Ricky Cobb II shooting: Cost of special prosecutor’s findings released

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two months after the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) made its decision not to charge Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting of Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop in July 2023, the office has released a lengthy report written by special prosecutors detailing their findings, and the cost it took to get them.

Written by Steptoe LLP, who were retained by the HCAO to assist with the case, the nearly 900-page report offers what it describes as "key findings" regarding the decision to charge Londregan, and their efforts to procure information from the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP).

The HCAO previously filed motions to release grand jury transcripts, but due to objections from Londregan’s defense, they were not released as part of the report.

READ MORE: Ricky Cobb II shooting: BCA opens Trooper Londregan case file

What we know

According to the report, the HCAO’s initial decision to prosecute Londregan based on available evidence "was justified."

However, new evidence that was uncovered, such as sworn statements by troopers not previously shared with Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) or HCAO investigators, "made it impossible for prosecutors to prove the case."

The report also alleges that troopers and training officers "generally did not cooperate" with the BCA or HCAO investigation efforts, with 37 troopers either refusing or not replying to interview requests. Of those interviewed, several troopers retained their own legal counsel prior to speaking with the BCA, the report says.

Troopers involved in the immediate shooting also delayed submitting reports for more than a week after the shooting occurred, and state patrol trainers waited months after the filing of charges to provide additional information, the report alleges.

The report also states that troopers had "several non-violent options that could have prevented Mr. Cobb’s death."

"The lack of full cooperation by members of the MSP was not only disappointing to investigators, given that these members pledged to uphold the law, but it also created an unnecessary challenge to BCA and the HCAO’s necessary fact-gathering," the report summarizes. "Such selective cooperation, depending on whether witnesses are sympathetic to the investigation, is unacceptable. It undermines the rule of law."

Cost of counsel

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty faced criticism for hiring Washington, D.C.-based law firm Steptoe LLP to lead the murder case against Londregan.

The Hennepin County Board gave Moriarty and the County Attorney’s office the green light to hire outside counsel for special prosecutions, clearing the way for Moriarty to bring in the team of former federal prosecutors.

"We have not made decisions for political reasons, ever," Moriarty told commissioners at the time. "There are certainly people who disagree with our decisions. But we have never made a decision in the office for political reasons. And that is important because the people in Hennepin County deserve to believe that their criminal legal system is fair."

Up to this point, the cost of their efforts was unclear.

However, the latest release details the invoices provided by Steptoe LLP - one totaling $79,763.13, the other for the amount of $498, 557.85. 

The invoices range from April 23 to June 10 – a total of 49 days. In total, the invoices bill the HCAO office for $578,320.98.

"County Attorney Moriarty, you are elected in your own right, and you have every right to prosecute as you see fit. I think this does not necessarily align with the policy that was provided," Hennepin County Commissioner Kevin Anderson told Moriarty before casting the lone dissenting vote in April.