A Calistoga family is struggling to come to terms with the loss of one of their own.

In the early morning hours of Monday, June 29, Luis Octavio Carrillo was gunned down not far from the North Oak Street townhouse he shared with his uncle. Several days after the murder, authorities caught up with the man who they suspect of killing Carrillo, Rodolfo Rivera Uribe, at a relative’s home in Compton.

The capture of Uribe can do little in the way of bringing back Carrillo and easing the pain of his loss, Carrillo’s family said.

According to interviews, Carrillo was a happy-go-lucky soul who loved to spend time with his family in Calistoga and attend high-energy bailes, or dances, that are well-attended by many Latinos in the valley.

Carrillo, 26, the oldest of four children, arrived in Calistoga seven years ago, his uncle, Sigifredo Carrillo said.

He emigrated from his native Pochotitan, Nayarit, Mexico.

Like many Mexicans who make the trip to the north, Carrillo came to Calistoga to find work.

He found it at Vallarta Market, where many of his cousins made their living and where he worked for about two years.

Vallarta Market owner Jaime Cortez said Carrillo was a dedicated worker.

“He was our butcher and one of our cooks,” Cortez said.

“He was friendly with everyone. We will miss him very much. I still can’t understand how something like this could happen in this peaceful little town.”

Carrillo left the market to work as a painter.

According to Sigifredo Carrillo, Luis spent Sunday, June 28, at a lake near Windsor in Sonoma County.

Sigifredo Carrillo said he often talked with his nephew, whom he called “Tavio,” about many things, but he knew nothing of the tension regarding Luis’ girlfriend. “He never told me anything about this problem,” Sigifredo Castillo said.

According to police, Luis Carrillo was back from the lake and in Calistoga to meet with his girlfriend at 10 p.m. that night.

As they sat together in her car three hours later, his girlfriend’s former lover Uribe appeared at the passenger side door, shot Carrillo and dragged him from the car according to police.

Uribe was arrested July 8 and charged with murder.

Three days before Uribe’s arrest in Compton, Sigifredo Carrillo and other family members returned from Nayarit, Mexico, where Luis Carrillo’s body was taken for burial.

Carrillo’s relatives in Pochotitan are in shock and are grieving his death, he said. They want to see justice done.

“The truth is, he didn’t deserve it,” his uncle said.