Warrant for Pen/Trap/Trace on Charles Merritt new cell phone through Keene Engineering.
SBSW-14-1850 Probable Cause Affadavit 9:23:2014
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4 thoughts on “SBSW 14 1850 9/23/2014”
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Justice Delayed: Will the McStay murders ever be solved? Is Chase Merritt a killer or an innocent man on California's Death Row? 
Is there any chance, do you think, that LE was hoping that these warrants might lead to arrests in totally unrelated cases?
That really is a lot of power, in the hands of the few. And though there is reason to suspect Chase, if they have no idea who he might have had as an accomplice, this is like fishing for crab with a cage big enough for a whale to fit inside.
Kind of disturbing when you think about it.
It bothered me a little as well. I personally believe that investigators should be forced to request a new warrant for each new suspect. With this warrant they could look at whoever they want, whether they are truly viable suspects or not.
Again–that is if I’m understanding the warrant’s parameters correctly.
Hello out there!!! Hey, when you have a chance check out the two sections I copied from the PCA. The scope of this warrant is much broader than I’d previously realized. Not only does this give investigators permission to trap all numbers and subscribers who Merritt is in contact with-but if any of the subscribers are of interest to LE they can then automatically, without an additional warrant get SS#, billing information on those subscribers and put a pen/trap/trace on their phones.
Large, large government reach (if I’m interpreting this warrant correctly)
This is the first published SW that mentions the new claim by Merritt that he never spoke to Joey at 8:28pm on 2/4/2010.
Detective Joseph Steers requested this warrant. It’s interesting that in addition to the warrant’s express purpose of finding out who Merritt is communicating with. SBC is going to pay for the service to continue even if Merritt or Keene get behind in paying the bill.
I wonder how much this investigation cost in total.