Murder trial set for September for Minnesota trooper who shot motorist during freeway stop
MINNEAPOLIS– A Minnesota state trooper charged with murder for fatally shooting a motorist as he tried to drive away from a traffic stop will go on trial in September.
Trooper Ryan Londregan, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the death of Ricky Cobb II. It was the first hearing in the case for a new prosecution team from a Washington, D.C., law firm that Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty hired to take over after her office’s original leader withdrew from the politically charged case.
“I plead your honor to be found innocent,” Londregan told Judge Tamara Garcia.
Garcia scheduled the trial to begin on September 9, with one week blocked out for jury selection and two weeks for testimony. The next hearing is scheduled for August 12 to iron out the rules for the trial. The charges include second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault.
Attorney Chris Madel moved to disqualify Steptoe LLC’s special prosecutors, arguing that fees of $850 per hour, per attorney, and $250 per hour for paralegals, would factor into prosecutorial decisions. But he subsequently dropped that motion and demanded a speedy trial.
The outside attorneys include four former federal prosecutors and a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan. Moriarty has said she hired them because, given the current caseload, her office does not have enough experienced attorneys to handle the high-profile and complicated case. The contract includes an initial billing cap of $1 million for their services.
Troopers stopped Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis last July 31 because his car’s lights were off. They then discovered the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for violating a protective order in neighboring Ramsey County. Londregan, who is white, shot Cobb twice as the black man tried to drive away after troopers ordered him out of his car.
Madel claims Londregan’s use of force was justified to protect himself and another soldier who was partially in the car.
Law enforcement and Republican leaders have called on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to take over the case of Moriarty, a former public defender who was elected on police accountability after the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer. Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz has expressed concern about the direction of the case but has taken no action.
Cobb’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last month, claiming the stop and shooting were unjustified.