MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan will stand trial for the murder of Ricky Cobb II starting on Sep. 9.
Londregan pleaded not guilty Wednesday and demanded a speedy trial at the first hearing that featured the new prosecution team hired from Washington DC.
This move came as a surprise because Londregan's team was filing a lot of motions, including asking the judge to dismiss the charges that would require additional court hearings to argue. But when the judge ruled against their main motion to dismiss, Londregan's team decided to drop all those issues and get to the trial as soon as possible.
When Londregan appeared in court with his legal team, led by Chris Madel, it was their first face-to-face meeting with the new prosecution team.
Karima Maloney leads the group from Washington D.C.-based Steptoe, hired by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty to take over the case.
The first thing Madel did in court was file a motion to disqualify the Steptoe team because of "financial motive." Madel argued the firm's $850 per-hour, per-attorney fee would factor into prosecutorial decisions.
But when Judge Tamara Garcia made it clear she didn't want to move forward with other issues in the case until that question is settled, Londregan's team decided to drop it, along with other pending motions, and demand a speedy trial.
"I plead innocent your honor," Londregan said to the judge.
Although Londregan's team wanted to face the fresh prosecutors in court within 60 days, Judge Garcia set the trial for Sept. 9, setting aside one week for jury selection and two weeks for testimony.
The family of Cobb filled the courtroom, reacting to the contentious quips between the two groups of lawyers.
The next step in the case now will be in one month – the prosecution will need to reveal the name and summary of their new expert witness – after original use-of-force expert Jeffrey Noble opined that Londregan's use of force appeared to be reasonable to prevent his partner from being dragged.
The deadline for the expert disclosure is June 12. The next court hearing is set for Aug. 12 to iron out all the rules for the trial, with jury selection set to begin Monday, Sep. 9.
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