Judge to not throw out evidence in Chen murder case

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The attorney for the man charged with murder  in the November 2022 death of a Chattanooga woman argued once again for some evidence to be suppressed in that case.

Jason Chen is charged with first degree murder and abuse of a corpse  in the death of Jasmine Pace.

Friday, his attorney, Joshua Weiss, pursued a motion to suppress a warrant that was issued for Chen’s cell phone as investigators were searching for Pace.

Weiss argued that the discovery of Pace’s remains in a suitcase along Suck Creek Road only occurred due to the cell phone records obtained

He argued they were obtained before there was legitimate proof of Chen’s involvement in this case.

Weiss said, “Jason Chen had a legitimate expectation of privacy of his records and his physical movements. They are his cell phone, it is his cell phone that travels with him, and he has a legitimate expectation of privacy, his records, and his location data.”

However, the prosecution argued that probable cause existed that justified the search that tied Chen to the at the time missing Jasmine Pace.

Additionally, they argued due to the nearby Wastewater Treatment Plant and people picking up trash, the discovery of Pace’s remains would not have been affected by this warrant.

“These records persist. They are still at T-Mobile, and the question is, in the event that the original search warrant is invalid, does that mean that data is no longer available? No. It’s still in the possession of one of two original possessors,” said chief homicide prosecutor for the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, Paul Moyle.

Weiss attempted to prove that the lead detective on this case, Chattanooga police officer Zack Crawford, had previously been misleading in how he was led to Suck Creek Road.

Crawford maintained that the phone records were just a part of his detective work to locate Pace.

Weiss asked him, “So you’re saying that you may or may not have found it? Or are you saying you definitely would’ve?”

“Well I can’t say definitely because that was not the circumstances we are here under. I’m saying that ultimately based on my experience and my investigation leading up to that point we were going to conduct a search of an area of Suck Creek Road to include the obvious pull off locations,” said Crawford.

Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson ruled that investigators had the right to seize Chen’s phone due to the circumstances of this case.

Chen’s trial is still scheduled for January of next year.