarez was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison on the murder charge and four years for kidnapping.

Prosecutors say members of a gang kidnapped Gregory "Sky" Erickson in Spencer and killed him in southern Minnesota over a drug debt.

Castillo-Alverez fled to Mexico. He was eventually extradited to Iowa and convicted in 2008. The Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, saying he was denied a speedy trial. He was sent to Minnesota to face charges in Erickson's death.

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