Minnesota sued Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, asking a federal judge in Brownsville to order the extradition of an ICE agent charged in a Minneapolis shooting.
According to the Minnesota attorney general’s office, Christian Castro, 52, is held in Cameron County jail near the Mexican border. He faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors say Castro fired through the front door of an occupied duplex during Operation Metro Surge and hit Sosa-Celis in the thigh. The bullet also struck a child’s bedroom wall.
Castro was arrested in Texas on May 29 after Minnesota issued a warrant. Gov. Tim Walz asked Abbott in June to sign a rendition warrant. Attorney General Keith Ellison says Texas law generally limits holding a fugitive awaiting extradition to 90 days, so Castro could be eligible for release as early as Aug. 26 if Abbott does not sign.
“Christian Castro could walk free from jail in Texas and flee justice in Minnesota, including by leaving the country,” Ellison said at a news conference, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. The lawsuit also seeks an order blocking Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino from releasing Castro until Minnesota takes custody.
Ellison’s office says Abbott has signed other Minnesota extradition requests in recent years, including one involving the same charge, in an average of fewer than 30 days.
Abbott said Tuesday he will not respond to Minnesota’s request until officials “acknowledge their fault” in a series of fraud cases involving government programs. “I don’t trust Tim Walz on anything, let alone something like this,” Abbott said, according to the Houston Chronicle. An Abbott spokesperson later told Reuters the office would not comment on pending extradition matters.
DHS has disputed Minnesota’s account of the shooting. Federal charges against the two men at the scene were dropped after officials said video did not match initial claims that Castro was attacked with a shovel or broom.
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