The planned release comes after a federal judge on Wednesday rejected Minnesota’s bid for a temporary restraining order that would have kept former officer Christian Castro in custody.
The case stems from a Jan. 14 shooting, when Castro shot a Venezuelan migrant in the leg and two other people were taken into custody. Minnesota prosecutors charged Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. Castro claimed the man attacked him with a broomstick and a shovel before he opened fire, but investigators said nearby surveillance video undermined that account and helped show the statement was false.
Castro was arrested in Texas on May 29 and has remained in the Cameron County Jail since then, even as Minnesota authorities repeatedly sought his extradition. The Cameron County sheriff said Castro would be released Thursday morning.
In a 13-page order, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. denied Minnesota’s request, finding that the dispute “does not present an issue ripe for adjudication.” The state’s lawsuit argues that Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott violated the Extradition Act by failing to sign a rendition warrant for Castro.
“The record reflects only that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the rendition warrant as to Castro. Instead, Governor Abbott has requested that the Texas Secretary of State ‘investigate [Minnesota’s] demand and report to [the Governor] concerning Mr. Castro’s situation and circumstances and whether he ought to be surrendered,’” Rodriguez wrote.
Minnesota officials warned that Castro may leave the United States if released. In court filings, they pointed to jail calls allegedly made to a woman in Mexico in which Castro discussed “marrying her and buying a house in Mexico when he is released.”
Rodriguez acknowledged the possibility that Castro could flee, but said that risk alone was not enough to justify court intervention at this stage, writing that “the threat of injury by itself does not create an issue ripe for adjudication.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the ruling would not end the state’s pursuit of the case, insisting that Castro “will not escape justice in Minnesota.”
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, welcomed the ruling and said it was the governor’s duty to carefully consider the merits of extradition requests.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
