Trust is stranger than fiction when it comes to the YSL RICO case, which has experienced its fair share of twists and turns. In the latest addition to the saga, a defense attorney has been ordered by a judge to turn his laptop over to law enforcement.
Eric Johnson, who represents Christian Eppinger, was ordered by Judge Ural Glanville to turn his laptop over to be searched on Friday. Johnson is accused of letting Eppinger use his computer to communicate on Instagram.
Johnson called the seizure a “complete violation of the most sacred relationship in our criminal justice system,” referring to attorney-client privilege.
The seizure stems from Eppinger’s illicit affair with sheriff’s deputy Akeiba Stanley. Stanley was fired and arrested for trying to smuggle contraband to Eppinger. She is also accused of communicating with him on a contraband phone and through Instagram.
Defendants in the case were permitted to use their attorney’s computers since January to review evidence but not to communicate through social media. Warrants accuse Eppinger of using the social media platform to communicate with Stanley while they carried out an alleged romantic relationship.
Attorney Allegra Lawrence-Hardy was assigned as a special master by the judge. She will oversee the search of Johnson’s computer and set guidelines since the laptop could contain sensitive information.
