Ricky Cobb II

Ricky Cobb II, 33, was shot twice and killed by Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31, 2023, during a traffic stop for a taillight violation. Troopers learned Cobb was wanted in a separate county for violating a domestic no-contact order and ordered him out of the car; when he refused and began driving away while a trooper was partly inside attempting to unbuckle his seatbelt, Londregan fired twice into his torso. Londregan was charged in January 2024 with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and manslaughter, becoming a rare instance of a Minnesota trooper facing criminal charges. Five months later, the Hennepin County Attorney dropped every charge before trial, citing new evidence that Londregan would testify Cobb reached for his firearm and that state training did not, contrary to best practice, instruct troopers against shooting into a moving vehicle. A federal judge separately dismissed the family's civil lawsuit. No one has ever been convicted in Cobb's death.

Minneapolis, MN · Hennepin County

• 2023: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The traffic stop, the discovery of the outstanding no-contact order violation, and the shooting, per Minnesota State Patrol body and dash camera video released publicly and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty's charging and dismissal statements.
• The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Cobb's death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
• Londregan was charged in January 2024 with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter, and pleaded not guilty; a trial was scheduled for September 2024.
• In June 2024, five months after charging him and roughly three months before trial, County Attorney Moriarty filed a notice dismissing all charges, citing two pieces of evidence disclosed late in proceedings: that Londregan would testify he saw Cobb reach for his firearm, and that a state patrol trainer testified he had never instructed troopers to avoid shooting into a moving vehicle during an extraction, despite that being described as best practice.
• Moriarty said her office concluded a judge would likely have granted a defense motion for acquittal had the case gone to trial, and stated publicly, “Ricky Cobb should be alive today,” while explaining the dismissal.
• Londregan returned to active duty in the Minnesota State Patrol's West Metro District following the dismissal, required to complete additional training.
• A federal judge dismissed the Cobb family's separate civil rights lawsuit against Londregan in October 2024, ruling he acted reasonably when he fired as the vehicle moved forward with a fellow trooper partly inside it.

• Whether Cobb in fact reached for Londregan's firearm, as the trooper's prospective testimony maintained, was the central disputed fact underlying both the dismissed criminal case and the dismissed civil suit, and was never independently tested at any trial since neither proceeded to one.
• Why evidence central to the prosecution's decision to dismiss — including a trainer's testimony about department practice — surfaced only months into the case rather than before charges were filed has not been fully explained beyond the county attorney's general statement of frustration with the timing.
• The specific findings of the Minnesota State Patrol's internal critical incident review of Londregan's conduct have not been made comprehensively public.

• Wikipedia — “Killing of Ricky Cobb II” (sourced case history)
• CBS News Minnesota — “Murder charges dropped against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in killing of Ricky Cobb II”
• Star Tribune — “Judge dismisses lawsuit by family of Ricky Cobb II against Minnesota state trooper Londregan over fatal shooting”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs