Preliminary exam in Jarvis Butts case: phone extractions, GPS mapping and forensic lab tests presented

A preliminary examination in the case People of the State of Michigan v. Jarvis Butts, in CTRM 234 at the 36th District Court, focused on evidence prosecutors say links Butts to the disappearance of 5-year‑old Naziah ("Neziah") Harris and to a string of investigative leads. Butts is charged with first‑degree premeditated murder, child sexual abuse of a minor and related offenses, and the court admitted multiple extraction reports, hotel records and forensic lab reports during the hearing.

Prosecutors introduced a Park West Motel receipt dated Jan. 9, 2024, that lists a checkout time of 12:30 p.m., room 69 and a phone number ending in 8719. Detective Lisa Jackson of the Detroit Police Department testified she collected a January ledger entry that listed the name Charles R. Butts and that the receipt was placed into evidence. Prosecutors moved to admit the item as People’s Exhibit 19; the court admitted it over a defense objection.

The court also admitted forensic extraction reports from phones and a tablet. Detective Sarah Markle, who performs phone extractions for the department, described the extraction process: “It is just making a copy connecting the phone, to the software program on a computer and make it a copy of anything that is inside,” she testified, and said extracted data are delivered in a reviewable format and placed on evidence. Markle identified extractions connected to numbers 313‑585‑8719…