An ICE agent accused by Minnesota prosecutors of taking pictures a Venezuelan immigrant and mendacity about it was arrested Friday.
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Investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Prison Apprehension positioned the agent in Texas, the Hennepin County Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned in a information launch Friday.
Castro was taken into custody by regulation enforcement officers from Texas and Minnesota Friday morning on expenses of assault within the second diploma and falsely reporting against the law in reference to the taking pictures of Julio Sosa-Celis throughout an tried immigration arrest on Jan. 14.
The incident occurred throughout the Division of Homeland Safety’s three-month-long immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which the company dubbed as “Operation Metro Surge.”
Castro is accused of firing a gunshot into a house, realizing it was occupied by a number of individuals and injuring Sosa-Celis, based on the Hennepin County Lawyer’s Workplace.
DHS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday afternoon. Court docket data don’t but checklist an lawyer for Castro.
On the night time of Jan. 14, ICE officers confronted Sosa-Celis and one other Venezuelan man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, in an immigration enforcement motion close to their residence, based on authorities. Sosa-Celis was shot within the leg, authorities mentioned.
Hennepin County Lawyer Mary Moriarty has mentioned that each males had been in Minnesota “lawfully” and that “this was a case of mistaken identification.”
On the time, DHS claimed the taking pictures occurred after Sosa-Celis and Aljorna had been alleged to have attacked the officer with a shovel and a brush. They had been charged with assaulting the officer, however all expenses had been later dismissed with prejudice after Minnesota prosecutors mentioned new proof was “materially inconsistent with the allegations” towards them.
Video of the incident launched in February and April appeared to contradict the company’s account, displaying one man standing with a shovel close to a house earlier than he drops it whereas one other man runs towards the residence empty-handed. An officer then tackles one of many males.
A assessment of video proof revealed that two officers appeared “to have made untruthful statements” in sworn testimony, appearing ICE Director Todd Lyons mentioned in mid-February. Each officers had been positioned on administrative depart pending the completion of an investigation.
Castro is the second federal agent to be criminally charged for conduct throughout Operation Metro Surge, based on the Hennepin County Lawyer’s Workplace.
Final month, one other ICE agent was charged with felony second-degree assault with a harmful weapon. The agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., was accused of pointing a gun on the heads of two civilians in a automobile, Moriarty mentioned in April.
This can be a creating story. Please verify again for updates.
Nadine Comerford contributed.
