Law enforcement officials on Friday arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant this year and lying about it.<\/p>\n
The agent, Christian J. Castro, 52, was caught in Texas after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked him down, according to the Hennepin County attorney\u2019s office, which had charged him this month with four counts of second-degree assault. He faces an additional charge of filing a false police report.<\/p>\n
The shooting, on Jan. 14<\/a>, set off violent protests at the height of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration operation in Minnesota this past winter.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s arrest is a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro,\u201d Mary Moriarty, the attorney in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesman for the office, said investigators from the Texas Rangers took Mr. Castro into custody while officials from the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of Inspector General stood by. The inspector general\u2019s office, however, said it had played no role in the arrest.<\/p>\n Mr. Castro has not responded to requests for comment in recent days. It is not clear whether he has hired a lawyer.<\/p>\n On the evening of the shooting, Mr. Castro had a brief scuffle with Alfredo Aljorna, a Venezuelan migrant whom he had been trying to arrest after a car chase, according to court documents.<\/p>\n After Mr. Aljorna broke free and raced into his Minneapolis home, Mr. Castro fired a bullet into the front door, wounding Mr. Aljorna\u2019s roommate, Mr. Julio C. Sosa-Celis, in the leg, according to state prosecutors.<\/a><\/p>\n That night, as violent protests erupted, Mr. Castro told investigators that he had opened fire, fearing for his life, as three men bludgeoned him for several minutes using a shovel and a broom. Based on that account, federal prosecutors charged Mr. Sosa-Celis and Mr. Aljorna with assaulting a law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n The case unraveled after federal prosecutors reviewed footage<\/a> from a Minneapolis police surveillance camera that belied Mr. Castro\u2019s version of events. Prosecutors dropped charges against the two Venezuelan men.<\/p>\n Mr. Castro was placed on leave in February<\/a>, and ICE\u2019s interim director, Todd Lyons, said Mr. Castro was under investigation for appearing to have lied under oath, a federal crime.<\/p>\n But ICE officials have described both the state charges against Mr. Castro and Friday\u2019s arrest as \u201cunlawful and nothing more than a political stunt.\u201d In a statement on Friday, the agency added that, \u201cThis is a federal issue, and it must be handled at the federal level.\u201d <\/p>\n State prosecutors have acknowledged that they face significant practical and legal hurdles because federal officials enjoy broad immunity from prosecutions stemming from conduct in the line of duty.<\/p>\n Mr. Castro was booked into jail in Cameron County, Texas, near the Mexico border, after he was arrested Friday morning at a house in Harlingen, said Mike Ernster, a spokesman for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.<\/p>\n If Mr. Castro waives the right to an extradition hearing in Texas, he could be moved to Minnesota to be arraigned quickly. If he fights extradition, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, a Democrat, would need to make a formal request for his extradition to Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican.<\/p>\n Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Mr. Abbott, did not say how the governor would handle such a request but said that federal agents perform a dangerous job enforcing immigration laws, adding that the governor would \u201calways support those who uphold the rule of law.\u201d <\/p>\n Mr. Castro is the second ICE agent Ms. Moriarty has charged with assault over incidents that occurred during the immigration operation in Minnesota. <\/p>\n