A U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of lying about a January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis during the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.Christian Castro appeared in a Texas federal court where he faces six charges of making "materially false" statements to investigators, according to federal court documents unsealed Friday.
He turned himself in to authorities Thursday evening.A judge ordered Castro released on a $75,000 unsecured bond and required him to wear an ankle monitor.DOJ CHARGES ICE OFFICER WITH LYING TO INVESTIGATORS FOLLOWING MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING OF VENEZUELAN MANLeft: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro gets into a car surrounded by news reporters moments after being released from the Carrizalez-Rucker Cameron County Detention Center in Brownsville, Texas on Thursday, Aug.27, 2026; Right: Christian Castro.
(Left: AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez; Right: Cameron County Sheriff's Office)The charges stem from the Jan.14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man who was shot in the leg.
Moments earlier, Castro and his partner attempted to stop a vehicle.The driver, also a Venezuelan citizen, fled, triggering a foot chase.Castro caught up to the driver and a physical struggle ensued, according to the indictment.Sosa-Celis attempted to help the driver, and they both fled into a nearby apartment duplex and shut the door.ICE AGENTS IN FATAL HOUSTON SHOOTING WERE NOT WEARING BODY CAMERAS, SOURCES SAYCastro drew his service weapon and fired a single shot through the front door, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg, federal prosecutors said.Two 1-year-old children and two women were inside the home when Castro opened fire, prosecutors added.In an attempt to justify the shooting, Castro allegedly told investigators he was brutally assaulted by multiple individuals wielding tools, claiming he was hit with a broom and a snow shovel during the confron...