ICE Agent Charged In MN Shooting, Nationwide Warrant Issued

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for an ICE agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year.

Christian Castro, 52, was charged Monday with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

The case is unusual because Castro is a federal agent, but he is being charged in state court by Hennepin County prosecutors.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Monday that federal officers can still face state criminal charges if they are accused of committing crimes in Minnesota.

“Mr. Castro is an ICE agent, but his federal badge does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in Minnesota,” Moriarty said, according to the Associated Press.

Moriarty’s office also released a video explaining what steps are required for state agencies to prosecute federal agents.

Prosecutors said Castro fired through the front door of a north Minneapolis duplex while pursuing another man and struck Sosa-Celis in the leg, according to the Associated Press.

Sosa-Celis did not pose a threat to Castro when the officer fired, Moriarty said.

Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna of attacking an officer with a broom handle and snow shovel during the incident.

Those charges were later dismissed after newly discovered evidence was found to be “materially inconsistent” with the original allegations.

The case drew wider scrutiny after video evidence appeared to contradict the federal government’s initial account of what happened.

Federal authorities later opened a criminal investigation into whether ICE officers lied under oath about the shooting. ICE Director Todd Lyons said in February that the officers had been placed on administrative leave.

Sosa-Celis is legally in the United States, according to the Associated Press.

Moriarty said there is “no such thing as absolute immunity” for federal officers accused of crimes in Minnesota.

Moriarty also said her office would continue prosecuting the case even if Castro’s defense tries to move it from state court to federal court. A presidential pardon would not apply to state charges.

Castro is not the first federal immigration officer charged in Minnesota in connection with Operation Metro Surge.

In April, Hennepin County prosecutors charged ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. with two counts of second-degree assault after he was accused of pointing a gun at people in another car during a highway incident in Minneapolis.

Moriarty’s office has said it is reviewing other incidents involving federal officers during Operation Metro Surge.

No charges have been filed in the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two other Minneapolis cases involving federal immigration officers during Operation Metro Surge.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.