ICE agent Christian Castro turns himself in on federal charges

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro, who is accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through the closed door of a Minneapolis home in January, turned himself in to federal authorities on Thursday, the Associated Press and other outlets reported. 

Castro was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on six charges of making false statements related to the shooting, according to the indictment which was unsealed on Friday. 

Matthew Evans, the assistant U.S. attorney in Minnesota in charge of the case, was pursuing hefty civil rights charges against Castro, but was instructed by Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C. to downgrade the charges.

Evans was fired, CBS News reported Thursday, citing four unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

By charging Castro only with making false statements, the DOJ will not have to litigate whether the shooting was justified.

The Jan. 14 shooting followed a car chase between Castro and Alfredo Aljorna, who lived in the same duplex as Sosa-Celis. The chase ended at the men’s duplex, as Aljorna exited his car and tried to get inside the house. Aljorna slipped, and Castro jumped on top of him. 

Sosa-Celis dropped the shovel he was holding to help Aljorna up, and both men ran inside. Castro’s shot passed through the door and hit Sosa-Celis in the leg before coming to a stop in the wall of a child’s bedroom. 

Castro accused Sosa-Celis and Aljorna of assaulting him with a broom and a snow shovel before Castro opened fire, leading to assault charges against the two men that were dropped after surveillance footage proved Castro’s statements false.

The six charges in the indictment stem from six specific lies Castro told FBI investigators after the shooting. Four of the counts are related to Castro accusing Sosa-Celis, Aljorna and a nonexistent third man of hitting him with a broom or shovel. One count is for Castro stating that a physical altercation between the three men lasted three minutes, and another count is over Castro’s statement that he was on the ground when he fired his gun. 

According to surveillance footage no one hit Castro with a broom or shovel. The physical altercation between them lasted 11 seconds, not three minutes. There was no other man present besides Castro, Aljorna and Sosa-Celis, and Castro was standing when he fired at the front door of the house. 

Castro worked for the U.S. Border Patrol for eight years before joining ICE in September, according to the indictment. 

Castro is also charged in Minnesota with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. He was arrested in May by Texas Rangers, a state law enforcement agency, and held in a Texas county jail for 90 days. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blocked Castro’s extradition to Minnesota, prompting a lawsuit from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, which failed to stop Castro’s release from jail last week. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement Thursday saying Castro is expected to appear first in a federal court in Texas, and a date will be set for his appearance in a Minnesota federal court. 

“Despite Gov. Abbott’s best efforts to shield Mr. Castro, we will see him soon,” Moriarty said.