An ICE agent’s “pull” case may help uncover evidence in the Renee Good Shooting case

Defense lawyers for A Minnesota man convicted in December of assaulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross is seeking access to investigative files related to the killing of Renee Nicole Judd, after learning that Ross was the same officer who shot and killed her during a targeted operation in Minneapolis last month.

Lawyers for Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala asked a federal judge on Friday to order prosecutors to turn over training records as well as investigative files related to Ross, the ICE agent who killed Judd on Jan. 7 during Operation Metro Surge and was also injured in the June 2025 incident in which Muñoz-Guatemala dragged him with his car.

A separate post-trial motion by the defense, filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, asks the judge to stop deadlines for requesting a new trial until the discovery request is resolved.

Muñoz Guatemala’s attorneys say that even if the court ultimately decides that any newly discovered evidence does not entitle their client to a new trial, he is entitled to explore whether there are mitigating factors that could affect the length of his sentence, such as whether Ross’ injuries were caused, in part, by his conduct.

A jury convicted Muñoz Guatemala on December 10 of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and causing bodily injury.

Court filings say Ross and other agents were trying to meet with Muñoz Guatemala last summer, possibly processing his deportation, because he had an administrative warrant for being in the country without authorization. They surrounded his Nissan Altima and tried to get him out of the car. Ross then used a tool to smash the driver’s rear window before getting inside. Ross testified that when the defendant sped off, he was dragged for approximately 100 yards, during which time he repeatedly used the stun gun. Muñoz Guatemala then called 911 to report he had been assaulted.

During his trial, Muñoz Guatemala said he did not understand that Ross — who according to his testimony was dressed in green and gray Ranger gear and wore his badge on his belt — was a federal agent. (Ross testified that Muñoz Guatemala asked to speak to an attorney, suggesting he knew Ross was working as law enforcement, but the FBI agent who witnessed the incident said he did not hear that. According to court records, this allegation was not brought up in pretrial interviews, and prosecutors said they did not hear it before he made the allegation in court.) Muñoz Guatemala’s lawyers now say that if he had been tried after Goode’s killing, his defense may also have argued that he was justified in resisting Ross, who they claimed was the aggressor and used excessive force.

The argument is that jury instructions essentially contain a two-part decision tree: Jurors can convict Muñoz Guatemala if they believe he should have known Ross was a law enforcement official. They can also convict him if they think driving away was not a reasonable response.

Muñoz-Guatemala’s conviction does not indicate which of these prongs the jury relied on. If it’s the latter, the defense says in the lawsuit, the court should have access to evidence that might have an impact on Ross’s behavior and tactics and whether he acted aggressively — information that might indicate whether the agent has a history of acting recklessly in the field or inconsistent with his training.

The prosecution has not yet provided a response to these requests. Sending an email to an address linked to Ross in publicly available records did not result in an immediate response. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions regarding Ross’s current duty status or the status of any administrative review.

Ross was placed on administrative leave after Judd, a 37-year-old Minnesota poet and mother of three, was shot on Jan. 7, a move DHS officials say is standard protocol after a deadly use of force. Ross has not been charged in Judd’s killing, and the Justice Department has said it will not file criminal charges.