BATON ROUGE — A man charged in a 2024 killing is asking a judge to throw out Flock camera evidence in the case.

Arrest records show 21-year-old Tahj Carter was arrested in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Jarvion Johnson, who police found shot multiple times in a car outside his home on Tams Drive on March 17, 2024.

Records say video from a nearby home showed two suspects getting out of a dark sedan and going around the side of an apartment complex. After gunshots were heard, the suspects returned to the car and drove away, according to the records.

An arrest warrant says BRPD used police databases, license plate readers, and surveillance video showing the suspect vehicle entering the area before the killing to connect the car to Carter. Warner argues those databases and plate readers were part of a network of Flock cameras.

Attorney Elizabeth Warner, who represents Carter, filed a motion Sept. 30, asking the court to throw out the indictment and exclude Flock camera data, evidence from two phones, and Carter's statements after his arrest. The motion argues the Baton Rouge Police Department did not have an arrest warrant for Carter until after officers questioned him.

"The Flock data in this case is the primary, if not only, piece of evidence connecting Tahj Carter to the murder in this case," the motion said.

According to defense attorney Franz Borgardt, the fight over this evidence comes down to whether drivers have any expectation of privacy when cameras capture license plates that are visible on the road. He says courts may view that as plain view, while defense lawyers argue constant tracking goes too far.

The state gave Carter five Flock photographs from different locations on March 17, 2024. Each image showed the back of a dark sedan and the license plate number.

"Any other Flock photographs capturing Mr. Carter's vehicle on March 17, 2024 were not preserved. Any Flock photographs of other dark colored sedans driving through the District before or after the murder were not preserved," the motion said.

Borgardt says preserving evidence is essential because missing images can support a defense argument that the state failed to keep material that may have helped Carter. The defense attorney said challenges like this will keep coming in serious cases as camera technology becomes more common.

Warner also argues neighbors' cameras could not clearly identify the suspects or the plate because of the distance and camera angle.

Carter's trial is scheduled for Nov. 16.