Peoria Man Found Guilty in Deadly East Bluff Shooting

October 30, 2025, Peoria, IL - Today, a Peoria County Judge found David H. Stone, 41, guilty of First-Degree Murder for the shooting death of Arlin Bermudez-Castellon in January 2024. Castellon, 34, was shot seven times, with most of those shots into his back.

On the afternoon of January 4, 2024, police responded to a shooting in the 200 block of E. Thrush in Peoria's East Bluff. Upon arrival, officers found Castellon suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and began life-saving measures. Despite those efforts, he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

During the three-day bench trial, prosecutors played recorded jail phone calls where Stone admitted being at the scene. He said he was there with another individual, Mikeal Williams, to collect money Castellon owed Stone. However, the situation escalated, and Williams shot and killed Castellon.

The State also presented text messages from Stone threatening Castellon the day before his murder, along with surveillance footage from a local business, which showed Stone picking up Williams before the murder, and fleeing the scene together after.

Although Stone did not fire the fatal shots, he was found guilty under Illinois' accountability law, which allows a person to be held responsible for a crime if they help plan it, take part in it, or assist someone else in carrying it out.

Stone is one of two defendants. The second, Mikeal Williams, is in custody in Texas and awaiting extradition to Illinois. His case is pending.