Legislation enforcement officers on Friday arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of capturing a Venezuelan immigrant this 12 months and mendacity about it.
The agent, Christian J. Castro, 52, was caught in Texas after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Legal Apprehension tracked him down, in response to the Hennepin County lawyer’s workplace, which had charged him this month with 4 counts of second-degree assault. He faces an extra cost of submitting a false police report.
The capturing, on Jan. 14set off violent protests on the peak of the Trump administration’s immigration operation in Minnesota this previous winter.
“As we speak’s arrest is a crucial step ahead in our prosecution of Mr. Castro,” Mary Moriarty, the lawyer in Hennepin County, which incorporates Minneapolis, stated in a press release.
Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesman for the workplace, stated investigators from the Division of Homeland Safety’s Workplace of Inspector Common and from the Texas Rangers had helped take Mr. Castro into custody.
The inspector normal’s workplace, nonetheless, stated it had performed no position within the arrest.
Mr. Castro has not responded to requests for remark in latest days. It’s not clear whether or not he has employed a lawyer.
On the night of the capturing, Mr. Castro had a short scuffle with Alfredo Aljorna, a Venezuelan migrant whom he had been making an attempt to arrest after a automotive chase, in response to court docket paperwork.
After Mr. Aljorna broke free and raced into his Minneapolis residence, Mr. Castro fired a bullet into the entrance door, wounding Mr. Aljorna’s roommate, Mr. Julio C. Sosa-Celis, within the leg, according to state prosecutors.
That night time, as violent protests erupted, Mr. Castro informed investigators that he had opened hearth, fearing for his life, as three males bludgeoned him for a number of minutes utilizing a shovel and a brush. Primarily based on that account, federal prosecutors charged Mr. Sosa-Celis and Mr. Aljorna with assaulting a legislation enforcement officer.
The case unraveled weeks later after federal prosecutors reviewed footage from a Minneapolis police surveillance digicam that belied Mr. Castro’s declare that he had fired after being assaulted. Prosecutors dropped expenses towards the 2 Venezuelan males.
Mr. Castro was placed on leave in Februaryand ICE’s interim director, Todd Lyons, stated Mr. Castro was beneath investigation for showing to have lied beneath oath, a federal crime.
However ICE officers described the state expenses towards Mr. Castro as “illegal and nothing greater than a political stunt” in a press release the day he was charged.
State prosecutors have acknowledged that they face vital sensible and authorized hurdles as a result of federal officers get pleasure from broad immunity from prosecutions stemming from conduct within the line of obligation.
Mr. Castro was booked into jail in Cameron County, Texas, close to the Mexico border, after he was arrested Friday morning at a home within the metropolis of Harlingen, stated Mike Ernster, a spokesman for the Minnesota Bureau of Legal Apprehension.
If Mr. Castro waives the appropriate to an extradition listening to in Texas, he might be moved to Minnesota to be arraigned rapidly. If he fights extradition, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, a Democrat, would want to make a proper request for his extradition to Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican.
Mr. Abbott’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Mr. Castro is the second ICE agent Ms. Moriarty has charged with assault over incidents that occurred throughout the deployment of 1000’s of immigration brokers to Minnesota final winter.
In April, she charged Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr.an agent based mostly in Maryland, with second-degree assault. In keeping with a charging doc, Mr. Morgan, 35, pointed a gun at motorists whereas driving on a state freeway in February.
Mr. Morgan traveled to Minnesota final week to be arraigned and appeared earlier than a decide, who ordered him launched after he posted bail.
His lawyer, Ryan Pacyga, informed reporters final week that ICE brokers within the Minnesota crackdown have been the targets of harassment and threats. He described his shopper as a devoted officer and stated a fuller account of the incident would emerge.
“Human beings beneath stress can understand hazard otherwise and make split-second choices in quickly evolving conditions,” he stated.
Mr. Pacyga stated he supposed to have Mr. Morgan’s case moved to federal court docket as a result of he’s a federal agent, a step state prosecutors have stated they anticipated. If that occurs and Mr. Morgan goes on trial, the case would unfold under unusual circumstances. State prosecutors would strive the case earlier than a federal decide and a federal jury.
Below Minnesota legislation, the fees Mr. Morgan and Mr. Castro face — second-degree assault with a harmful weapon — carry a compulsory minimal sentence of three years in jail if both is convicted.
If discovered responsible, they may not be pardoned by President Trump for a conviction secured beneath Minnesota legislation.
Ms. Moriarty stated her workplace has greater than 30 further open investigations involving federal immigration brokers who took half within the Minnesota operation. The inquiries embrace the deadly shootings of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Her workplace is suing the federal authorities to compel it to show over proof gathered in these circumstances.
Hamed Aleaziz and Lauren McGaughy contributed reporting.
