Murder trial set for September for Minnesota police officer who shot motorist during highway stop

A Minnesota state trooper charged with murder for fatally shooting a motorist as he tried to drive away from a traffic stop is expected to go to trial in September.

Trooper Ryan Londregan, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the death of Ricky Cobb II. It was the first hearing in the case for a new team of prosecutors from a Washington, D.C., law firm that Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty hired to take over after the chief original of his office withdrew himself from the politically charged case.

“I plead innocent, Your Honor,” Londregan told Judge Tamara Garcia.

Garcia scheduled the trial to begin Sept. 9, with one week blocked for jury selection and two weeks for testimony. The next hearing is set for August 12 to refine the rules of the trial. The charges include second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault.

Defense attorney Chris Madel moved to disqualify Steptoe LLC’s special prosecutors, arguing that fees of $850 an hour per attorney and $250 an hour for paralegals would factor into decisions pursuit. But he later dropped that request and demanded a speedy trial.

The outside attorneys include four former federal prosecutors and a former Manhattan assistant district attorney. Moriarty said she hired them because her office lacked enough experienced lawyers, given its current caseload, to handle the complex and high-profile case. The contract includes an initial billing cap of $1 million for their services.

Officers stopped Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31 because his car’s lights were out. They then discovered the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for violating a protection order in neighboring Ramsey County. Londregan, who is white, shot Cobb twice as the black man tried to run away after officers ordered him out of his car.

Madel contends Londregan’s use of force was justified to protect himself and another trooper who was partially inside the car.

Law enforcement and Republican leaders have called on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to drop the case against Moriarty, a former public defender who was elected on a platform of police accountability after the officer-involved killing of George Floyd of Minneapolis in 2020, and to turn to him. it’s up to Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz expressed concern about the direction of the case but took no action.

Cobb’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last month, alleging the stop and shooting was unjustified.