• Judge takes no action in attorneys' dispute over Mollie Tibbetts' non-e

    From But But Sanctuary Cities! Blue Wave@21:1/5 to All on Mon May 24 04:32:02 2021
    XPost: alt.fan.states.iowa, alt.politics.immigration, alt.journalism.newspapers XPost: sac.politics

    MONTEZUMA — A judge decided not to take any action on last
    week’s arguments over subpoenas being improperly filed by the
    defense for the man charged with killing University of Iowa
    student Mollie Tibbetts in 2018.

    The prosecution asked the judge to quash a subpoena for
    Tibbetts’ bank account at Bankers Trust in Des Moines. They
    argued the defense didn’t give prosecutors notice and that this
    type of subpoena isn’t allowed because it isn’t connected to a
    deposition or trial.

    Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown also asked the court
    to admonish the attorneys for first-degree murder defendant
    Cristhian Bahena Rivera. He questioned whether Jennifer and Chad
    Frese understood the rules.

    Eighth Judicial District Judge Joel Yates, in his ruling, found
    the motion moot because the bank account didn’t exist. The
    defense revealed that fact during the hearing. Jennifer Frese
    said the lack of notification was just a “clerical oversight”
    and the prosecution received the notice after the fact.

    “The court declines to issue an admonishment in this situation,”
    Yates said in the ruling. “However, the court relies upon the
    statements from counsel and expects the parties to follow our
    procedural rules.”

    During last week’s hearing, Frese didn’t explain why they sought
    Tibbetts’ banking records, but in her written argument said they
    were following up on an investigation started by the state into
    Tibbetts’ bank records.

    A tip was made to law enforcement Aug. 1, 2018, from a bank
    employee that Tibbetts had set up a bank account just before her
    death, Frese said. There also was information that a transaction
    was made on the account at a tattoo shop after her death,
    according to her written argument.

    Frese said law enforcement didn’t follow up, so they were trying
    to “fill the holes in.” She didn’t provide further details to
    protect their trial strategy, she said.

    Bahena Rivera, 26, a Mexican national living illegally in the
    United States, is accused of fatally stabbing 20-year-old
    Tibbetts, who went missing July 18, 2018, while jogging in her
    hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.

    Her body was found Aug. 21, 2018, in a cornfield where Bahena
    Rivera led authorities.

    Bahena Rivera’s trial is set for May 17.

    Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

    https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/judge- takes-no-action-in-attorneys-subpoena-dispute-over-mollie- tibbetts-banking-records-that-dont-exist-20210203
     

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