- Christian Castro pleaded not guilty to six federal counts tied to alleged false statements after the Minneapolis shooting.
- Prosecutors say the ICE officer shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through a front door and later gave investigators a false account.
- Castro also faces Minnesota charges, and his next federal hearing is October 28.
Christian Castro pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to six federal counts alleging he lied to the FBI about the Jan. 14 Minneapolis shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24.
Prosecutors say Castro, an ICE officer, shot Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door of a Minneapolis home. They allege he then gave investigators a false account of being attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
The federal indictment centers on six statements Castro allegedly made to an FBI agent. Castro, 52, entered his plea before a federal magistrate judge.
The case grew from a confrontation that prosecutors say unfolded differently from Castro’s account. Video evidence allegedly places the interaction at 11 seconds, rather than the roughly three minutes he described.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the shooting sent a bullet into a child’s bedroom wall.
“Mr. Castro invented a story to justify shooting through a front door into a house with multiple people in it. The bullet he fired lodged into the wall of a child's bedroom.”
The federal case follows a separate Minnesota prosecution
Castro also appeared Thursday in Hennepin County state court. Minnesota prosecutors charged him with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
He left state custody before surrendering to federal authorities. One account placed his bail at $200,000, with conditions attached. He was released on bond.
The state case alleges that Castro fired through the front door of a north Minneapolis home and that the bullet entered a child’s bedroom wall. Prosecutors say the confrontation occurred during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The surveillance footage and other evidence also affected an earlier federal case. Prosecutors say the evidence contradicted the initial account and led to dismissal of the earlier federal charges against Sosa-Celis and another man.
Castro’s defense says he surrendered and will fight the allegations
Michael Wynn, one of Castro’s attorneys, said Castro chose to surrender in both proceedings and will contest the charges.
“Mr. Castro voluntarily went to Minneapolis to surrender himself, both in state court and in federal court, and he's been released on bond, and we look forward to litigating these matters and to presenting our case in court and exonerating him.”
Daniel Gerdts, another defense attorney identified in connection with the case, declined to comment after Thursday’s state hearing. Castro has pleaded not guilty to all six federal counts.
Texas blocked Minnesota’s effort to bring Castro back
Minnesota authorities sought extradition after charging Castro in May. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to sign the warrant.
The dispute drew a response from the Department of Homeland Security, which called the prosecution “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt.”
Castro later appeared in Minnesota state court and turned himself in to federal officials. The federal case now proceeds separately from the state assault and false-reporting prosecution.
The next federal hearing is set for October 28
Castro’s next federal hearing is scheduled for October 28. The six-count case concerns what he told the FBI about the shooting, while the Minnesota prosecution covers the alleged shooting itself and the state false-reporting charge.
The federal indictment was returned in early September. Castro remains released on bond as both cases move forward.
