DOJ Blocks Minnesota Probe of Fatal ICE Shootings

Federal investigators stopped sharing evidence with Minnesota authorities probing the fatal ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. State investigators now lack key records and physical evidence, as the Justice Department’s decision put material needed in local inquiries back under federal control.

Evidence Behind a Federal Wall

In court filings Tuesday, Minnesota investigators said the Justice Department still hadn’t handed over a statement from one of the officers who shot Pretti. The Hennepin County attorney is investigating his killing, and investigators called the statement an important piece of evidence.

The state also can’t access the cellphone of the agent who fatally shot Good, Good’s clothing, the firearms used to shoot Pretti, the gun Pretti possessed, or other physical evidence from the scene, including projectiles and shell casings. Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, listed the withheld material in a sworn statement.

Minnesota investigators are also seeking evidence in the non-fatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis. ICE officer Christian Castro faces state and federal charges tied to the shooting and investigation. Minnesota authorities are seeking access to evidence in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Cooperation, Then a Cutoff

The federal and state agencies first negotiated an evidence-sharing agreement during a three-week period beginning in late June. The U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota and the BCA, the state’s lead investigative agency, worked out the arrangement; federal law enforcement then provided Good’s vehicle, the gun used to shoot her, body-worn camera footage, officer statements and other evidence, according to court records filed Tuesday. Minnesota investigators also shared evidence their agents collected with federal agents.

The following month, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty thanked federal prosecutors at a press conference for sharing evidence. She thought her office had received all evidence in both cases, or would receive it soon. Within days, federal officials stopped cooperating with local authorities without explanation, the state said in filings. Moriarty’s team later found that officials hadn’t shared key evidence.

Moriarty said in a sworn statement that she repeatedly contacted Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, asking to restart evidence-sharing. Rosen told her several times that his office was “pausing” cooperation but was “optimistic” more information could be shared “soon.”

Washington’s Indefinite Pause

On September 10, Rosen told Moriarty the office would stop sharing evidence “indefinitely,” citing “challenges with D.C.” Moriarty said she “was left with the understanding” that federal authorities wouldn’t share additional evidence with state and local investigators “unless and until there was a change in policy on that sharing coming out of Washington D.C.”

Moriarty said the halt stood apart from other federal-local law enforcement work. “Indeed, in all other matters including complex homicide cases, mass shootings, drug and gun cases, and many other types of cases, collaboration and information sharing with federal officials continues as normal,” she wrote. “The pause on information sharing is unique to these matters.”

The evidence dispute now sits before federal court in Washington, D.C., while Minnesota investigators continue seeking material held by federal authorities. CNN said it had contacted the Justice Department and the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office for comment.