Charlottesville man accused of running East Coast sex ring represents himself in federal court [Video]

The Charlottesville man accused of running an East Coast prostitution ring has taken over his own legal defense and spotted an omission that could disrupt the government’s case against him.

Brian Lamont Turner, the 43-year-old man who was arrested in January after an hourslong standoff with police, argues that data extracted without a warrant from his phone can’t be used to prosecute him — and a leading legal analyst agrees.

“The law is pretty well settled that you need a warrant to search the contents,” longtime Charlottesville lawyer David Heilberg told The Daily Progress. “I can’t predict what the judge will do, but I’m really dubious that that was a legal search.”

The judge who will make this decision is Norman K. Moon of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Moon held a hearing Tuesday at the federal courthouse in downtown Charlottesville on Turner’s motion to …