Star Tribune
Woman spared prison, sentenced to jail for drunken crash off St. Paul ramp that killed passenger
A Ramsey County judge spared a woman from prison Thursday and sentenced her to jail for being drunk and having THC in her system when she sped off a St. Paul highway ramp, crashed and killed her passenger.
Reshawna E. Mosley, 21, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to nine months in jail by District Judge Reynaldo Aligada after he convicted her in a September bench trial of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on July 22, 2021, on the Shepard Road entrance ramp to southbound Interstate 35E. Sha’terries M. Barlow, 19, of Minneapolis was killed.
Aligada set aside a four-year sentence, which would have meant roughly 2⅔ years of that term in prison, and put her on probation for five years to go with her jail time. The sentence also calls for her to continue receiving mental health and chemical dependency treatment and make restitution of $7,500.
A blood test taken two hours after the crash showed that Mosley, who was 19 at the time, had a blood alcohol content of 0.085%, above Minnesota’s legal limit for adults of 0.08%, the charges read. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, reportedly also was present in her system. A half-empty bottle of alcohol and a small amount of marijuana were found in the car, the charges noted.
According to the criminal complaint:
Emergency responders arrived at the scene about 12:30 a.m. and declared Barlow dead.
Mosley told police that she had a few tequila drinks shortly before driving. She said she was following another vehicle and guessed she was traveling 45 to 50 miles per hour when she went off the ramp, where the speed limit is 30 mph, and landed in a ditch.
Investigators determined that the car was traveling 99 mph about 5 seconds before the airbag deployed, and 30 mph upon deployment. “Taking variables into account,” the charges read, “the reconstructionist determined that the [car] was traveling at a minimum of 56 miles per hour prior to the crash.”
Star Tribune
Converting office buildings to housing could save downtowns, but at a cost
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
Star Tribune
Release of hazardous materials forces closing of highway in southeast Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
Star Tribune
Civil suit against MN state trooper who shot Ricky Cobb II is dismissed
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.