Evidence Won’t Be Suppressed in Fayette ID Scam

A Fayette County judge has denied a Uniontown man’s motion to suppress evidence on charges he stole a high school student’s identity and created a Web page threatening black people.

Kevin Andrew Burd, 19, is charged by state police with terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, identity theft, harassment and disorderly conduct. Police said Burd created the page on Myspace.com using the identity and photograph of a 16-year-old Uniontown Area High School student.

Burd has denied creating the Web page.

Myspace.com and Verizon provided information to investigators at the request of state police, but a warrant was never obtained, according to testimony in a December hearing.

Judge Steve P. Leskinen has denied Burd’s request to have certain evidence in the case suppressed.

“Defendant’s Internet identity — at least when his computer is used to make terroristic threats against a school — is not the subject of a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy,’” Leskinen wrote in his opinion. “That identity was turned over to the police voluntarily by a private third party, and was not the result of an unreasonable search or seizure by a government entity.”

Burd is awaiting trial on the charges.

Originally published by The Tribune-Review.

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