Prosecutor wants feds' case dismissed

PORT CLINTON — Prosecutors representing the state of Ohio want to dismiss an Indiana man's charges after federal immigration officials purportedly did not provide evidence needed in the case. Ottawa County prosecutors have asked a county judge to drop the case against Emerson Ayala after Border Patrol reported it cannot provide body camera footage considered central to the prosecution, according to a court motion filed Monday morning. The motion, filed Monday by assistant prosecuting attorney Blake W. Skilliter, points to the absence of critical video evidence and says the state cannot proceed without it. Background Ayala, 43, of Indianapolis, was taken into custody on June 19 during a Border Patrol raid in Portage Township. He was initially charged with felony assault on a federal agent, but prosecutors later reduced the charge to misdemeanor resisting arrest in Ottawa County Municipal Court. Ayala's attorney, Alonda Bush, has maintained that he is an American citizen who should not be subject to immigration detention. Judge Louis P. Wargo III set his bail at $150,000, which his family later posted. The evidence gap The motion indicated three agents were present for Ayala's arrest. A reporter called Port Clinton's Border Patrol office Monday to verify the identities of the three agents. The agent who answered the phone refused to provide the names or badge numbers of those agents and directed the reporter to call Border Patrol's "HR" department in Detroit. When asked for the number, the agent refused to provide that and told a reporter to "Google" the information. Bush later provided the agents' names to the newspaper. According to the motion, prosecutors received body camera footage only from Agent Eric Beard, who made the arrest. They determined the recording does not show enough of the incident to support the case. Two other agents were present: • Agent Dean Gribbons was involved with a different suspect when his body camera fell off during a takedown. • Agent Steven R. Loerke was in position to capture the arrest, but on Aug. 21 Border Patrol informed the State that no video exists from his camera for that date. Skilliter wrote that without Loerke's recording, prosecutors do not have the full picture necessary to continue. Next steps The motion cites an email chain between the prosecutor's office and Border Patrol, marked as State's Exhibit A, confirming the missing video. The issue is now before Wargo III, who will decide whether to grant the dismissal. If approved, prosecutors could refile after additional investigation. If denied, the case would move forward relying only on the one agent's limited footage.