4 Chattanooga officers testify on beginning of Jason Chen investigation
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – New police body cam footage in the Jason Chen murder case was shown in a Hamilton County court room Friday.
Today’s hearing focused on police involvement in the initial investigation into Jasmine Pace’s disappearance as Jason Chen’s defense continued their argument that evidence in this case was illegally obtained.
We got to see the initial interactions between police officers and the Pace family as they were desperately searching for their daughter.
Four different Chattanooga police officers testified that the Pace family had trespassed into Jason Chen’s apartment in their search for Jasmine Pace.
The second hearing pertaining to a motion to quash evidence in the Jason Chen murder case.
Over two hours of police body camera footage was presented, which showed various conversations at an apartment complex on Mountain View Road. That is where the family had located Jasmine Pace’s vehicle.
The majority, though, was at the apartment complex at 110 Tremont Street, where Jason Chen lived.
At the hearing last month, Pace family members testified they had used data from Jasmine’s phone and car to track down the location of Chen’s apartment.
Upon arrival, Jasmine Pace’s mother Catrina Pace testified that she had lied to police that Chen’s door was unlocked because of her desperate search for her daughter.
Footage from the early morning hours of November 27, 2022, shows at least two police officers entering the apartment, both testifying they did so without a search warrant.
One officer told the Pace family in the hallway outside of Jason Chen’s apartment, “We legally can’t investigate anything that you found.”
Chen’s defense attorney Joshua Weiss asked one of the Chattanooga Police officers, Mike Creighton, who were there inside of Chen’s apartment, “You were in that apartment for about three minutes, and you were looking for people.”
Officer Creighton said, “Yes.”
Weiss said, “You found no people.”
Officer Creighton said, “Yes.”
Weiss asked, “But after not finding any people, you continued to make observations.”
Officer Creighton said, “Yes.”
Officers also testified that there was a lack of direction with how to handle to investigation, as one officer said there were staffing issues at the time.
Weiss asked, “You’re saying the lead detective and Detective Crawford never came to speak with you about it?”
Officer Matthew Braisted said, “No.”
Weiss said, “You’re saying investigator Seitch never came to speak with you about it?”
Officer Braisted said, “No.”
Weiss said, “Did you get any information to help draft a search warrant? Did you anticipate them drafting a search warrant?”
Officer Braisted said, “No.”
Officers also testified that they gave no citations for trespassing or told the Pace family to leave, as they were focused on comforting the family as they were looking for their daughter.
We also saw a conversation between one officer and a next door neighbor to Jason Chen.
That neighbor told officers, “Tuesday night, early in the morning, we were sitting on the couch right there and we heard a concerning noise, but we thought it was like a normal party going.”
The body cam footage also showed officers talking to the family about what they had found so far.
That officer told the Pace family in the hallway, “I just want to give you a big net of suggestions. Keep this thing going, and the more information you can get, trickle it down to us.”
Another Chattanooga officer, McKenzie Pierre, testified that all he could do when he responded to the Mountain View apartment scene that he could only put Jasmine Pace on the National Missing Persons list, and that the missing persons investigator on call was unavailable that night.
In that conversation, Catrina Pace said that she had been told by Jason Chen that her daughter was going to South Carolina with another friend, but that friend said it was a lie.
In a conversation right outside of Chen’s apartment, Pace’s sister, Gabriella, told officers that she was not sure of the status of Pace and Chen’s relationship, but Jasmine had told her she had known him for about nine months.
The hearing concluded with no decision.
The defense has more witnesses they would like to call at their next hearing in May.
They believe this matter will conclude on May 10 on whether or not to quash this evidence.
Additionally, a preliminary trial date has been set for September 16, as a grand jury will be brought in from Nashville.
