The case against four Iowa State athletes charged with felony identity theft in relation to a college betting scandal fell apart Friday when prosecutors asked for the charges to be dismissed.
Cyclones football players Isaiah Lee, Jirehl Brock, and Eyioma Uwazurike, and wrestler Paniro Johnson, were charged last year, along with 21 other Iowa college athletes, with offenses related to underage betting.
Most pleaded guilty to the charges and paid fines. But Lee, Brock, Uwazurike, and Johnson faced the more serious charges of identity theft because they bet using accounts that belonged to other people, such as their mothers or girlfriends.
Last week, lawyers for the four defendants filed a motion to suppress evidence which they said was obtained via warrantless searches conducted by Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
DCI ‘Misused’ GeoComply Software
In new filings submitted to the Story County District Court, defense attorneys alleged that the DCI had used geolocation tech provider GeoComply’s Kibana tracking software to pry into students’ betting habits at an Iowa State dorm.
This had been done without a warrant or “any tips, complaints, or evidence that underage gambling was occurring,” the lawyers wrote.
GeoComply provides its technology to online gambling operators to “ring fence” betting within a state’s borders to ensure they comply with local law.
Last month, the company kicked the DCI off its software for “exceeding the intended outlined scope of its Kibana access-and-use privileges,” according to court documents.
“Due to this newly discovered evidence, the State no longer believes further prosecution in this matter is in the interests of justice,” prosecutors wrote Friday.
Probable Cause
Law enforcement officers must establish “probable cause” – a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed — to obtain a search warrant. Otherwise, they could be in violation of a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights, which protects individuals against unreasonable searches.
Defense lawyers also claimed DCI agents violated some of the defendants’ Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. That’s because they were told, falsely, that they were not under criminal investigation during interviews and were not read their Miranda rights.
The coercive conduct and promises of leniency by the officers make any statements made involuntary, against free will, and contrary to Defendant’s constitutional rights,” according to defense filings.
ESPN reports that the four athletes, none of whom are currently playing for Iowa State, have been advised by their attorneys to pursue legal action against the state.
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