Digital Forensics Dispatch

Incriminating Text Messages Assist in Capital Murder Trial and Conviction

April 11, 2023

Erica Hernandez of ksat.com recently reported on the capital murder trial of Jimmy Tran. Tran has been accused of the robbery and murder of Andres Salinas which occurred in 2019 behind a Wingstop.

During the trial, a digital forensic detective with the San Antonio Police Department brought his extraction report of Tran’s cell phone. An extraction report of a cell phone can often contain a lot of information, such as phone call records, text messages, app and device usage, location data and much more.

In this trial, Hernandez reports that the focus of the prosecution was on text messages that were sent from Tran’s cell phone. The main messages of interest were those sent after the killing of Salina on August 12, 2019.

Hernandez includes some of the messages that were contained within the extraction report from Tran’s cellphone in her article.

In another article a few days later, Hernandez writes that the jury found Tran guilty of capital murder. As a result of the trial, Tran has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Examples of digital evidence can be found in almost every case, as computers and especially phones are abundantly used on a daily basis. Obtaining text messages, call records, location data, pictures and videos are frequent requests made to Sensei’s digital forensic experts.

If you’ve got a question about what digital evidence may exist in your case, give our experts a call at 703.359.0700 or email them at .

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