ICE officer pleads not guilty to lying about shooting and is released from custody
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was released from federal custody Friday after pleading not guilty to lying to investigators about the circumstances that led to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Minnesota immigration crackdown last winter.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, Christian Castro, pleaded not guilty to lying to investigators about a shooting incident during the Minnesota immigration crackdown in the winter. Castro was released from federal custody on Friday after turning himself in to authorities the previous day. The federal indictment accuses Castro of falsely claiming he was attacked with a broom and shovel before shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
However, the indictment states that no one struck Castro with either a broom or shovel. Castro was initially charged with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the nonfatal shooting of Sosa-Celis. His attorney, David Lindenmuth, emphasized that Castro has served in the military and ICE as a public servant. The case has strained the Justice Department, with a prosecutor alleging he was blocked from pursuing more serious civil rights charges.
The civil rights investigation into Castro's actions is ongoing, and additional charges could still be brought. Sosa-Celis' lawyer is demanding that Castro face harsher penalties, stating that the officer's statements were made to cover up the fact that he shot his client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.
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