Midwest
Prosecutors drop charges against Minnesota trooper in deadly shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb
A Minnesota county attorney has decided to drop a case against a state trooper accused in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Ricky Cobb II.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the decision Sunday evening.
“Ricky Cobb II should still be alive today,” Moriarty said in a statement. “There are so many points at which Mr. Londregan could have handled the situation differently, and if he had, Ricky Cobb might still be alive. But that is not the question before us as prosecutors; the only question is whether we can still prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred given this new evidence. The answer to that question is no, and I would violate my ethical duties if I nonetheless continued with the case.”
Troopers pulled the 33-year-old Cobb over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31 because the lights were out on his car. They then found that the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for violating a protection order in neighboring Ramsey County. Trooper Ryan Londregan, 27, shot Cobb twice as Cobb tried to drive away after troopers ordered him to get out of his car.
MINNESOTA TROOPER ACCUSED OF FATALLY SHOOTING MOTORIST TO REMAIN FREE WITHOUT BAIL, JUDGE RULES
Trooper Ryan Londregan walks with his wife to his first court appearance related to the killing of Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop, Jan. 29, 2024, at the Hennepin Public Safety Facility in Minneapolis. (Renée Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP, File)
Moriarty filed a notice to dismiss the charges after Londregan’s defense team revealed prospective testimony during an April court hearing that the trooper believed Cobb was reaching for a firearm – and that a Minnesota State Patrol trainer said he never instructed officers to refrain from shooting into a moving vehicle.
The evidence would have made it impossible for prosecutors to prove that Londregan’s actions were not an authorized use of force by a peace officer, the county attorney’s office said in a statement released Sunday.
Cobb’s family was outraged by the decision.
“Regardless of how many absurd excuses Trooper Londregan gives to try and absolve himself, he shot and killed Ricky Cobb II at point blank range without any justification and, instead of prosecuting him for murder, the County Attorney’s Office has bowed to political pressure to drop the charges,” a statement from Cobb family attorneys obtained by Fox News Digital said. “Apparently, all you have to do to get away with murder is to bully the prosecutors enough and the charges will just go away.”
The statement added: “the state of Minnesota has repeatedly demonstrated that Black lives simply are not valued whether it’s Daunte Demetrius Wright, Philando Castile or Ricky Cobb II.”
MINNESOTA STATE TROOPER CHARGED WITH MURDER IN FATAL SHOOTING OF MOTORIST DURING TRAFFIC STOP
Family members of Ricky Cobb II, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Minnesota state trooper, speak at a news conference outside Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis on Aug. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed)
Referring to the decision to drop the charges, Londregan’s attorney Chris Madel told the Star Tribune, “It’s about g—— time. That’s going to be about my only on the record comment.”
Prosecutors and law enforcement experts reviewed footage from the scene and found that, as Londregan’s partner clung to the passenger’s door, Cobb moved his hand upward. Cobb did have a gun in the vehicle. Moriarty told the Star Tribune there is still no evidence he intended to grab it but that the defense team’s statements caused prosecutors to reconsider the evidence through a new lens.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty discussed the decision to dismiss the case against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the killing of Ricky Cobb II in a press conference on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Hennepin County Attorney’s Office )
Cobb’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April, alleging that the stop and the shooting were unjustified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Michigan basketball entered Friday having lost nine straight games to Illinois. With the sole regular-season matchup coming in Champaign against the KenPom No. 4 Illini, it was going to be a tall task for the Wolverines to end that streak.
The game matched up the nation’s No. 2 defense against the No. 1 offense, and in front of a raucous Orange Krush, the maize and blue took a little while to get into an offensive rhythm. Because the No. 5 offense is no slouch, especially against the No. 31 defense. What’s more, Morez Johnson Jr. returned to Champaign after spending his first year with Illinois.
However, the Illini certainly showed how much Michigan appears to be their rival, and really played a physical brand of basketball. After Illinois got a five-point lead, the Wolverines bounced back and got a six-point lead. Illinois had a slight advantage in the first half on the boards, but the Wolverines had a field goal advantage. Both teams were relatively even on turnovers.
Ultimately, Michigan ended up taking a seven-point lead into the locker room at halftime, but backup point guard LJ Cason appeared to have hurt his knee on the final score of the half.
The second half started with a Michigan layup and an Illinois 3. The next round of scoring went exactly the same way. But then Yaxel Lendeborg hit a 3 to stop the asymmetry. They traded baskets, but then after a few Illinois turnovers, the Wolverines pushed the lead to 10.
Cason returned to the game after the under-16 media timeout, providing (temporary) good news for the maize and blue (he would leave the game again shortly). But the Wolverines missed a few shots, and Illinois took advantage, getting a shot from the field by Mirkovic before Wagler hit a 3 to cut the lead to five, prompting a Michigan timeout with 13:09 remaining.
Illinois cut Michigan’s lead back down to six, but Yaxel Lendeborg stretched it back to nine with a layup-and-one. Then Aday Mara started taking over.
Mara was unguardable, scoring floaters, dunks, and putbacks. His quick 7 points put the Wolverines up to a game-high of 14 with 9:13 remaining. The Illini answered to end the nearly three-minute field goal drought, ending Michigan’s 7-0 scoring run. But the Wolverine defense held, and Trey McKenney finally hit his first (of three) 3-point attempts to push the lead to 15, and he hit again on the next trip, pushing the lead to 18 with 7:34 left in the game. It was a 13-2 scoring run for the maize and blue.
After an Illinois timeout, they missed again, and Will Tschetter got in on the contagious, 3-pointer action, pushing the lead to 21. Cadeau finally broke the makes from deep, and Wagler hit to cut the lead back to 18 with 5:41 remaining.
Illinois couldn’t mount a comeback, and Michigan won, 84-70. Here are our five takeaways.
Homecoming for Morez Johnson Jr.
An Illinois native who spent his first year with the Illini, the Orange Krush did as much as it could to make it uncomfortable for the outgoing transfer. However, it wasn’t the case, as Johnson was often the best player on the floor.
He was the only Michigan basketball player in double digits at halftime, with 13 points, five rebounds, and a steal, and he was something of an energizer bunny out on the floor for the Wolverines. There were no qualms for Johnson returning to his old stomping ground, as he played one of his best games in a maize and blue uniform.
Johnson was quiet in the second half, but the damage was done, and it makes his former teammate’s pregame comments more prescient:
What could have been.
Johnson finished with a double-double, scoring 19 points and netting 11 rebounds.
Michigan’s offense outplays Illinois’ offense
As noted, the Illini entered the game with the No. 1 overall offense, while the Wolverines were No. 5. Yet, when the rubber hit the road, it was the maize and blue who had the superior offensive attack, managing to shoot 52.5% overall and 60% in the second half. Illinois managed 41.3% and 43.3% respectively.
The Michigan defense forced Illinois to go through a series of uncomfortable stretches in the second half, with multiple three-minute droughts from the floor. And Illinois, which is accustomed to getting to the foul line, couldn’t seem to draw many fouls until relatively late in the game. Even when the Illini forced three Wolverine turnovers late, they couldn’t seem to take advantage.
Ultimately, Michigan was dominant on both ends of the floor.
Bench, fastbreak, and points in the paint
The Wolverines dominated all three categories, finishing the game with 20 bench points, 10 fastbreak points, and 42 points in the paint. We already discussed Johnson and his homecoming, but we cannot leave out Aday Mara, who was just such a mismatch for Michigan vs. the Illini. As noted, Mara really flexed late in the game, taking it over. He was the catalyst for most of these stats.
Meanwhile, Illinois only had 7 bench points, 1 fastbreak point, and was just behind Michigan with 32 points in the paint.
The streak was emphatically broken
As we said in the open, the Illini had beaten the Wolverines nine straight times. Even the Fab Five couldn’t beat Illinois in Champaign, as the maize and blue have historically struggled at State Farm Arena. Though it took some time for the Wolverines to flex, flex they did, and this was as emphatic of a win as Michigan had all season.
The final score may have been just a 14-point gulf, but honestly, the game wasn’t really that close (and it hadn’t been for most of the final 10 minutes). This was a huge win for the Wolverines, one that’s been years in the making. If not decades.
With the win over Illinois, Michigan has won the outright Big Ten regular-season title.
No. 1 overall seed back in the realm of possibility
It may come down to the Big Ten Tournament now that Michigan has lost the head-to-head with Duke. And the Blue Devils’ 54-point win over Notre Dame pushed them into the No. 1 NET ranking, stealing it away from the maize and blue. But with a win over the No. 4 NET-ranked Illini, the Wolverines have the second-best win in college basketball (behind Duke, of course). They also have wins over No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 7 Purdue, No. 11 MSU, No. 12 Nebraska, and will face No. 26 Iowa on the road next week.
There’s a strong case for the maize and blue to have the No. 1 overall seed given the levels of domination over most all of the aforementioned teams.
WHITELAND, Ind. (WISH) — “The Zone” featured highlights from eight high school boys basketball games from across central Indiana on Friday.
Watch highlights of Beech Grove at Whiteland above.
Final Score: Whiteland 89 Beech Grove 61
“The Zone” airs each Friday at 11:08 p.m. Click here to watch ‘The Zone’ for basketball highlights on February 27, 2026.
The fourth and final bunch of Iowa high school boys basketball substate championship games are now set after the second round of Class 4A games were completed on Friday, February 27.
Substate championships in Iowa’s largest classification will take place on Tuesday, March 3, with the higher seed serving as host in all eight games. Winners advance to Des Moines, Iowa and the Casey’s Center to compete in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Tournament beginning March 9.
Three-time defending 4A state champion Valley was eliminated by Ankeny, 72-36. The Tigers, who lost all five starters from a year ago, won just one game prior to earning a victory in the opening round of postseason play.
Cedar Falls, who has held the No. 1 spot in 4A throughout the season, scored a dominating 78-45 decision vs. Iowa City High to move on.
Colin Rice, a Nebraska commit for Fred Hoiberg, scored a single-game school-record 50 points as Waukee Northwest topped Iowa City Liberty, 101-58.
Council Bluffs Lincoln, Ames, North Scott, Dowling Catholic, Dubuque Senior, Johnston, Linn-Mar, Muscatine, Norwalk, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Des Moines Roosevelt, Urbandale and Waukee all joined them in the next round after winning games at home.
The 1A and 2A substate finals will take place on Saturday, February 28 while the 3A games go down on Monday, March 2.
Here are the Iowa boys high school basketball Class 4A substate finals for Wednesday, March 3.
Wednesday, March 3
Class 4A
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