Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A federal immigration officer accused of shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis in January, and then lying to investigators about what happened, was due to appear before a Minnesota judge on Thursday after being arrested by state authorities. Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, is facing separate state and federal cases linked to the same shooting.
Prosecutors say Castro falsely told investigators that he had been attacked with a broom and a shovel before opening fire during a federal immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area. In both cases, authorities allege he shot 24-year-old Julio Ceasar Sosa-Celis in the leg by firing through the front door of a Minneapolis home.
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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a social media post that Castro was arrested on Wednesday in downtown Minneapolis on an outstanding warrant charging him with assault and false reporting of a crime. The arrest came after a dispute between Minnesota authorities and Texas Governor Greg Abbott over Minnesota’s efforts to extradite Castro from his home state to face the state charges. Castro remained in custody without bond in Hennepin County on Thursday ahead of an afternoon hearing in state court.
Castro is also scheduled to appear on Friday in the US District Court in Minneapolis in a separate federal case, in which he is charged with making false statements to investigators about the same shooting. His defence lawyers in the federal case have said he plans to plead not guilty. Daniel Gerdts, who is listed in court records as Castro’s lawyer in the state case, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment on Thursday.
The case is the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during this year’s Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests, and the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal officers. Minnesota authorities have also clashed with President Donald Trump’s administration over who should handle any charges against Castro. The Department of Homeland Security has called Minnesota’s prosecution of Castro “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt”, and said only federal authorities have jurisdiction.
Minnesota filed charges against Castro months before his federal indictment. He was arrested in Texas in May on the Minnesota charges, but Abbott last month refused to sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities. After being released in Texas, Castro was soon indicted on the federal charges, then turned himself in to federal authorities and returned to Minnesota on his own. He is now set to face both state and federal proceedings over the shooting of Sosa-Celis and the statements he is accused of making afterwards.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
