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LISBON -- Records for a cell phone associated with Elvin EJ Tisdale will remain part of the evidence in the aggravated murder case against him for the 2021 shooting death of Brycen Douglas.
Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton denied the motion to suppress filed by his appointed defense team, finding that the affidavit for the search warrant for the cell phone record provided probable cause and that the former East Liverpool Municipal Court had jurisdiction to issue the warrant at the time despite the records being in New Jersey.
She noted that the warrant was issued by a "neutral and detached judge upon probable cause, which was supported by the affidavit, and described the cellular data and number with particularity."
Bickerton also denied the motions to suppress 14 other search warrants related to cell phones, ruling that Elvin EJ Tisdale doesn't have standing to challenge those search warrants for cell phone data not associated with him. She noted that two other motions to suppress two additional search warrants for cell phone data had already been denied by fellow Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam.
Elvin EJ Tisdale, 34, Newell, W.Va., and Allen N. Tisdale, 24, were each charged with aggravated murder, murder and firearm specifications for allegedly killing Douglas, 20, who was found shot to death on the front porch of a Pennsylvania Avenue home in East Liverpool on July 15, 2021.
Elvin EJ Tisdale is also facing an additional charge of having weapons while under disability, due to being prohibited from having or using a gun due to a previous felony conviction.
Both Tisdales remain incarcerated in the Columbiana County Jail under $1 million cash or surety bonds. A final status conference remains set for 9 a.m. Dec. 16 and a jury trial remains set for 9 a.m. Jan. 14.
A motions hearing remains set at 2 p.m. Jan. 6 to hear arguments regarding the state's motion requesting the alleged defense expert for Elvin's case be prohibited from being introduced as an expert regarding ballistics.
In her written ruling, Bickerton talked about the probable cause for seeking the search warrant for Elvin EJ Tisdale's phone. She wrote that former East Liverpool Police Capt. Darin Morgan was able to establish EJ as a potential suspect through his investigation and interviews with witnesses and persons with information. He had been provided information that the defendant had contacted some people using the cell phone that was the subject of the search warrant.
Bickerton also denied a defense motion for what's referred to as a Franks hearing, which was filed in an effort to suppress DNA evidence in the case. Franks refers to a legal proceeding used to challenge the validity of information used to secure a search warrant, with a claim that false information was in an affidavit.
The motion filed by defense attorneys Coleen Hall Dailey and Paul Conn for EJ requesting a Franks hearing claimed that a search warrant in West Virginia used to secure DNA evidence from EJ was based on an affidavit that included information from another affidavit provided by East Liverpool police. That affidavit included a statement that bystanders told investigators that EJ was involved in the shooting, but Dailey and Conn said there was no evidence provided by the state supporting that statement.
Bickerton wrote that the defendant does not allege any deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth, only that the West Virginia warrant relied on information provided by Morgan and not on information from the West Virginia officer who secured the warrant.
Still pending is a decision on a defense motion on behalf of EJ asking for separate trials. Allen Tisdale is represented by appointed defense attorneys Charley Kidder and T. Robert Bricker and did not file a motion for separate trials.