EDWIN Castro's lottery rival Jose Rivera has reportedly seen security footage of the Powerball winner buying the ticket but still disputes it as a judge has ruled he needs to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Rivera, a 43-year-old gardener, has been charged with filing a false police complaint after claiming he was the legitimate owner of the ticket.
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He has pleaded not guilty and dropped two public defenders in the criminal case, but is still in the process of suing Castro in civil court.
The California Lottery has always maintained Castro is the real winner, and his former lawyer, David De Paoli, claimed to have privately viewed CCTV footage obtained from Joe's Service Center in Altadena.
Now, The U.S. Sun can reveal that Rivera has also reportedly seen the footage but disputes the timing of the ticket purchase and alleges the lottery is lying.
Rivera declined to comment publicly on whether he had seen the video.
Edwin Castro
He is thought to have viewed it months ago while communicating with his counsel before he lost yet another lawyer in his case.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the California Lottery Commission multiple times to obtain the video and also asked for clarification on who has viewed it.
LOTTERY BACKING
The commission said in a statement on Wednesday, "While the case is pending, I am not able to comment beyond the statements I’ve already provided.
"I will reiterate our earlier statement that when it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so.
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"California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022."
De Paoli previously slammed the lawsuit and insisted he had seen the security video which clearly showed his client buying the ticket.
Powerball winner Edwin Castro's rival Jose Riveria 'demands justice' as he breaks silence after first court appearanceHe said, "I have personally viewed the CCTV footage and it is crystal clear. Edwin Castro purchased the winning Powerball ticket without question."
He also previously stated, "There is no basis in fact for the suit at all. At this point, we’re just working on service but there are huge problems with the complaint.
"At some point, it is going to become clear that Edwin G. Castro is the legitimate owner of the ticket."
Rivera still has nobody representing him in the civil case but is demanding a jury trial, which is expected to take between three to five days, according to new court filings.
PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION
He is set to appear in court in Alhambra on March 1, four days before he is due to attend mental health court in Hollywood for his criminal case following Tuesday's showdown.
He spent more than an hour talking to his attorney before heading into court, where he appeared before Judge Donna Hollingsworth.
Attorney Cody Elliott announced his client wanted to fire him and when the judge began explaining the court process to Rivera, he got frustrated.
At one point, Rivera raged, "Just take me into custody."
As he continued to talk over the judge, she said, "Hold on, I need to clear the courtroom as I need to speak with you."
Everyone, including the media, was told to leave the room for 10 minutes.
When they returned, it was ordered that the case would be suspended and moved to a competency hearing.
Rivera appeared upset and spoke over the judge again, saying, "No, no, no, your honor, can I be given time?
"If I don't have an attorney from here for a month and a half?"
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She replied, "No, I'm ordering you to another courthouse."
Photos obtained by The U.S. Sun showed Rivera looking dejected as he left the court, shielding himself with an umbrella in the heavy rain.
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