The recent case of Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala, a Minnesota man convicted of assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, may have shed light on the circumstances surrounding Renee Nicole Good's killing. A federal judge in Minneapolis was recently asked to order prosecutors to turn over training records and investigative files related to Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot and killed Good during a targeted operation in January.
Good's death has raised questions about the tactics used by law enforcement officials, particularly those employed by ICE. In a separate case, Muñoz-Guatemala's defense team is seeking access to evidence that may be relevant to his original conviction. The defense argues that if Ross' injuries could have been brought upon him by his own behavior, this might impact the length of Muñoz-Guatemala's sentence.
According to court filings, Ross and other agents were attempting to interview Muñoz-Guatemala last summer when he accelerated away from their vehicle, dragging Ross approximately 100 yards. During the incident, Ross claimed that Muñoz-Guatemala had repeatedly deployed a taser before speeding off. However, an FBI agent who witnessed the incident stated that he did not hear this.
The defense team for Muñoz-Guatemala believes that if his original trial had taken place after Good's killing, his defense may have also asserted that Ross was the aggressor and used excessive force. The jury instructions in Muñoz-Guatemala's trial contained a two-part decision tree: jurors could convict him if they believed he should have known Ross was law enforcement or if driving away was not a reasonable response.
Prosecutors for Ross have thus far declined to comment on his current duty status or the status of any departmental review.
Good's death has raised questions about the tactics used by law enforcement officials, particularly those employed by ICE. In a separate case, Muñoz-Guatemala's defense team is seeking access to evidence that may be relevant to his original conviction. The defense argues that if Ross' injuries could have been brought upon him by his own behavior, this might impact the length of Muñoz-Guatemala's sentence.
According to court filings, Ross and other agents were attempting to interview Muñoz-Guatemala last summer when he accelerated away from their vehicle, dragging Ross approximately 100 yards. During the incident, Ross claimed that Muñoz-Guatemala had repeatedly deployed a taser before speeding off. However, an FBI agent who witnessed the incident stated that he did not hear this.
The defense team for Muñoz-Guatemala believes that if his original trial had taken place after Good's killing, his defense may have also asserted that Ross was the aggressor and used excessive force. The jury instructions in Muñoz-Guatemala's trial contained a two-part decision tree: jurors could convict him if they believed he should have known Ross was law enforcement or if driving away was not a reasonable response.
Prosecutors for Ross have thus far declined to comment on his current duty status or the status of any departmental review.
this is so crazy 
ICE agents are supposed to be protecting people, but they're also using excessive force 
it's like they think they're above the law 
and that's not okay 
Renee Good's death was a huge wake-up call 
and now we see that her case might be connected to another one 
Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala's story is so much more complex 
it makes me wonder if his trial would have been different if Ross' injuries were more clear-cut 
the fact that they're trying to get access to training records is a major red flag 
This case is making me think... how much do we know about what really happened here? I mean, we're getting bits and bobs from different sources, but it's like piecing together a puzzle with missing pieces. 
It's like we're passin' the buck here. We gotta start thinkin' about how these cases are connected and whether there's systemic problems at play. I'm not sayin' Ross is innocent or nothin', but he should be held to some standard too. And what about the training records? That's just a whole other can of worms 
. This case needs a closer look, IMHO 
I mean, what's going on with these guys? First, Muñoz-Guatemala gets sentenced and now we're hearing about Ross' trial and how he might have been the aggressor? It's all so messed up! 
... Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala case is crazy! I mean, who accelerates away from law enforcement and drags them 100 yards? That's just insane. And for his defense to say that maybe Ross was the aggressor if he had done his trial after Renee Nicole Good's killing? 
It feels like a big mess.
My heart goes out to her family and loved ones. It's crazy how these things all tie together, you know?
. We know that Ross claimed Muñoz-Guatemala deployed a taser, but an FBI agent didn't hear anything 
. So what's really going on here? Was there a genuine threat to Ross' safety, or was he just trying to get Muñoz-Guatemala under control? 
. Maybe it's time for some transparency from the ICE officials involved 
.