Federal immigration agent Christian Castro lied when he told investigators three men beat him with a broom and snow shovel, that the scuffle lasted about three minutes and that he fired his gun to protect himself while lying on his back, according to a federal indictment.
The alleged lies were exposed through a city traffic camera, which captured images that contradicted Castro’s account of the events that led up to him shooting and injuring Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg on Jan. 14.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Castro, 52, a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agent, with six counts of making false statements – one for each lie he allegedly told to investigators about what happened. The indictment was unsealed Friday.
Castro, who is from the Rio Grande Valley area of southern Texas, appeared in court in Texas on Friday and pleaded not guilty. He turned himself into federal custody Thursday evening.
Attorney Robin Wolpert, who represents Sosa-Celis, said in a statement to Sahan Journal that the federal government has “grossly undercharged this case,” and that the evidence strongly supports additional civil rights charges.
“Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes,” Wolpert said.
According to the indictment: Castro and another immigration agent initiated a car pursuit of Alfredo Aljorna, a citizen of Venezuela, who drove to his home in north Minneapolis. There was a brief struggle outside between Aljorna and Castro as Aljorna tried to flee into his home.
Castro shot through the home’s front door, striking Sosa-Celis. The bullet lodged into the closet of a child’s bedroom.
Castro told an FBI agent afterwards that he was attacked by Aljorna, Sosa-Celis and a third man wielding a black snow shovel and a red broom. He told the agent that the scuffle lasted three minutes, and that he tried to block strikes to his face with his left hand, the indictment said.
Castro said he pulled his gun, prompting the men to run the house, and that he fired in their general direction while he was still on the ground. According to the indictment, however, Castro was actually standing at the time, and the altercation only lasted about 11 seconds.
Federal prosecutors charged Aljorna and Sosa-Celis with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer after the January shooting, but dropped the charges due to inconsistencies in Castro’s account.
The charges against Castro come a week after he was released from jail after a Texas federal court denied a motion to extradite Castro to Minnesota so he could face charges locally. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime against Castro in May, leading to his arrest less than two weeks later.
“(We) will see him soon,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement posted on X.
Castro is the only federal agent among thousands deployed to Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge who has been charged by federal authorities for his conduct. Agents were widely accused of racial profiling, detaining U.S. citizens and using excessive force in Minnesota. Agents also shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good and Alex Pretti while they were observing enforcement activity.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans, who worked out of the Minnesota office, was fired and placed under investigation earlier this week for telling attorneys for Sosa-Celis and other victims that Justice Department officials blocked his efforts to bring more serious civil rights charges against Castro, ProPublica reported. Others within the agency said there has not been a final decision on whether to bring such charges.
