Cellphone evidence suppressed in felony cases

State must choose dismissal or appeal

ELYRIA — A Lorain County judge has suppressed all evidence recovered from an Elyria man’s cellphone, a ruling that could dismantle two felony cases containing eight pandering charges and three gross sexual imposition charges.

Lorain County Common Pleas Judge D. Chris Cook granted Jacob Rosado’s motion to suppress Aug. 21 following evidentiary hearings July 30 and Aug. 6.

Cook ruled that the Aug. 8, 2025, warrant authorizing a complete extraction of Rosado’s cellphone lacked probable cause and was excessively broad.

The ruling applies to two cases built around evidence discovered on the phone. It does not resolve Rosado’s original case involving the August 2025 drowning death of 16-year-old Vincent Pabon.

The judge ordered prosecutors to tell the court during an Aug. 31 pretrial whether the state intends to dismiss the two affected cases or file an appeal.

A jury trial in the original case remains scheduled for Sept. 29. That indictment charges Rosado with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence and an underage-liquor offense.

Rosado has pleaded not guilty.

Drowning investigation led to search

Pabon died Aug. 7, 2025, near the East Falls area of the Black River in Elyria.

According to the ruling, Rosado told police he met Pabon at the downtown Elyria McDonald’s on the evening of Aug. 6. The two consumed alcohol before going to the river.

Rosado said Pabon fell into the water between 5 and 6 a.m. the following morning. Rosado told investigators he entered the river in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the teenager.

Rosado then walked to Elyria Square to obtain Wi-Fi service and called his mother for a ride. He went home, changed his wet clothing and reported Pabon missing approximately two hours later.

Cook wrote that police surveillance video and an interview with Rosado’s mother corroborated his account.

Police searched Rosado’s home and recovered his wet clothing, a backpack and an empty beer can. Rosado did not challenge that search.

While Rosado was being interviewed at the police station, officers took his cellphone. Police obtained another warrant the following day authorizing a complete extraction of the device.

That search uncovered alleged sexually explicit material involving minors that Cook wrote had been downloaded more than 18 months before Pabon’s death and had no connection to the drowning investigation.

The evidence became the foundation for two additional criminal cases against Rosado.

Judge finds no connection

Cook found that police did not have evidence indicating a crime had occurred when they sought the cellphone warrant. He also found no connection between Rosado’s phone and the suspected tampering offense listed in the warrant affidavit.

Rosado had used the phone to contact Pabon before they met and to call his mother after leaving the river, according to the ruling.

Cook determined those calls did not establish probable cause to search the device.

“No crime = No warrant,” Cook wrote.

The judge also rejected the prosecution’s argument that police were entitled to examine the phone as part of their search for Pabon. Cook wrote that someone who reports a missing person does not automatically surrender the constitutional protection of personal property.

The warrant allowed investigators to retrieve call logs, text and voicemail messages, location information, contacts and other data. It did not establish a time limit or restrict investigators to communications between Rosado and Pabon.

Cook said police sought what amounted to a general search of Rosado’s digital life.

“Fishing trips, leisurely strolls through people’s property, or general searches for ‘evidence’ are not constitutionally permitted,” Cook wrote.

The judge also declined to apply the good-faith exception, which can allow evidence to remain admissible when police reasonably rely upon a warrant later found invalid.

Cook concluded the affidavit was so deficient that no objectively reasonable officer could have relied upon it.

The three indictments had previously been consolidated for trial. Cook vacated that decision and ordered the cases separated again.

Rosado’s original drowning-related case will continue unless the court issues another order. The state’s decision concerning the two cellphone-evidence cases is expected at the Aug. 31 pretrial.