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PROVO — Meagan Grunwald and her attorney claim evidence taken from Grunwald's bedroom safe was collected illegally and they want it thrown out.
Evidence seized by the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force from Grunwald's locked safe following the shooting death of Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Cory Wride — namely methamphetamine — was done so without a proper search warrant, defense attorney Rhome Zabriski argues in a new motion filed in 4th District Court.
Grunwald, now 18, faces aggravated murder and several other charges for her alleged role in a crime spree that began with Wride's death and culminated in a shootout between police and her boyfriend, Jose Angel Garcia-Juaregui, 27. Garcia died following the gun battle.
After the shootout, investigators went to Grunwald's home in Draper where she and Garcia had been living with her parents. They were initially given consent to look for items belonging to Garcia in the house, and later obtained a search warrant to look for evidence of the crime of premeditated murder, attempted murder, fleeing and possession of a firearm.
During a search of the house, investigators came across a locked safe in Grunwald's room. Court records say police pried open the locked safe with a screwdriver.
"Law enforcement exceeded the scope of any supposed consent by using a screwdriver to pry open Meagan’s locked safe without express consent to do so," the defense motion argues.
The affidavit gives no (indication) that anything relating to Angel's crime spree (planning, preparation, or otherwise) took place at Meagan's home, or an indication that such items could be discovered therein. Evidence seized from the Meagan's safe should be suppressed on the basis that law enforcement was not justified in breaking the lock to gain entry to the safe, regardless of who had access to the safe's contents.
–Defense motion for Meagan Grunwald
Even if police legally had the parents' consent to search the house, Zabriskie believes that the search warrant affidavit went outside the scope of the crime being investigated.
"The affidavit gives no (indication) that anything relating to Angel’s crime spree (planning, preparation, or otherwise) took place at Meagan’s home, or an indication that such items could be discovered therein," the motion states. "Evidence seized from the Meagan’s safe should be suppressed on the basis that law enforcement was not justified in breaking the lock to gain entry to the safe, regardless of who had access to the safe’s contents."
Zabriskie also says the warrant did not provide an adequate description of the items to be seized.
Grunwald claims she was kidnapped and threatened by her boyfriend, Garcia, and was not an active participant in the crime spree that resulted in Wride's death, the shooting of a second deputy and a carjacking in Nephi. In earlier motions, Grunwald is seeking to have certain statements thrown out of court as well as blood samples taken from her at the end of the shootout because she says it was collected using an illegal warrant.
Prosecutors filed their response Monday to the defense motion to have the blood evidence tossed. They argue that the main reason for admitting the blood draw as evidence in court is because Grunwald agreed to it.
Even if Grunwald had not consented, prosecutors say her arguments for suppression are not applicable in this case.
"Even if the probable cause statement contains facts that are mildly inaccurate … there is still plenty of evidence to support probable cause to justify the search warrant issued for (her) blood," prosecutors wrote.
Grunwald was 17 at the time of the crime spree. She rejected a plea deal in November. She could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted at her upcoming trial.
A judge is scheduled to hear oral arguments about the motions on Feb. 17.
In addition to aggravated murder, Grunwald is also charged with two counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, two counts of attempted aggravated murder, and aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies.
She is also charged with criminal mischief, a second-degree felony; felony discharge of a firearm, possession or use of a controlled substance, and failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop, all third-degree felonies; criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor; and violation of operator duties for accident involving property damage, a class B misdemeanor.
