ICE agent accused of lying to FBI about Minneapolis shooting

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer was formally indicted on six counts of making false statements to FBI investigators, according to the Department of Justice. A newly unsealed federal indictment alleged that Christian Castro lied about how events unfolded during an immigration operation that ended with a non-fatal shooting. The shooting took place during Homeland Security’s big immigration sweep in the Twin Cities area, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, earlier this year. Two other officer-involved shootings during that time resulted in the deaths of suspects.

According to the recent indictment, Castro attempted to stop a vehicle driven by a Venezuelan man who was in a vehicle. The pursuit led to Castro, age 52, tackling the much-younger suspect in the front yard of a duplex where the suspect lived. The two men wrestled on the ground while another duplex resident, Julio Sosa-Celis, came outside to help the Venezuelan wrestle free from Castro, the DOJ said. Sosa-Celis and the suspect then ran inside the duplex and were closing the door when Castro fired a shot that hit Sosa-Celis in the leg, according to the recent indictment.

What does the DOJ think he lied about? Castro earlier said that the two men assaulted him with a broom and a snow shovel, which prompted him to fire at the pair. The officer reported that a man came out of the duplex and began hitting him with a red broom while he tried to handcuff the suspect on the ground, according to the DOJ. Officer Castro also said that a third person exited the duplex and also began hitting Castro with a snow shovel from the front porch.

Castro at first said that he was on his back, taking a beating from three men, when he reached for his gun, according to federal authorities. He claimed to have sat up and fired one round in the men’s general direction as the two of them began running, according to the DOJ. Castro described a three-minute physical struggle with the men.

Federal officials initially charged Sosa-Celis and another individual with assault, but dropped the charges after video evidence called into question the accuracy of Castro’s account. No person struck Castro with a broom or shovel as alleged, and the entire physical altercation between the officer and the residents lasted about 11 seconds, according to the federal grand jury indictment.

A federal judge released Castro after his Thursday night plea on a $75,000 bond with a GPS ankle monitor.