ICE Officer Charged in Minneapolis Shooting Released From Texas Jail

An ICE officer facing criminal charges in Minnesota after allegedly shooting a man and lying about what happened has been released from jail in Texas.

Christian Castro walked out of a detention center in Brownsville, Texas, early Thursday morning after spending 90 days in custody while Minnesota officials attempted to extradite him.

And he is not facing minor allegations.

Castro has been charged in Minnesota with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime stemming from the January 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis.

According to prosecutors, Castro fired his weapon through the front door of a home after people had run inside. The bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg before eventually hitting the wall of a child’s bedroom.

But what happened afterward has become another major part of this case.

Castro claimed Sosa-Celis and another man had attacked an ICE officer with a broom handle and snow shovel.

Hennepin County prosecutors say that did not happen.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says video evidence contradicted that account, and ICE Director Todd Lyons previously acknowledged that two agents involved in the incident lied about what happened.

A Minnesota judge eventually issued a nationwide warrant for Castro, and he was arrested in Texas on May 29.

Minnesota has been trying to bring him back ever since.

So Why Was He Released?

The fight has now turned into an extraordinary interstate extradition battle involving Minnesota and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Minnesota officials requested Castro’s extradition, but Abbott has not approved the request.

Instead, Texas says the governor is waiting for an internal state investigation into whether Castro legally qualifies as a “fugitive” under the Constitution’s Extradition Clause.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison went to federal court attempting to force the extradition and prevent Castro from being released.

That attempt failed Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled that the federal court could not yet intervene because Abbott technically has not approved or denied Minnesota’s extradition request.

Texas law only allowed Castro to remain jailed for 90 days without the extradition being completed.

That deadline arrived Thursday.

Castro was released.

Minnesota Officials Warn Castro Could Leave the Country

There is another reason Minnesota officials desperately wanted Castro kept in custody.

They believe he could flee to Mexico.

Court filings cited jailhouse conversations between Castro and a woman living in Mexico in which the two reportedly discussed marriage and purchasing a home there after his release.

Even the federal judge acknowledged the possibility that Castro could flee the country, but ruled that the threat alone was not enough for the court to intervene at this stage.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has placed responsibility directly on Abbott if that happens.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has also vowed that Castro will ultimately face the charges against him.

But right now, the reality is remarkable:

An ICE officer accused of shooting a man through the door of his home, allegedly lying about the circumstances afterward, and facing five criminal charges in Minnesota is no longer in custody.

Minnesota wants him back.

Texas has not extradited him.

And after 90 days sitting in a jail near the Mexican border, Christian Castro walked free Thursday morning.

This story is developing.