FBI and St. Paul Police Probe ICE Arrest That Left Mexican Man With Eight Skull Fractures Amid Wider Minneapolis ICE Scrutiny
The FBI and St. Paul police have opened an investigation into the Jan. 8, 2026 ICE arrest of Mexican national Alberto Castañeda Mondragón after he was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and brain hemorrhaging — injuries hospital staff say are inconsistent with DHS’ claim that he fell while handcuffed — and investigators only began canvassing nearby businesses more than a month later, by which time most surveillance footage had been overwritten and required data‑recovery efforts. The probe comes amid heightened federal scrutiny of Minneapolis‑area ICE actions, running parallel to a DOJ–ICE perjury inquiry into two officers involved in a separate shooting of Venezuelan men and a DOJ civil‑rights investigation into the fatal Alex Pretti shooting, in which the FBI has refused to share evidence with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
📌 Key Facts
- The FBI and St. Paul police have opened a joint investigation into the Jan. 8, 2026 ICE arrest of Mexican citizen Alberto Castañeda Mondragón in a St. Paul shopping‑center parking lot.
- Hospital staff say Castañeda sustained eight skull fractures (front, back and both sides) and brain hemorrhaging—injuries they describe as inconsistent with the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that he simply fell while handcuffed.
- DHS, through spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, maintains Castañeda caused his own injuries while ICE officers were allegedly trying to intervene as he fled in handcuffs; federal and local investigators are probing the circumstances.
- Investigators did not begin canvassing nearby businesses for surveillance footage until more than a month after the incident, and most relevant recordings had been overwritten, forcing a data technician to attempt recovery.
- The Castañeda probe is unfolding alongside broader federal scrutiny of ICE actions in Minneapolis–St. Paul: a DOJ–ICE criminal perjury probe into two ICE officers over a Minneapolis shooting, and a separate DOJ civil‑rights investigation into the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
- Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Superintendent Drew Evans says the FBI has refused to share evidence collected in the Alex Pretti case and that federal authorities have repeatedly denied Minnesota investigators access to materials—characterizing the federal stance as "concerning and unprecedented."
- The BCA says it will pursue all legal avenues to obtain evidence, has reiterated requests for cooperation and access in related cases (including the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa‑Celis), and notes uncertainty about whether federal agencies will cooperate; Minnesota previously obtained (and later had lifted) a temporary restraining order regarding handling of Pretti evidence.
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 18, 2026
12:08 AM
FBI, St. Paul police probing ICE arrest that resulted in skull fractures
New information:
- FBI and St. Paul police have opened an investigation into the Jan. 8, 2026 ICE arrest of Mexican citizen Alberto Castañeda Mondragón in a St. Paul shopping-center parking lot.
- Castañeda Mondragón suffered eight skull fractures—front, back and both sides—and brain hemorrhaging, injuries hospital staff say are inconsistent with DHS’s claim that he simply fell while handcuffed and hit a concrete wall.
- Local and federal investigators only began canvassing nearby businesses for surveillance video more than a month later, by which time most relevant footage had been overwritten, forcing a data technician to attempt recovery.
- DHS, via spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, is now on record insisting Castañeda Mondragón caused his own injuries while ICE officers allegedly tried to 'intervene to protect him' as he fled in handcuffs.
- This skull‑fracture case is now being investigated in parallel with an existing DOJ–ICE perjury probe into two ICE officers whose sworn account of a Minneapolis shooting of Venezuelan men was contradicted by video, and with a separate DOJ civil-rights investigation into the fatal ICE shooting of Alex Pretti.
February 17, 2026
5:19 PM
FBI blocks Minnesota law enforcement from Alex Pretti evidence
New information:
- BCA Superintendent Drew Evans publicly characterizes the federal government’s refusal to share Alex Pretti evidence as the third time the Trump administration has blocked Minnesota law enforcement from accessing FBI case materials on Minneapolis federal shootings.
- The story notes that Minnesota previously obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent U.S. officials from destroying or altering evidence in the Pretti case, which was lifted Feb. 2 after Judge Eric Tostrud found federal agents were not likely to mishandle evidence.
- The article reiterates that ICE and DOJ have opened a joint criminal investigation into the two ICE officers in the Julio Sosa‑Celis shooting, following Lyons’ admission that their sworn testimony appears untruthful, and places that probe explicitly in the context of the FBI’s continued non‑cooperation with the BCA.
5:10 PM
Alex Pretti shooting investigation: Minnesota says FBI's 'lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented'
New information:
- BCA Superintendent Drew Evans publicly called the FBI’s refusal to share evidence in the Alex Pretti case "concerning and unprecedented."
- Evans said the FBI has formally notified BCA it will not provide any information or evidence it collected in the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti.
- Evans added that BCA has reiterated its request for cooperation and access to evidence in the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa‑Celis, and said it remains unclear whether there will be any cooperation on those cases.
- Evans stated BCA will "pursue all legal avenues" to obtain evidence and told DOJ/FBI the state remains open to a joint investigation and to sharing its own materials if the federal stance changes.
- The FBI declined to immediately comment when asked by Fox News Digital.
12:04 PM
Rev. Jesse Jackson has died. And, U.S. and Iran set for high-stakes nuclear talks
New information:
- NPR notes that 'federal authorities have again denied Minnesota criminal investigators access to evidence and other materials' from the Alex Pretti shooting, reinforcing the ongoing nature of the standoff.
- Restates that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has 'faced exclusion from the investigation since the shooting happened,' underlining that state‑level investigators have been kept out from the outset.
- Pins the timing as 'yesterday' for this latest denial, tying it to the BCA’s newest public statement.
February 16, 2026