31 August 2023- A search warrant with the Franklin County Drug Task Force leads to 150 felonies and a resisting arrest charge against a Chambersburg Borough man. Vernon Ealy Jr is charged with 50 counts of felony disclosure of intercepted communications, 50 felony counts of use of intercepted communications, and 50 felony counts of criminal use of a communications facility. Additionally, during the warrant service on Ealy’s home he was hit with a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Two combined bails of $50,000 each mean Ealy is in Franklin County Jail on $100,000 total bail.
On March 16th, Chambersburg PD and members of the Franklin County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on a home in the 400 block of South Main Street, Chambersburg for Vernon Ealy Jr. Police approached the home and tried to speak to Ealy, but he allegedly retreated into the home and police believed he could be fleeing. When stepping backwards, Ealy apparently fell onto the ground and police grabbed his hands to secure him. When told to roll onto his stomach, Ealy allegedly repeatedly asked police why they were there even though they had announced the search warrant. This confrontation continued until Ealy was handcuffed and taken into custody.
During the search of Ealy’s home, police allegedly found at least 11 electronic devices and seized them Ealy did provide passcodes for the devices after he was questioned about a video he had uploaded to YouTube. However, Ealy allegedly denied uploading any videos to social media.
While it is currently unclear what was uploaded, investigators allegedly found incriminating evidence on Ealy’s devices that show he created and published a YouTube video of wrongfully obtained material and distributed the link to around 50 individuals. Ealy also allegedly sent messages to others, describing making the video and its relation to his pending criminal case.
The YouTube link sent out matched the Video ID provided to investigators via legal process from Google. Additionally, metadata corroborated these allegations.
Vernon Ealy Jr is behind bars on $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for September 12th.
Sources: Docket Number: MJ-39201-CR-0000135-2023, Incident No.: FCD20220188, Docket Number: MJ-39201-CR-0000111-2023, Incident No.: C202302923
