The perjury case against Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda is being considered by a jury after the attorneys completed their final arguments Thursday afternoon in downtown Superior Court. If Castaneda is found guilty of a felony, he will be forced to resign from his council seat. Last year, the District Attorney charged Castaneda with 13 felony perjury counts, saying he obstructed a grand jury investigation into corruption allegations. After the trial began April 9, Judge Michael Wellington dismissed three of the counts for lack of evidence. During closing arguments, defense attorney Marc Carlos urged the jury not to separate the charges, but to consider them as one. “Either he lied, or he didn’t,” Carlos said. But the prosecutor, Patrick O’Toole, said the charges should be considered individually. “There’s more evidence for some of the charges and less evidence for other charges,” he said.
