A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of two men arrested last week after an immigration officer shot one of them in north Minneapolis.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Micko ruled that the two men did not pose a threat to public safety or a high risk of fleeing from court obligations, citing their past nonviolent criminal histories and familial ties. But he also stated that he had no authority over whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would immediately detain them after their release, or over possible removal proceedings.
Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, the man wounded in the Jan. 14 encounter, appeared at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building in St. Paul, wearing orange jumpsuits. They were brought into the courtroom by three U.S. Marshals. Both men appeared in federal court for a preliminary and detention hearing on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or federal employees. They are scheduled for release at noon Thursday. The federal prosecutor said he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
Micko ordered the men released on condition that they avoid contact with witnesses or victims of the ongoing investigation. He also ordered Aljorna placed on GPS monitoring with an ankle monitor and limited to areas approved by his probation officer. Aljorna was working as a food delivery driver at the time of his arrest.
FBI Minneapolis Special Agent Terry Getsch testified, sharing details of the investigation into the shooting.
Micko said Getsch’s testimony offered “probable cause” to believe that an assault of an immigration officer occurred and that Aljorna fled the traffic stop, adding, “I balance that against the fact that there’s very little criminal history for each of you.”
For almost two hours, Getsch was questioned by federal prosecutor Assistant U.S. Attorney Syngen Kanassatega and then cross-examined by Aljorna’s attorney, Frederick Goetz, and Sosa-Celis’ attorney, Robin Wolpert.
Getsch is assigned to investigate reported incidents of violence against federal officers and has been working for the FBI for eight years.
He recounted the shooting based on the account of the immigration officer who shot Sosa-Celis: Two immigration officers checked the license plate of a gray Ford Focus sedan in their federal database and found that it belonged to a person who did not have legal status in the country. Getsch did not provide the name of that person. When the immigration officers began a traffic stop, the driver, Aljorna, fled in the vehicle.
A vehicle chase ensued, Getsch said. It lasted 15 to 30 minutes, during which Aljorna called Sosa-Celis to ask for help. Aljorna drove his vehicle, passing through some stop signs, up to 80 miles per hour, Getsch said. Aljorna drove to Sosa-Celis’ house, crashed into a snowbank and ran toward the house. About 6 feet from the house, an immigration officer tackled Aljorna, and they fought in the snow. Sosa-Celis then approached them.
Two brooms and a snow shovel were found at the site of the physical altercation, Getsch said. The immigration officer suffered a gash on their right arm, he added.
Aljorna’s and Sosa-Celis’ attorneys argued that eyewitnesses, including a neighbor and the two men’s girlfriends inside the house, did not see them use objects to assault the immigration officer. Video footage of the scene also did not show objects used to assault the officer; however, it was not shown to the judge or in the courtroom.
Both attorneys said the only eyewitness who stated that objects were used to assault the immigration officer is the involved officer. They also said the immigration officer stated that the struggle in the snow happened while it was dark outside.
Getsch confirmed that the immigration officer fired a shot when Aljorna and Sosa-Celis fled into the house, wounding Sosa-Celis in the leg.
“If he shot Mr. Aljorna and Sosa-Celis from 10 feet away when they were fleeing and he was not in immediate danger of death or great bodily harm, that is unreasonable, it’s unlawful, and he could be held accountable,” said Goetz, Aljorna’s attorney.
As more federal officers surrounded the house, Aljorna and Sosa-Celis were inside with their girlfriends and two children, 1 and 4 years old. Federal officers used tear gas twice to try to drive Aljorna and Sosa-Celis out of the house. Eventually, the two left the house and Sosa-Celis was taken to a hospital for treatment for the gunshot wound.
