Christian Castro, the former US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of lying about a shooting in Minneapolis, has been arrested again and returned to jail after months of legal wrangling over his extradition from Texas.
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension took Castro into custody at about 2.15pm on Wednesday, 16 September, near the junction of 2nd Avenue South and 3rd Street in Minneapolis, authorities said. He was booked into Hennepin County Jail on an active warrant.
His bail was set at $200,000, with a first appearance in Hennepin County District Court scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Castro faces charges over Minneapolis ICE shooting
Castro is charged in Minnesota with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime over the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national, on 14 January during Operation Metro Surge.
Prosecutors allege that Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home as Sosa-Celis and another man ran inside. The bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg before continuing into a wall in a child’s bedroom.
Castro told investigators that he had been attacked with a broom and a snow shovel while trying to make an arrest. Prosecutors say city surveillance footage and witness accounts contradicted that version of events.
The US Justice Department has separately accused Castro of making six materially false statements to the FBI during an interview on the night of the shooting. A federal grand jury indictment filed earlier this month alleges that he falsely described the confrontation and claimed he had been attacked before firing his weapon.
Castro was first arrested in Texas in May after Minnesota investigators located him there. He was released in August after Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined to sign extradition paperwork, prompting Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to sue in an effort to force his return.
The legal dispute continued after a federal judge declined to grant emergency relief, allowing Castro to leave a Texas jail once the detention limit expired.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Castro’s latest arrest marked the failure of Mr Abbott’s attempt to shield him from prosecution and that her office was ready to proceed with the case.
Castro denies the allegations and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
