Plea bargain pits man against 'queen'

An ex-follower agrees to testify against "Queen Shahmia," who is accused of ruling a robber band.

By JOUNICE L. NEALY

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

One of three men accused of robbing merchants to support "Queen Shahmia" is set to testify against her under a deal he struck Thursday with Lee County prosecutors.

Ismael Castilleja, 26, pleaded no contest to one count of robbery and three counts of accessory after the fact, Assistant State Attorney Felicia Wilcox said. State prosecutors are recommending two years in prison, and his sentencing is set for July 14.

Castilleja's plea, Wilcox said, is contingent upon his testimony against Richell Denise Bradshaw, a woman who called herself the daughter of God and who police say benefited from robberies committed by her menservants.

Bradshaw, 33, has been charged with ordering five of the robberies. Her trial is set for June 19.

Mark Ahlbrand, Bradshaw's attorney, said there is no evidence that she did anything wrong.

"I think what the law basically provides for is that simply telling somebody to do something that's wrong is not a crime unless they can establish that the nature of the relationship was such where the person was deprived of free will," he said.

Castilleja was a "general in the royal army" and one of Bradshaw's servants who police say robbed restaurants from Orlando to Fort Myers to support a lavish lifestyle.

Castilleja and two other men -- 20-year-old Lawrence Joseph Ansaroff and 21-year-old Anthony Menendez -- were told to "take finances," police said. The men said they had permission from God to "plunder the fruit." The money allowed the adults and the eight children traveling with the group to stay in plush hotels, including St. Pete Beach's Don CeSar Beach Resort & Spa. The men served Bradshaw and bowed before her. The children peeled her fruit and rubbed her feet with lotion. The men were arrested Jan. 2 in Fort Myers, and Bradshaw was arrested a few weeks later.

Three years ago, Castilleja met Bradshaw and her husband in San Antonio, Texas. At the time, Castilleja was living with his girlfriend, Christina Ramirez, four of her children and a child the couple had together.

Ramirez was arrested in Orange County on Dec. 9 and charged with robbery and retail theft. She may testify at Bradshaw's trial.

Last year, Castilleja met Ansaroff and Menendez on a Fort Lauderdale beach and recruited them. The men are suspects in robberies in Manatee County and are thought to have committed several crimes in Pinellas and Orange counties.

Ansaroff and Menendez are scheduled to appear in court on June 26, according to Lee County records.

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