The attorney for a man accused of kidnapping and assaulting a Vallejo couple last year is claiming some of the evidence against his client was obtained illegally.
Matthew Muller is accused of tying up and poisoning Aaron Quinn and assaulting and kidnapping Denise Huskins in March 2015. It was a highly publicized case that Vallejo police initially called a hoax.
At a hearing Thursday, Muller's lawyer, Thomas Johnson, argued that the cellphone Muller left behind at a separate home invasion in Dublin last June should never have been opened by police without a search warrant. The phone led investigators to evidence linking Muller to the Vallejo kidnapping.
"It's a phone that's Mr. Muller's that was searched without a warrant, and phones are devices that are so personal to all us Americans," Johnson argued.
But the judge ruled Muller gave up his right to privacy when he entered the Dublin house illegally.
Quinn's family says they're relieved by the ruling and hope Muller is held accountable for victimizing the couple who they say is still traumitized.
"They've been better since they caught the perpetrator, but I don't know how you ever fully get over a trauma like that," said Quinn's brother Matt Quinn. "I was nervous most of the morning. I felt pretty good the judge was going to rule in favor of keeping the phone in, but still it was that uncertainty it may go the other way."
Local
After Thursday's ruling, Johnson said Muller would not be considering a plea deal and that they'll be ready for trial when it begins in January.
Quinn's mother, Marianne Quinn, made a plea to Muller's conscience: "I wish he'd consider what he's done and come forth with the truth, and he has not done that yet."
