An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer charged in Minnesota was apprehended in Texas, authorities said on May 29.
Christian Castro was arrested on Friday morning by agents with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and Texas Rangers, prosecutors in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which charged Castro earlier in May, said in a statement.
Investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were on the scene.
“Today’s arrest is a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro,” Moriarty said in a statement on Friday.
“I am pleased to hear Christian Castro has been taken into custody and will stand trial for the crimes he allegedly committed in Minnesota,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Justice demands no less. Christian Castro’s alleged shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis appears unwarranted, as evidenced by the lies Castro told his ICE supervisors to justify his unlawful actions. He remains innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
It was not clear whether Castro had retained an attorney.
In an affidavit supporting charges against Sosa-Celis, an FBI agent had written that he aided and abetted the assault of, and interference of, ICE officers as they tried to arrest illegal immigrants, prompting attorneys representing the man to say he was pulling another illegal immigrant away from law enforcement when an ICE officer shot him.
Federal prosecutors later told the federal court handling the case that it should throw it out because “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations.” The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled in the future.
Minnesota officials in March sued the government, seeking materials relating to the shooting of Sosa-Celis and the fatal shootings of two other people in Minnesota by federal agents.
“Plaintiffs have repeatedly asked federal officials to allow them access to investigative information about the Sosa-Celis matter,” they said in the complaint. “Despite these efforts, federal officials have refused to provide access to investigative information.”
The Trump administration has not yet responded to the filing.