ICE officer charged in non-fatal shooting arrested by Minnesota authorities

A federal immigration officer charged with shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in January and lying about the circumstances to investigators was to appear Thursday before a Minnesota judge after state authorities arrested him ahead of a separate hearing in federal court.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro faces state and federal charges stemming from the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during a federal immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area. Prosecutors say Castro falsely told investigators that he had been attacked with a broom and a shovel.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a social media post that it arrested Castro on Wednesday in downtown Minneapolis on an outstanding warrant charging him with assault and false reporting of a crime. The arrest followed a dispute between Minnesota authorities and Texas’ governor over Minnesota’s attempts to extradite Castro from his home state to face the state charges.

photo illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/Getty Images

Tracking the numbers behind Trump’s immigration offensive

Castro remained jailed without bond in Hennepin County on Thursday awaiting an afternoon hearing in a state court.

Castro is also scheduled to appear Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on the separate federal case in which he is charged with making false statements to investigators regarding the same shooting.

Cameron County Sheriff's Office

Castro’s defense attorneys in the federal case have said he plans to plead not guilty. Daniel Gerdts, listed in court records as Castro’s defense attorney in the state case, did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment Thursday.

It’s the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during this year’s massive Operation Metro Surge , which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.

In both the federal and state cases against Castro, prosecutors say he shot 24-year-old Sosa-Celis in the leg while firing through the front door of a Minneapolis home. They say Castro later falsely reported he had been attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel before firing his gun.

ICE officer federally charged in Minneapolis shooting lied to investigators 6 times, indictment says

Minnesota authorities have battled with President Donald Trump’s administration over who should handle any charges against Castro. The Department of Homeland Security has called Minnesota’s prosecution of Castro “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt,” saying only federal authorities have jurisdiction.

Minnesota charged Castro months before his federal indictment. He was arrested in Texas in May on the Minnesota charges. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month refused to sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities. He was released in Texas and soon after was indicted on the federal charges. He then turned himself in to federal authorities and returned to Minnesota on his own.

一名联邦移民官员被控于今年1月枪击并致伤一名委内瑞拉男子，并就案情向调查人员撒谎。在明尼苏达州当局将其逮捕后，该官员将于周四在明尼苏达州法官面前出庭，此前他将在联邦法院接受单独听证。

美国移民及海关执法局官员克里斯蒂安·卡斯特罗因在明尼阿波利斯地区的一次联邦移民打击行动中枪杀胡里奥·塞萨尔·索萨-塞利斯而面临州和联邦指控。检方称，卡斯特罗向调查人员谎称自己遭到扫帚和铲子的袭击。

明尼苏达州刑事侦查局在社交媒体上发文称，他们于周三在明尼阿波利斯市中心逮捕了卡斯特罗，逮捕令指控他犯有袭击罪和虚假报案罪。此前，明尼苏达州当局与德克萨斯州州长就明尼苏达州试图将卡斯特罗从其家乡引渡到德克萨斯州接受州级指控一事发生争执。

图片由 Alberto Mier/CNN/Getty Images 提供

追踪特朗普移民攻势背后的数据

周四，卡斯特罗仍被关押在亨内平县监狱，不得保释，等待下午在州法院举行的听证会。

卡斯特罗还定于周五在明尼阿波利斯的美国地方法院出庭，就另一起联邦案件接受审判，他被指控就同一枪击事件向调查人员作虚假陈述。

卡梅伦县警长办公室

卡斯特罗在联邦案件中的辩护律师表示，他计划作无罪辩护。丹尼尔·格尔茨是卡斯特罗在州案件中的辩护律师，法庭记录显示，他周四没有立即回复记者的电话和电子邮件置评请求。

这是司法部首次对联邦官员提起诉讼，指控其在今年大规模的“地铁突击行动”中采取的行动。该行动向双子城地区派遣了数千名特工，引发了大规模抗议、逮捕行动，并导致两名美国公民被联邦官员枪杀。

在针对卡斯特罗的联邦和州级案件中，检方称他向明尼阿波利斯一户人家的前门开枪，击中了24岁的索萨-塞利斯的腿部。检方称，卡斯特罗事后谎称自己在开枪前遭到扫帚柄和雪铲的袭击。

起诉书称，因明尼阿波利斯枪击案被联邦起诉的移民及海关执法局（ICE）官员曾六次向调查人员撒谎。

明尼苏达州当局与唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府就卡斯特罗的指控处理权问题一直争执不下。国土安全部称明尼苏达州对卡斯特罗的起诉“非法且纯属政治作秀”，并表示只有联邦当局才有管辖权。

明尼苏达州在联邦政府起诉卡斯特罗数月前就已对其提起诉讼。今年五月，他因明尼苏达州的指控在德克萨斯州被捕。但上个月，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特拒绝签署引渡令，拒绝将他移交给明尼苏达州当局。卡斯特罗在德克萨斯州获释后不久，便因联邦指控被起诉。随后，他向联邦当局自首，并自行返回明尼苏达州。