An ICE agent accused of shooting a man during an immigration crackdown was arrested Thursday in Minnesota, where he made his first appearance in court on charges of felony assault.
Christian Castro is charged with the shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis during ICE's Operation Metro Surge. Prosecutors say he fired through the door of a home and struck Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors also alleged that Castro lied about being attacked by Sosa-Celis and another person.
Castro was released from a Texas jail in August. Minnesota had filed a lawsuit to compel Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to extradite Castro to Minnesota, but the judge in Texas ultimately declined to order Castro's removal.
"I should never have had to file a lawsuit to compel Texas to extradite Castro to Minnesota in the first place and I hope never to have to file another one like it — but I will not hesitate to do so to pursue justice for Minnesotans, wherever it leads me," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement.
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Castro was arrested Thursday by agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
A release from Minnesota officials originally said the state court set Castro's bail at $250,000. They later clarified that bail would be set at $200,000. Castro's next appearance there will be November 3rd.
Castro will also appear in federal court in St. Paul on Friday, where he was indicted on six counts for making materially false statements to the FBI in connection with the case.
