Justice Department cuts off evidence sharing with Minnesota investigators probing fatal ICE shootings

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Federal investigators in Minnesota abruptly stopped sharing evidence last month with state authorities investigating the fatal ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The move — which could hamper the state’s probe of the two killings by ICE agents — is the latest in a series of reversals that have frustrated Minnesota officials, with federal authorities repeatedly cooperating with state and local investigators before suddenly changing course and cutting off cooperation days, or even hours later.

Minnesota investigators said in court filings Tuesday that say the Justice Department still has not turned over key evidence to local authorities, including a statement by one of the officers who shot Pretti, a crucial piece of evidence as the Hennepin County attorney investigates the killing.

State investigators are also now blocked from accessing the cellphone of the agent who fatally shot Good, her clothing, the firearms used to shoot Pretti, the gun Pretti possessed, and other physical evidence from the scene of Pretti’s shooting, such as projectiles and shell casings, according to a sworn statement from Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA.)

The state of Minnesota investigators are also seeking evidence in 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 investigative authorities are still battling the Justice Department in federal court in Washington, DC, for access to the evidence needed to continue their investigations.

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CNN has reached out to the Justice Department and the Minnesota US attorney’s office for comment.

The sudden change in DOJ’s posture came after a three-week period beginning in late June when the US attorney’s office for Minnesota and the BCA, the state’s lead investigative agency, negotiated an agreement to share evidence related to both shootings.

According to the court records filed Tuesday, federal law enforcement provided evidence including Good’s vehicle, the gun used to shoot her, body-worn camera footage, officer statements, and other evidence. The Minnesota investigators also shared evidence its agents collected with federal agents.

The following month, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, thanked federal prosecutors at a press conference for the evidence sharing. At the time, Moriarty believed all the evidence in both cases had been shared with her office or would be soon.

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Within days of the press conference, federal officials in Minnesota stopped cooperating with local authorities — and offered no explanation, the state said in their filings.

According to Tuesday’s filings, Moriarty’s team later discovered key evidence had not been shared.

Moriarty said in a sworn statement that she repeatedly reached out to Daniel Rosen, the US attorney for Minnesota, to resume evidence-sharing. Rosen told Moriarty several times his office was “pausing” cooperation but was “optimistic” that more information could be shared “soon.”

But, on September 10, Rosen informed Moriarty that his office would stop sharing evidence “indefinitely,” citing “challenges with D.C.”

Moriarty said in her statement that she “was left with the understanding” that federal authorities would not share any 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 acknowledged a notable distinction in the otherwise normal working relationship between federal and local law enforcement.

“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,” Moriarty wrote. “The pause on information sharing is unique to these matters.”

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上个月，明尼苏达州的联邦调查人员突然停止与州当局分享证据，以调查 Renee Good 和 Alex Pretti 被 ICE 枪杀的案件。

此举可能会阻碍该州对移民执法局特工杀害两人的调查，这是联邦当局一系列反复无常的最新举措，令明尼苏达州官员感到沮丧。联邦当局曾多次与州和地方调查人员合作，但几天甚至几小时后，却突然改变方向，停止合作。

明尼苏达州调查人员周二在法庭文件中表示，司法部仍未向地方当局移交关键证据，其中包括一名枪杀普雷蒂的警官的证词，这是亨内平县检察官调查这起杀人案的关键证据。

根据明尼苏达州刑事侦查局 (BCA) 局长德鲁·埃文斯 (Drew Evans) 的宣誓声明，州调查人员现在也被禁止获取射杀古德的特工的手机、她的衣物、射杀普雷蒂的枪支、普雷蒂拥有的枪支以及普雷蒂枪击现场的其他物证，例如弹丸和弹壳。

明尼苏达州调查人员也在寻找证据，以调查委内瑞拉移民胡里奥·索萨-塞利斯（Julio Sosa-Celis）遭枪击但未致其死亡的案件。美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）官员克里斯蒂安·卡斯特罗（Christian Castro）面临与枪击事件及调查相关的州和联邦指控。

明尼苏达州调查部门仍在华盛顿特区的联邦法院与司法部就获取继续调查所需的证据进行斗争。

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起诉书称，因明尼阿波利斯枪击案被联邦起诉的移民及海关执法局（ICE）官员曾六次向调查人员撒谎。

CNN已联系司法部和明尼苏达州联邦检察官办公室寻求置评。

司法部态度的突然转变发生在 6 月下旬开始的三周时间之后，当时明尼苏达州的美国检察官办公室和该州的主要调查机构 BCA 就共享与这两起枪击案有关的证据进行了谈判。

根据周二提交的法庭记录，联邦执法部门提供了包括古德的车辆、射杀她的枪支、执法记录仪视频、警员证词和其他证据。明尼苏达州的调查人员也与联邦探员分享了他们收集的证据。

次月，亨内平县检察官玛丽·莫里亚蒂在新闻发布会上感谢联邦检察官分享证据。当时，莫里亚蒂认为两起案件的所有证据都已提交给她的办公室，或者很快就会提交。

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新闻发布会后的几天内，明尼苏达州的联邦官员停止与地方当局合作，并且没有给出任何解释，该州在提交的文件中表示。

根据周二提交的文件，莫里亚蒂的团队后来发现关键证据并未被分享。

莫里亚蒂在一份宣誓声明中表示，她曾多次联系明尼苏达州联邦检察官丹尼尔·罗森，希望恢复证据共享。罗森多次告诉莫里亚蒂，他的办公室“暂停”了合作，但“乐观地认为”很快就能共享更多信息。

但9月10日，罗森告知莫里亚蒂，他的办公室将“无限期”停止分享证据，理由是“与华盛顿特区存在挑战”。

莫里亚蒂在声明中表示，她“得到的结论是”，除非华盛顿特区改变有关证据共享的政策，否则联邦当局不会与州和地方调查人员分享任何额外的证据。

莫里亚蒂承认，联邦执法部门和地方执法部门之间原本正常的合作关系存在显著差异。

莫里亚蒂写道：“事实上，在所有其他案件中，包括复杂的凶杀案、大规模枪击案、毒品和枪支案件以及许多其他类型的案件，与联邦官员的合作和信息共享都在正常进行。信息共享的暂停仅限于这些案件。”