The prosecutor handling the sports betting case against four former or suspended Iowa State athletes has asked a judge to dismiss all charges.
In a motion filed Friday in Story County District Court, Deputy County Attorney Benjamin Matchan wrote that the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation exceeded the scope of permitted use of tracking software that detected mobile gambling apps. open at Iowa State athletic facilities.
“Due to this newly discovered evidence, the State no longer believes that further prosecution in this matter is in the interests of justice,” Matchan wrote.
Lawyers for former football players Isaiah Lee, Jirehl Brock and Eyioma Uwazurike and suspended wrestler Paniro Johnson had filed a suppression motion earlier this week.
The four are among about two dozen Iowa State and Iowa athletes criminally charged last year. They each faced one count of felony identity theft and one count of aggravated misdemeanor tampering with records.
“Many other people charged in this investigation were caught between a rock and a hard place between the university, the NCAA and their eligibility,” Jirehl Brock's attorney Matt Boles told ESPN. “Their strength to endure this is really important. They were given the opportunity to plead and make this go away.”
Most of the accused athletes pleaded guilty to underage gambling, paid fines, and had identity theft charges dropped.
The identity theft charges arose from athletes registering accounts on mobile sports betting apps under different names, usually a family member.
Defense attorneys have said there was no probable cause for the searches into online gambling activity that resulted in criminal charges and loss of NCAA eligibility.
In the motion to suppress, the defense alleged that a special agent with the Criminal Investigation Division violated the agency's limited use agreement with a geofence monitoring company when he used its software to locate locations within the state's sports facilities. Iowa where athletes placed bets. mobile betting platforms. The agent subsequently obtained information from the platforms' accounts to identify the athletes and third parties whose credit cards were used.
The motion argued that use of the tracking software was unconstitutional because no court order had been issued and noted that the software company GeoComply cut off DCI's access to the tool last month because the user agreement was violated.
Uwazurike, now a defensive end for the Denver Broncos, was suspended indefinitely in July for violating the NFL's betting policy. His attorney said Uwazurike is in the process of submitting his request for reinstatement to the NFL.
Lee and Brock left the Cyclones team before the season. Johnson will not participate in any wrestling competitions affiliated with the state of Iowa this season, only in independent tournaments in which he pays his own expenses. Lawyers for the four athletes are advising their clients to take legal action against the state.
Information from Adam Rittenberg of ESPN and The Associated Press was used in this report.
