BY ROBERT SBERNA Many of us were fortunate to have a respected teach- er or family member influence our career paths. Douglas Rohde, the Supervisor of Chemistry and Toxicology at the Lake County Crime Laboratory, had the benefit of three strong influences. As a student at McDowell High School in Erie, Penn- sylvania, Rohde says he had three motivators for his ca- reer in forensic science. “The first was my chemistry teacher, Mr. Richard Moore,” he says. “He made chemis- try fun, and it was in his class during the late seventies when I first used an electronic calculator instead of a slide rule.” The second influential person in Rohde’s life was his aunt, Paulina Wagar, who lived in Avon, Ohio and worked as a nurse at Bay View Hospital with Dr. Sam Sheppard. Rohde says his aunt would often talk about Sheppard, a reputed womanizer who was convicted of killing his wife in 1954, but later acquitted. The Shep- pard case was among the most sensational in U.S. histo- ry and served as the (CONTINUED ON PAGE 3) Doug Rohde’s OVI: Objective, Vocal & Influential BY ROBERT SBERNA On Sept. 10, 1995, business was brisk at Pickle Bill’s, a popular seafood restaurant in Grand River. At 11 p.m., Donald, a part-owner of the restaurant, prepared the day’s receipts—about $22,000—for deposit at a bank in Mentor. The money was placed in two satchels and loaded into the rear of Donald’s van, which had been parked behind the restaurant. Donald, 65, then settled himself into the driver’s seat and began the 10-minute trip along Heisley Road to the bank. Suddenly, he felt the sharp edge of a knife pressed against his neck. A man emerged from his hiding place in the back seat of the van and screamed at Donald to turn at the next intersection. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 5) In a Pickle: Caught Red-Handed FALL 2014 PAGE 1 THE CRIMESCENE NEWSLETTER OF THE LAKE COUNTY CRIME LABORATORY Douglas Rohde, M.S.
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BY ROBERT SBERNA
Many of us were fortunate to have a respected teach-
er or family member influence our career paths. Douglas
Rohde, the Supervisor of Chemistry and Toxicology at
the Lake County Crime Laboratory, had the benefit of
three strong influences.
As a student at McDowell High School in Erie, Penn-
sylvania, Rohde says he had three motivators for his ca-
reer in forensic science. “The first was my chemistry
teacher, Mr. Richard Moore,” he says. “He made chemis-
try fun, and it was in his class during the late seventies
when I first used an electronic calculator instead of a
slide rule.”
The second influential person in Rohde’s life was his
aunt, Paulina Wagar, who lived in Avon, Ohio and
worked as a nurse at Bay View Hospital with Dr. Sam
Sheppard. Rohde says his aunt would often talk about
Sheppard, a reputed womanizer who was convicted of
killing his wife in 1954, but later acquitted. The Shep-
pard case was among the most sensational in U.S. histo-
ry and served as the (CONTINUED ON PAGE 3)
Doug Rohde’s OVI: Objective, Vocal & Influential
BY ROBERT SBERNA
On Sept. 10, 1995, business was brisk at Pickle Bill’s,
a popular seafood restaurant in Grand River. At 11 p.m.,
Donald, a part-owner of the restaurant, prepared the
day’s receipts—about $22,000—for deposit at a bank in
Mentor.
The money was placed in two satchels and loaded into
the rear of Donald’s van, which had been parked behind
the restaurant. Donald, 65, then settled himself into the
driver’s seat and began the 10-minute trip along Heisley
Road to the bank. Suddenly, he felt the sharp edge of a
knife pressed against his neck. A man emerged from his
hiding place in the back seat of the van and screamed at
Donald to turn at the next intersection.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 5)
In a Pickle: Caught Red-Handed
FA
LL
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PAGE 1
THE
CRIMESCENE NEWSLETTE R OF THE LAKE COUNTY C RIME LABORATO RY
Douglas Rohde, M.S.
PAGE 2
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I have been told that you should submit cell
phones to the crime lab with the battery removed, but
some cell phones do not have removable batteries.
What is the correct way of submitting cell phones?
Also what are the new search warrant requirements
as related to cell phones that I have heard about?
A: The best practice to use, for most cases, would be
to remove the battery from the mobile device immedi-
ately upon collection. In the event that the battery can-
not be removed (as with iPhones) turn off the mobile
device as soon as possible.
There are a couple of reasons for this procedure. Re-
moving the battery prevents the submitted device from
accidently being powered up and data being changed
after the date of collection.
The other reason is to prevent remote destruction of
the data stored on the phone. A remote “kill” command
can be sent to most smart phones. A “kill” command
will disable or wipe the phone before it can be shut
down or placed in “Airplane” mode. Once a device is
remotely disabled or wiped, no data recovery is possi-
ble.
At the Lake County Crime Laboratory, all mobile
devices are first examined in a Faraday box. The spe-
cialized material used in the construction of the Fara-
day box isolates the cell phone from radio frequency
signals when the Faraday box is closed. A Faraday box
prevents the cell phone from connecting with the cellu-
lar network and receiving extraneous data or a “kill”
command.
To answer the second part of your question, in a
recent landmark decision regarding searches of cell
phones, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Riley v. Cali-
fornia, 134 S.Ct 2473, dated June 25, 2014, that cell
phones are no longer to be considered like wallets that
may be searched incident to arrest or with any other
field stop. A search warrant or consent to search the
phone must be obtained prior to conducting a search.
Due to the nature and volume of sensitive infor-
mation stored in a smart phone or even a simple flip
phone, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed
that the privacy of the phone’s owner outweighed the
needs of law enforcement.
The U.S. Supreme Court suggested that the “exigent
circumstances” exception to the warrant requirement
may apply. The Court listed examples of exigent cir-
cumstances: to pursue a fleeing suspect, to assist per-
sons who are seriously injured or are threatened with
immediate injury, discovery of some immediately dan-
gerous instrumentality such as explosives, or a child
abductor who may have information about the child’s
location on his/her phone. These examples are not ex-
haustive but demonstrate that it is the urgency of the
situation, requiring immediate action, that may justify
the exception. Search warrant requirements are always
fact specific. If there is any doubt, it is better to obtain a
search warrant.
The Lake County Crime Laboratory’s standard oper-
ating procedure requires a search warrant or signed
consent form before any digital evidence examination
can begin.
For questions, please contact Jamie Walsh, Digital