BOISE, Idaho — Former Boise Fairmont Junior High principal, Christopher Ryan, appeared in court as Judge Nancy Baskin heard a motion to suppress evidence and a motion to proceed to trial on Friday, Jan. 26. Ryan was the principal during the time that social worker Scott Crandall was employed at the school and investigated for inappropriate underage relationships.
The defense counsel filed motions to suppress phone evidence, claiming that law enforcement violated Ryan's 4th Amendment rights by taking his phone.
Friday's hearing was to determine if the motion to suppress was valid.
As previously reported by KTVB, Ryan was charged with the felony charge of injury to a child, after he supposedly didn't notify the proper channels after a social worker in his school was rumored to be having a relationship with a student.
The social worker, Crandell, committed suicide during the investigation in December of 2022. Crandell was under investigation for a supposed relationship he was having with a 13-to-14-year-old student.
The investigation began on Dec. 12, 2022, when Boise Police Department (BPD) received an anonymous tip about a possible relationship between Crandell and a student. At that time, BPD officer Jordan Gastin began the investigation.
On Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, after a conversation with the School Resource Officer (SRO) John Mika, both Crandell and Ryan were informed that Crandell should stay away from the student during the investigation.
However, during Friday's court hearing, officers testified that there is surveillance footage of Ryan going to Crandell's office on December 13. The two have a conversation during which Ryan peers around Crandell into the office, appears to see something but continues the conversation.
Later, Ryan informed the SRO that Crandell was with the student in his office. Additionally, there is footage showing the student leaving Crandell's office.
BPD also obtained a search warrant for Crandell's phone and he was served during a traffic stop Gastin said in his testimony on Friday.
During testimony Gastin added that Crandell had an iPhone 14, which was the newest iPhone at that time. Due to having the latest technology, investigators could not break into the phone and did not have the passcode. Crandell died on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, just short of a week after the tip was received by BPD, which meant police could not obtain the passcode to the phone.
Crandell was found with a newly purchased iPad in a hotel room downtown Boise. On the iPad was a note, alluding to mistakes in his life, but said nothing about the investigation.
After Crandell's death, BPD informed the school district and Ryan to close down Crandell's office so an investigation of the area could be conducted.
Testimony by officers showed Ryan was seen entering Crandell's office On Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. He was seen collecting notes that students had slid under the door of the office following Crandell's death. He later gave those notes to Mika.
It was around this time that the investigators turned their attention towards Ryan because they found him entering Crandell's office to be suspicious. Police then submitted a search warrant for Ryan's phone through the Ada County Prosecutor's office.
The Ada County Prosecutor's Office instructed the officers to file through Boise City prosecutors, which delayed the warrant. However, officers wanted to move quickly so they made a plan to obtain Ryan's phone, with or without a warrant.
A Boise detective testified that he took his partner with him to Fairmont Jr. High, where they met with Ryan and a school district employee. The police seized Ryan's phone without a warrant, believing that he could destroy evidence.
The warrant was later signed by a magistrate judge, but only for the search of the phone, not the seizure of it. Defense counsel argued on Friday that the taking of the phone violated Ryan's 4th Amendment rights.
Judge Baskin will deliver her ruling on Feb. 9, while simultaneously hosting the pre-trial conference.
Ryan is scheduled to go before a jury trial on Feb. 20.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.