A lawyer for a Kansas paper raided by police claims data was cloned from their computers before a court ordered the return of the devices.
The newspaper’s attorney, Bernie Rhodes, accused the district of cloning information on at least one computer after finding a USB drive missing from a cache of returned materials.
“It further appears that during – or after – the raid someone used this driver to copy or clone data from one or more computers owned by the Record,” Rhodes wrote in a letter to the county, threatening contempt of court.
“This access is illegal. It also clearly violates the order of the District Court on August 16, 2023.”
Rhodes turned the letter over to Marion County Councilor Bradley Jantz on Thursday, after the newspaper discovered one of his loot, a USB drive, was not returned. Lawyers are demanding the device be returned, as Judge Ben Sexton previously ordered the evidence to be “released and returned” to its rightful owner, according to KWCH.
The lawyer said he found the missing items because the inventory list filed with the court and the list provided by his forensic expert did not match. The second list, given to forensic experts after the search warrant was pulled, had USB drives listed.
The newspaper’s attorney, Bernie Rhodes, accused the district of cloning information on at least one computer. Mark Reinstein/Shutterstock
The attorney said the inventory list filed with the court and the list provided by his forensic expert did not match. KWCH 12 News
“Nobody has been able to explain to me, despite the publicity, despite the threat of my contempt, despite the threat of us having to go back for a second court order, why there are two lists,” Rhodes said, according to KWCH.
“The whole purpose of the inventory list is to maintain what we call the chain of custody so that it is clear what was taken, so that it can be used in court later. Without a legal chain of custody, it’s all just garbage,” he continued. “The fact that we have two different versions of the same inventory, apparently signed by the same official, on the same date, using the same form, with the same official number on it, it’s rubbish.”
“While the significant changes to the inventory list raise serious questions, what is clear is that item 9 on the inventory posted by the Court has not been “released and returned,” as ordered by the Court,” Rhodes wrote in the letter.
The attorney threatened to hold the sheriff in contempt of court if the county did not return the USB drive. Jantz then returned the flash drive, gave him the copied data, and said all copies would be destroyed. AP
The attorney threatened to hold the sheriff in contempt of court if the county did not return the USB drive. Jantz then returned the flash drive, gave him the copied data, and said all copies would be destroyed, KWCH reported.
As of Saturday, the Marion County Record reported, the agreement between the district attorney and Rhodes had not been signed.
The newspaper plans to sue the chief, who Rhodes says is their “one option.”
“We need to sue the chief, we need to sue the police department, and we need to sue the city of Marion to find out the truth.”
The records were raided on August 11, with police seizing their computers, cellphones, and reporting materials amid a dispute with a local businessman.
Newspaper owner Eric Meyer called the timing of the raid “suspicious” because he found the affidavit was likely filed three days after the search was conducted.
He also blamed the raid for the death the following day of his 98-year-old mother, co-owner of the paper.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
