Minnesota investigators still can’t access the cellphone of the federal agent who fatally shot Renee Good or the guns used to kill Alex Pretti. Federal authorities stopped sharing evidence with state investigators last month, a move that could hamper inquiries into both deaths, according to court filings submitted Tuesday.
The cutoff came without explanation, after weeks of cooperation.
A Partnership That Vanished
Beginning in late June, the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state’s lead investigative agency, spent three weeks negotiating an evidence-sharing agreement. Federal law enforcement handed over Good’s vehicle, the gun used to shoot her, body-worn camera footage, officer statements and other evidence, according to court records. Minnesota agents also shared what they’d collected with federal counterparts.
The following month, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty thanked federal prosecutors for their help at a press conference. She believed her office had received all the evidence in both cases, or would soon receive it. Within days, federal officials stopped cooperating, the state said in its filings. Moriarty’s team later discovered that key evidence had never arrived.
What Investigators Still Can’t See
The gaps are significant. Minnesota investigators told the court the Justice Department hasn’t turned over a statement from one of the officers who shot Pretti, a key piece of evidence in Moriarty’s office’s investigation of his killing. Drew Evans, superintendent of the BCA, said in a sworn statement that state investigators 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.
State authorities are also seeking evidence tied to the non-fatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis. The ICE officer, Christian Castro, faces state and federal charges related to the shooting and investigation. Minnesota is seeking access to evidence in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Pausing, Then Stopping 'Indefinitely'
Moriarty said in a sworn statement that she repeatedly contacted Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, asking him to resume sharing evidence. Rosen told her several times that his office was “pausing” cooperation but was “optimistic” it could share more information “soon.” On September 10, that changed. 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 anything more with state and local investigators “unless and until there was a change in policy on that sharing coming out of Washington D.C.”
She also pointed out how unusual the decision was. “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.”
CNN said it had contacted the Justice Department and the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office for comment.
Why This Matters:
When a federal agent kills someone, the public relies on independent investigators to determine what happened and whether anyone should be held accountable. Without physical evidence, that work becomes harder. Moriarty says cooperation continues as normal in homicides, mass shootings and drug cases, but stops in the cases where federal agents fired the shots. The filings describe collaboration that worked and then ended, with Rosen citing policy challenges in Washington. That sequence raises questions about who decides how far state oversight of federal law enforcement can go.
Two people are dead. State investigators say they’re missing key evidence. For families seeking answers, and anyone who expects federal agents to face the same legal process as everyone else, the courtroom fight in Washington will test whether that principle holds.
- ice shootings
- justice department
- minnesota
- evidence sharing
- renee good
- alex prett i
- mary moriarty
- criminal investigation