Overview
- State prosecutors announced Monday that Hennepin County charged ICE agent Christian J. Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime for the Jan. 14 shooting that wounded Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
- Prosecutors say Castro fired a round through the front door of a residence, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg and leaving a bullet lodged in a child’s bedroom wall, and a nationwide arrest warrant has been issued.
- City surveillance video and FBI testimony contradicted the agents’ initial account that the migrants attacked officers with a shovel and broom, prompting federal prosecutors to drop charges against the detained men and triggering a federal inquiry into possible false statements by officers.
- Hennepin County says investigators identified Castro using his post-incident medical records and state law enforcement interviews, and officials expect the defense will try to move the case to federal court where the Supremacy Clause immunity may be raised.
- The charge is part of a broader pushback against Operation Metro Surge that includes another ICE agent charged in April and a state lawsuit seeking federal evidence in multiple officer-involved shootings, a dispute that will affect investigations into two fatal Metro Surge shootings and public accountability.