ICE agent charged in Minneapolis shooting allegedly plotted escape to Mexico, prosecutors say

The federal immigration agent charged with shooting a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge is at risk of fleeing to Mexico to escape the law, a judge said Thursday.

Christian Castro made his first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Hennepin County for the Jan. 14 shooting, and for allegedly lying about the circumstances that led up to it.

He appeared behind a glass enclosure wearing an orange jumpsuit, and remained quiet for much of the hearing.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Paul Scoggin said Castro “has apparently voiced some interest in fleeing the national jurisdiction,” citing jail phone records submitted by prosecutors showing that Castro had made 394 calls while in a Texas jail to a person in Mexico. During the calls, he expressed interest in buying a house and residing in Mexico, prosecutors said. 

Gerdts argued that Castro turning himself in to federal authorities in Texas proved that he did not intend to flee to Mexico.

Scoggin set his bail at $400,000 without conditions, and $200,000 with conditions, citing Castro’s lack of ties to Minnesota and the phone records.

The conditional bail includes no contact with witnesses, no possession of weapons, and supervised release. Castro’s passport has been confiscated. Castro signed an agreement from inside the glass enclosure that requires him to immediately return to Minnesota if he violates any of the conditions.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Castro, 52, who is from the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, in May with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. 

Castro was arrested by the Texas Rangers in May and held in a Texas jail on the Hennepin County charges. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to allow Castro’s extradition to Minnesota. Per Texas law, Castro was released from jail late last month after spending 90 days in jail without a court hearing.

“The process of holding Mr. Castro accountable for firing a weapon through a front door, striking Julio Sosa-Celis, endangering the lives of others and lying to law enforcement has begun,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty during a news conference after the hearing. “Despite the best efforts of the Texas governor to ignore the United States Constitution and crystal clear Supreme Court precedent, here we are.”

Castro was arrested Wednesday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) as he was on his way to his attorney’s office in downtown Minneapolis. Moriarty told reporters that Castro had driven up from Texas to attend a hearing Friday on separate federal charges he’s facing for the same Minneapolis shooting. He ignored BCA instructions to turn himself in at the agency’s office, prompting the Wednesday arrest.

“When you are a fugitive from justice who has continually refused to come up here to Minnesota, you do not get to dictate how you are taken into custody,” Moriarty said.

Castro’s attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to comment following Thursday’s hearing.

According to the Hennepin County charges: Castro was working as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent when he and his partner were attempting to apprehend Alfredo Aljorna, a citizen of Venezuela, in January. A brief scuffle broke out in front of Aljorna’s north Minneapolis home. Julio Sosa-Celis, Aljorna’s roommate, ran outside to help Aljorna, and both men fled inside the home when Castro drew his gun.

Castro allegedly shot at the two men. The bullet travelled through the front door, struck and wounded Sosa-Celis in the leg and lodged in the closet of a child’s bedroom.

Castro allegedly lied when he told investigators that three men beat him with a broom and a snow shovel, and that he was lying on his back when he fired his gun to protect himself, according to the criminal complaint.

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Castro separately on Sept. 4 on six counts of making false statements – one for each lie he allegedly told investigators about the altercation. Castro turned himself into federal custody shortly after the indictment.

The federal indictment included new details, including the allegation that Castro claimed that the scuffle lasted more than three minutes when a city traffic camera obtained by investigators showed it lasted about 11 seconds.

Castro made his first appearance in the federal case earlier this month at a Texas courthouse, where he was released from federal custody. Castro, who is the first federal immigration officer to face federal charges for conduct during Operation Metro Surge, is scheduled to appear at 8 a.m. Friday at the federal courthouse in St. Paul in the federal case. 

Moriarty said if Castro does not make bail in the state case, U.S. Marshals will escort him to Friday’s hearing and return him to state custody afterward.

Castro’s next appearance in state court is set for Nov. 3 at 1 p.m

The post ICE agent charged in Minneapolis shooting allegedly plotted escape to Mexico, prosecutors say appeared first on Sahan Journal.

Originally reported by Sahan Journal by Mohamed Ibrahim. Read the full story at the source.