Hennepin County Attorney brings in outside team for Londregan case

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is hiring an outside team to prosecute the controversial murder trial of State Trooper Ryan Londregan. Londregan is charged with second degree murder in Cobb's killing on Interstate 94 last summer

The decision to use an outside team comes after the original prosecutor walked away from the case last week.

On Monday, county attorney Mary Moriarty announced that her office has retained a team of four former federal prosecutors to take over the case.

They are expected to be deputized as special assistant Hennepin County Attorneys, which Moriarty’s office says has been done before in the prosecutions of former officers Derek Chauvin and Jeronimo Yanez.

Moriarty will retain full authority over the case, and they will be paid with funds from the office’s existing budget at no cost to taxpayers.

TENSIONS AT MONDAY COURT APPEARANCE

There were some rising emotions outside State Trooper Ryan Londregan's court appearance in Minneapolis Monday as supporters of Ricky Cobb's family butted heads with hundreds of law enforcement members who turned out to support their fellow officer.

Cobb's twin brother Rashad said there was definitely heightened tension there.

"You know, I'm an energy person so I can feel energy and it's just feeling hate, is like, not something I feel all the time," Cobb said. "So when I do feel it, it's kind of disturbing, you know. But that's what type of time we are in now."

Londregan's supporters are calling for his charges to be dropped, saying he acted in self-defense. Londregan will be back in court in mid-May.