In this post, we will examine the testimony of DCI agent Ryan Herman. He had a limited role in the investigation and search of Midwest Academy. The link to the full testimony will be posted below.
Ryan Herman describes placing the children in the gymnasium. The reason for this is so they would not be where they would be conducting their search. At some point in the evening, the authorities decided to conduct interviews with the students.
Q. And how did that work? You said that the students were all put in the gymnasium; is that correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Okay. And were they just kept there and was there some point they could go back to a normal day, or did you need to keep everyone in the same area?
A. Initially, they were all kept within the gymnasium. I do believe at some point throughout the evening — You have to remember that I believe we came in right around noon that day. I didn’t leave Midwest Academy until almost 4:00 a.m. that evening (sic). So it’s a long time span.
So I don’t know exactly when people were allowed to go back to –at one time the females were put in the female wing, and the males were put into the male wing. I don’t know–I don’t recall when that was. But through the course of that time, you know, I was interviewing multiple students.
Q. And how would do that? Would you just pull one out and take them to the room and talk to them?
During an initial search, Ben Trane had shown them where he kept the student records but when he returned, the room that was full of student records was empty.
Q. Did you return to Midwest Academy on another day?
A. Yes.
Q. When was that?
A. On February 1st of 2016, so a few days later myself and Detective –who now is the Sheriff of Lee County, Stacy Web er, at the time was a detective with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, him and I returned to conduct an additional search warrant.
Q. What were you looking for this time?
A. We were there to collect the student and staff and previous student and staff work records or records that were held by Midwest Academy .
Q. You wanted student documents?
A. Correct.
Q. So what happened when you arrived at the academy?
A. I met with Mr. Trane who –also on that search warrant –the DVR system, the recording system for the surveillance system that they have at Midwest Academy was also on that warrant, and that was initially collected by me. And then we were also –Mr. Trane showed us to where he kept the student records. It was a room at the back. I would have to l ook at, like, a map of the facility to be able to tell you where it was. But it was down the hallway, and I believe it was to the left.
Q. Was it a large room?
A. It was a fairly large room.
Q. And the Defendant, Ben Trane, had told you that this is wh ere the student documents are?
A. Correct.
Q. Were there a lot of student documents?
A. Yes. When I walked in the door, it was made very apparent that I would not be able to collect all those boxes of documents and put them in just my car. I knew that we would need some sort of large vehicle. There were literally boxes stacked from floor to ceiling in some places, and it was wall to wall. There were a lot of documents involved.
Q. So what did you do?
A. I left a copy of the search warrant with Mr. Trane, and I left Midwest Academy and informed Agent Lestina, who was the case agent, that we would need a truck or a trailer or something; that I would not be able to take the documents myself due to the volume.
Q. But the Defendant was aware that that room full of documents, the student documents, was what you were going to take; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. So did you go back to Midwest Academy for the documents?
A. I did.
Q. When was that?
A. February 11, 2016.
Q. When you returned this time, did you have more people with you?
A. I did.
Q. To help carry boxes?
A. Correct.
Q. Did you also have larger equipment
to put the boxes in?
A. Yes. We had rented a U -Haul truck, and I believe it was a 27 -foot truck, to put those documents in and other documents that were at the facility.
Q. Did you go to the room where the Defendant had shown you on February 1st where all the student documents were?
A. I did.
Q. What was in the room?
A. The room was empty
Q. Were other people assigned, then, to try to figure out where those documents went?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you yourself do the rest of that day?
A. A lot of the documents within the — what I would call the main office, there were a lot of large, heavy file cabinets, and I assisted in lifting, pulling, and pushing those cabinets into the back of the truck.
