Federal authorities have turned over evidence in the shootings of three Minneapolis residents during Operation Metro Surge following months of refusing to cooperate with local authorities.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on Monday that her office, along with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, obtained previously withheld evidence in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis.
The announcement comes after six months of a refusal by the federal government to cooperate with local authorities in their investigations into the shootings, which prompted a lawsuit to compel its release. Before the lawsuit’s resolution, however, federal authorities decided to share the evidence in an effort to “get back to normal,” Moriarty said.
Good, a 37-year-old mother, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7; Sosa-Celis was shot by ICE officer Christian Castro on Jan. 14 in his north Minneapolis home; Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot and killed in south Minneapolis on Jan. 24 by multiple Customs and Border Protection agents.
“Obtaining this evidence has been a priority for us since Jan. 7. It has been rightfully demanded by our community for the past six months,” Moriarty told reporters Monday morning. “We need cooperation – our community needs it, Alex Pretti’s and Renee Good’s families deserve it, Julio Sosa-Celis deserves it and our democracy requires it.”
Local and federal authorities butt heads several times regarding cooperation during Operation Metro Surge. The BCA, which investigates law enforcement shootings in Minnesota, was turned away by federal law enforcement officials from the scenes of multiple shootings and blocked state investigators from accessing evidence. State and local officials at the time called the move an unprecedented step, citing “others outside of the state” for the decision.
It’s not clear why federal officials changed course, though Moriarty said Monday her office and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison were having conversations with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Minneapolis FBI since January. The new agreement also allows for state investigators to share evidence they’ve gathered with federal authorities.
“I think it’s because all of our federal partners here understand that it’s important to get back to the way things have always been,” she said. “It’s important to get all of this information to us for the sake of potential accountability and, at least, transparency.”
Despite the sharing of evidence, Moriarty said she and Ellison will not be dropping their lawsuit.
Moriarty said her office received most of the evidence – which includes body-worn camera footage and statements from officers – via hard drives. They have also received physical evidence originally kept from local investigators, including the car Good was driving when she was shot, which is now in BCA custody.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement Monday the BCA’s investigations are active and ongoing amid the “great strides” that have been made to ensure both federal and local investigators have access to each others’ evidence.
“The BCA has long-standing relationships with these partners and is appreciative of those relationships which created a path to reaching an agreement to share information,” Evans said. “Our work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal partners continues to be critical to the safety of everyone in Minnesota.”
Though the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is still investigating the Good and Pretti killings, Moriarty charged Castro – the agent who allegedly shot Sosa-Celis – in May with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. Moriarty told reporters Monday that her office is reviewing the evidence, which she called “voluminous,” but did not give a timeline for a charging decision in any of the cases.
Attorney Antonio Romanucci and his legal team, who represents Good’s family, called the transfer of evidence from federal to local authorities an “important and meaningful step towards justice and accountability.”
“We are grateful for the resumption of regular investigatory protocols, which is not only important for the families impacted in these cases, but it is essential for the community and the country,” Romanucci said in the statement.
