LISBON — The judge in the aggravated murder case against William P. Long Jr. recently denied the motion asking her to suppress evidence from search warrants related to a 2005 Chevy Pickup Truck with extended cab, an Apple Iphone and Verizon wireless records.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton wrote the judgment entry Friday which was made available Monday, ruling that the defendant “lacked standing to challenge the Verizon records related to the cell phone number in this search warrant.” She also said there was probable cause for the other two search warrants, dismissing the motions to suppress.

Long, 51, North Market Street, Lisbon, was charged in May 2024 with aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, along with first-degree felony discharging a firearm upon a roadway, and firearm specifications for use of a gun for each count, in the death of 50-year-old Michelle A. Long on Nov. 29, 2023 outside her Carey Road home in Butler Township. She was his ex-wife and a teacher at Leetonia High School.

His jury trial remains set for Feb. 3 and he remains jailed under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond.

His defense attorneys, David Betras and Frank Cassese, had filed a motion to suppress evidence alleging improper issuance of several search warrants, asking that any evidence resulting from these search warrants be thrown out. Since Bickerton issued eight of those warrants, a visiting judge was assigned to decide the issue on those particular warrants and last month denied the motion to suppress for those warrants.

“After numerous reviews of the affidavits attached to the individual search warrant requests, the court finds that all affidavits provided the judge with a substantial basis for the warrant to issue,” retired Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge William T. McGinty wrote.

Some of the evidence secured through these particular search warrants included: the defendant’s 2019 white Chevy 2500 pickup truck, the defendant’s home at 807 N. Market St., Lisbon, Verizon phone records, Life 360 records of the defendant, Apple accounts of the defendant, Amazon/Blink security camera at the victim’s home on Carey Road, Salem in Butler Township, Allstate record of driving of account belonging to defendant and a Google GEOfence.

With Bickerton’s ruling, all the evidence resulting from all the search warrants will remain available for use at trial.

Bickerton noted that the cell phone connected to the Verizon records had no connection to the defendant, giving him no standing to challenge them.

In the search warrant related to a particular cell phone, Bickerton highlighted some of the information from the affidavit by Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Caleb Wycoff, who said the sheriff’s office received a 911 call at 9:28 p.m. Nov. 29, 2023 about a shooting on the road near the Carey Road property, with the victim found dead in the driver’s seat of her Dodge truck.

Wycoff noted that the victim and defendant were recently divorced and they were involved in ongoing legal proceedings in county Common Pleas Court.

On Nov. 29, 2023, the defendant arrived at the crime scene in a 2019 Chevy 2500 pickup, said he was divorced from the victim and he had sent a text to the victim at 5 p.m., but she did not respond, Wycoff stated.

The ruling said Wycoff also spoke to the victim’s attorney “who indicated the victim had been at his office on Nov. 29, 2023 in the afternoon, and expressed her concern for her safety due to the defendant’s behavior.”

Bickerton ruled there was probable cause for the search warrant being issued.

Regarding the search of the 2005 Chevy pickup, the affidavit by Wycoff addressed a video from a security camera located at the victim’s residence on Carey Road, Salem. Bickerton noted that Wycoff “reviewed the footage and believe the vehicle observed in the footage was consistent with a dark colored truck on the date and time of the murder.”

She also noted that Wycoff interviewed Richard Todd on Dec. 5, 2023 and he allegedly observed the defendant’s 2005 Chevy pickup on Nov. 29, 2023 “at the base of the driveway leading to the ‘garage’. The defendant told Todd he had taken the truck out for a drive because it had been sitting.”

Based on the affidavit and search warrant for the truck, Bickerton found probable cause for that search warrant.

Still pending in the case is a motion filed by the defense on Friday, asking the court to order the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to provide data on how many trucks similar to the defendant’s truck are registered in the five-county area, naming several particular truck models and asking for the number of registrations for those truck models for Columbiana, Mahoning, Stark, Carroll and Jefferson counties.

The defense had also asked for the exclusion of all exhibits related to “Trax”-generated maps, plots or analysis and to preclude any witness from offering opinions or conclusions based on “Trax” or other unverified GPS data. “Trax” is a software program.

The cellular location evidence and “Trax” analysis allegedly places William P. Long near the scene of the 2023 homicide at the critical time when the victim was shot to death in her vehicle while getting her mail. Two separate hearings were held related to “Trax” with an expert for the defense and an expert for the prosecution both testifying. Both the defense and the prosecution were given 14 days to file documents related to the hearings before the judge issues her ruling.

The deadline for non-oral motions was set for 4 p.m. Dec. 22.

mgreier@mojonews.com