Overview
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged ICE agent Christian Castro on Monday with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, and a judge issued a nationwide arrest warrant as authorities said his location is unknown.
- The court order requires Castro to surrender his passport, avoid firearms, and have no contact with witnesses if he is released on bond.
- Prosecutors say Castro fired through a closed front door during a January 14 operation in north Minneapolis, striking Julio César Sosa-Celis in the leg as the bullet traveled through a closet and lodged in a child's bedroom wall where two children were inside.
- Video and medical records reviewed by investigators contradicted the agent's account, showing he was standing when he fired and had no injuries consistent with being attacked, and Moriarty said he was never under threat.
- Federal prosecutors dropped earlier charges against two Venezuelan men in February after ICE acknowledged agents gave false sworn statements, and Castro may now seek to move the state case to federal court as his lawyers raise immunity arguments.