# Prince investigative data *Carver County, Minnesota: custody and release of law enforcement data from the investigation into the death of Prince Rogers Nelson.* **Prince investigative data** are the law enforcement records from the Carver County investigation into the death of Prince Rogers Nelson, held by the [[Carver County Attorney's Office]]. Under [[§ 13.82]], part of the [[Minnesota Government Data Practices Act]], active criminal investigative data are classified as confidential while an investigation is active. An investigation remains active until the responsible authority, here the county attorney, decides whether to charge.[^1][^2] On February 9, 2018, the office opposed releasing the data to lawyers for Prince's estate. Its stated position was that the data "remains confidential until the Carver County Attorney makes the decision to charge or decline any criminal charge."[^3] On April 19, 2018, County Attorney Mark Metz announced that no one would be charged.[^4] On April 20, the county published the investigative file. News reports put the file at 15 gigabytes and said more than 40,000 people accessed it.[^5] In a 2014 candidate interview, Metz said his office would "practice transparency when allowed by privacy laws."[^6] The record shows the same office withholding and then releasing the same body of records seventy days apart. The event between the two acts was the office's own charging decision.[^3][^5] ## Who The [[Carver County Attorney]] is an elected, countywide office. Ballotpedia lists the office as nonpartisan.[^9] Under Minnesota Statutes [[Chapter 388]], county attorneys prosecute felonies and serve as civil counsel to the county board. The [[Minnesota County Attorneys Association]] lists further duties including juvenile prosecution, child protection, involuntary commitment, and child support enforcement.[^7][^8] Mark Metz held the office throughout the matter. The header of the county's staff page reads "elected 2010, re-elected 2014, 2018."[^10] He ran unopposed in 2014.[^6] The office's overview page lists 34 employees and 19 attorneys. It assigns Data Practices Act compliance to the Civil Division.[^11] The dossier compiled for this record gives the attorney count as 18–19; the county's own page is the higher-ranked source, and its figure is stated here as of that page.[^11] The staff page names Jennifer Tichey as the current Chief Deputy County Attorney.[^10] According to news reports, the 2018 investigation team included: - Chief Deputy County Attorney Peter Ivy - Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud - Detectives Chris Wagner and Chris Nelson[^5] The law firm Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben sought the data on behalf of Prince's estate.[^3] ## What As reported, the investigative file comprised hundreds of reports totalling over 200 pages, plus thousands of photographs and videos. Detective Wagner's report alone ran 64 pages.[^5] Until the charging decision, the office treated this material as confidential law enforcement data under the statute.[^3][^1] ## When - **February 9, 2018:** The office formally opposed release of the data to the estate's counsel.[^3] - **April 19, 2018:** After a two-year investigation, the county attorney announced that no criminal charges would be filed.[^4][^12] - **April 20, 2018:** One day after the declination, Carver County published the investigative file.[^5] - **May 19, 2018:** A citizen petition seeking a grand jury investigation was started.[^13][^14] ## Where The data were held in Carver County, where the office serves.[^11] The petition names Paisley Park as the scene that, it alleges, was not secured as a crime scene.[^13] ## Why The county attorney gave his grounds for declining charges as follows: - "There is no reliable evidence showing how Prince obtained the counterfeit Vicodin laced with fentanyl." - "The evidence demonstrates that Prince thought he was taking Vicodin and not fentanyl."[^4] He added that "suspicions and innuendo are categorically insufficient to support any criminal charges."[^15] For the February 2018 position on the data, the record shows only the office's own statement of the confidentiality rule. That rule matches the statute's classification of active investigative data.[^3][^1] ## How The statute classifies the data as confidential until the charging decision. The same office holds the data and makes the charging decision.[^1][^3] Seventy days after its February 9 opposition, the office released the file.[^5] In an earlier case, the office used a grand jury. After Earl Olander, 90, was found beaten to death in [[San Francisco Township]] in April 2015, the office took the case to a grand jury. The grand jury indicted two men on four murder counts, including two counts of first-degree murder.[^16] The record assembled here shows no grand jury convened in the Prince matter. The May 2018 petition asked for one.[^13] ## How much As reported, the [[medical examiner]] found 67 micrograms of fentanyl per liter of Prince's blood. That is more than 22 times the concentration found in cancer patients wearing fentanyl patches.[^5] Dozens of counterfeit pills stamped to resemble Vicodin were reported recovered from a dressing room and a nightstand. Prince owned no cellphone.[^5] The released file was reported at 15 gigabytes.[^5] ## How many Over 40,000 people accessed the released file, as reported.[^5] The May 19, 2018 petition was addressed to Metz and to U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald. It gathered 4,431 verified signatures and listed twelve alleged investigative failures, including: - a five-day delay before Prince's laptop was removed; - handling of evidence without gloves; - cremation 29 hours after the body was found.[^13] These are allegations in a citizen petition. The record assembled here shows no court, agency, or auditor adopting them.[^13] ## In the at-issue record **AI-Carver-001 (Block A, rank 1).** This entry pairs the office's February 9, 2018 statement of the confidentiality rule with the sequence that followed it.[^3] Its anchor is the March 2025 presidential action on eliminating information silos. The entry gives its reasoning as "a closed custody loop is an information silo with a charging power."[^17] **AI-Carver-007 (Block A, rank 7).** This entry states that a physician's federal settlement in the matter carried two years of compliance terms: - unannounced DEA inspections; - quarterly prescription logs submitted to DEA; - DEA access to his prescription-monitoring history. The entry describes the settlement as civil, with no admission of liability. The settlement document itself is not among this article's sources. The entry's cited anchor is the January 2026 White House fact sheet establishing a Department of Justice division for national fraud enforcement.[^18] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes § 13.82, Law Enforcement Data* — classifies active criminal investigative data as confidential. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.82 [^2]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes chapter 13, Government Data Practices* — the act containing § 13.82. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13 [^3]: FOX 9, *Carver County attorney objects to releasing data about Prince's death* (Feb. 2018) — the office's February 9, 2018 position and its verbatim statement; data sought by Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben for the estate. https://www.fox9.com/news/carver-county-attorney-objects-to-releasing-data-about-princes-death [^4]: NBC News, *No criminal charges in Prince's overdose death, prosecutor announces* (Apr. 19, 2018) — the declination and the county attorney's quoted grounds. https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/no-criminal-charges-prince-s-overdose-death-prosecutor-announces-n867491 [^5]: Chanhassen Villager, *Behind the Prince investigation: Following every lead* — file contents; 15 gigabytes released; over 40,000 people accessed it; investigation team; toxicology and evidence as reported. https://swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/public_safety/behind-the-prince-investigation-following-every-lead/article_20126cb4-11cc-51d7-b461-8daa93e8b8b1.html [^6]: Sun Patriot, *Q&A — Carver County Attorney* (2014) — the candidate's transparency statement; unopposed in 2014. https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_patriot/news/local/q-a---carver-county-attorney/article_e118028a-0fdf-5cad-be0a-17bfffb06e64.html [^7]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes chapter 388, County Attorneys* — statutory basis of county attorney duties. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/388 [^8]: Minnesota County Attorneys Association, *Overview* — county attorneys' duties under chapter 388. https://mcaa-mn.org/page/overview [^9]: Ballotpedia, *Mark Metz (Carver County Attorney, Minnesota, candidate 2022)* — the office is nonpartisan. https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_Metz_(Carver_County_Attorney,_Minnesota,_candidate_2022 [^10]: Carver County Attorney's Office, *Staff Information* — "elected 2010, re-elected 2014, 2018"; Chief Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Tichey. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/staff-information [^11]: Carver County Attorney's Office, *Office Overview* — 34 employees and 19 attorneys; Civil Division data-practices compliance. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/office-overview [^12]: Star Tribune, *Carver County closes Prince death investigation with no criminal charges* (Apr. 2018) — closure of the investigation without charges. https://www.startribune.com/carver-county-closes-prince-death-investigation-with-no-criminal-charges/480252103 [^13]: Change.org, *Undertake a Grand Jury to Investigate Prince's Death* (started May 19, 2018) — addressees, 4,431 verified signatures, and twelve enumerated alleged failures. https://www.change.org/p/mark-metz-county-attorney-carver-county-attorney-s-office-petition-for-grand-jury-to-investigate-prince-s-death [^14]: Star Tribune, *Petition will ask for grand jury investigation into Prince's death* (2018) — coverage of the petition. https://www.startribune.com/petition-will-ask-for-grand-jury-investigation-into-prince-s-death/492140331 [^15]: CBS News, live coverage of the April 19, 2018 announcement — the "suspicions and innuendo" statement. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/princes-death-prosecutors-to-announce-decision-on-charges-today-2018-04-19-live-stream/ [^16]: Star Tribune, *Two indicted on first-degree murder charges in beating death of 90-year-old Carver County man* — grand jury indictment on four murder counts in the Olander case. https://www.startribune.com/two-indicted-on-first-degree-murder-charges-in-beating-death-of-90-year-old-carver-county-man/361342031 [^17]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (Mar. 2025) — the anchor cited by AI-Carver-001. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^18]: The White House, *Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes New Department of Justice Division for National Fraud Enforcement* (Jan. 2026) — the anchor cited by AI-Carver-007; not the settlement record. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-new-department-of-justice-division-for-national-fraud-enforcement/