Key takeaways:
- Christian Castro, an ICE agent, was arrested in Texas on charges of assault in the second degree and falsely reporting a crime related to a January shooting in Minneapolis.
- Castro fired a gunshot into a home, injuring Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was lawfully in Minnesota and involved in a case of mistaken identity.
- Video evidence contradicted initial DHS claims that Sosa-Celis and another man attacked officers, leading to dropped charges and investigations into officer misconduct.
Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, was arrested in Texas on Friday on charges related to the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The arrest followed an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and was announced by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Castro faces charges of assault in the second degree and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the January 14 incident, which occurred amid the Department of Homeland Security’s three-month immigration enforcement effort known as Operation Metro Surge. Authorities say Castro fired a gunshot into a home, knowing it was occupied by multiple people, injuring Sosa-Celis in the leg.
According to the criminal complaint, ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle were pursuing a man who lived with Sosa-Celis. The man attempted to enter the home on North Sixth Street and North 24th Avenue, where Sosa-Celis ran out and saw Castro struggling with the man. The complaint states that Sosa-Celis swung a broomstick at Castro but did not hit him. Both men then entered the home and tried to close the door when Castro fired through it. According to other reports, six people, including two children, were inside the home at the time.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said both Sosa-Celis and the other man were in Minnesota lawfully and described the case as one of mistaken identity. Initially, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Sosa-Celis and the other man had attacked the ICE officer with a shovel and broomstick, leading to assault charges against them. However, those charges were dismissed after prosecutors found new evidence inconsistent with the agency’s account.
Video footage released in February and April contradicted the DHS narrative, showing one man dropping a shovel before running toward the residence empty-handed, followed by an officer tackling one of the men. A review of the videos also revealed that two officers appeared to have made untruthful statements in sworn testimony, prompting ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons to place them on administrative leave pending investigation.
Castro’s arrest was carried out by Department of Homeland Security agents and Texas Rangers after investigators located him in Texas. Moriarty called the arrest a “critical step forward” in seeking accountability for the incident on behalf of Sosa-Celis, his family, and the community.
Castro is the second federal agent charged in Minnesota related to Operation Metro Surge. Last month, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., another ICE agent, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly pointing a gun at two civilians in a vehicle on a Twin Cities highway. Morgan turned himself in and was released on a $100,000 bond.
The shooting of Sosa-Celis occurred about one week after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good in south Minneapolis during the same immigration crackdown that brought thousands of federal officers to Minnesota.
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