Evidence in SoHo kidnapping, assault case in limbo

TAMPA (FOX 13) - It was a crime that had the South Howard Avenue community in Tampa gripped in fear.

Surveillance cameras pictured a man later arrested and charged with kidnapping a woman who had just left a SoHo restaurant in December of 2016.

Now a key piece of evidence in the case may never be seen by a jury after a judge said the evidence was improperly obtained.

Police searched the defendant’s cell phone without a search warrant, but the detective says he had a good reason.

The pieces of evidence in question are internet searches allegedly made by Johnathan Rogers about his alleged crimes.

The searches included "orient road jail," "SoHo kidnapping robbery," and "HCSO," according to prosecutors.

They say Rogers was following media reports of the crime, checking to see if police were getting close.

But a jury may never those searches. 

According to case documents, a detective testified that he picked up Rogers' cell phone to put it in airplane mode in an effort to disable any attempt to remotely remove data.

Police say it's a technique often used by law enforcement to preserve evidence on the phone.

The detective said the searches on Rogers phone popped up when he enabled airplane mode.

After snapping a photo of the online searches, he shut off the phone until he got a warrant.

But Rogers' defense attorney argued, "pressing any button on a phone is a search," and an illegal one without a warrant.

The defense now wants the evidence thrown out.

In court Tuesday, the fate of the cell phone search evidence is now in the hands of an appeals court.

Rogers is accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman leaving the Green Lemon restaurant on South Howard in Tampa in December of 2016. Police released surveillance video of the attacker stalking the victim.

Tampa Police Department Captain Ruben Delgado was in charge of the investigation.

"The victim was going back to her car where she was violently attacked by the suspect so much so that she was unconscious and we know that the suspect then drove off in her car with her," said Captain Delgado.

Detectives say Rogers' girlfriend later identified him as the man in the surveillance video.