Prosecutors fight to keep cellphone evidence in Ramsingh case

Cellphone messages tied to former Key West Chief Building Official Rajindhar “Raj” Ramsingh could determine how much of the city corruption case ever reaches a jury. The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office filed a response to a defense motion that seeks to suppress the evidence, and the dispute now centers on whether investigators had a lawful basis to search the phones.

Defense lawyers say investigators relied on misleading information when they sought the warrants. Prosecutors say the opposite, arguing the warrants were supported by probable cause. In plain terms, the fight is over whether jurors will be allowed to see digital records that could show who communicated with whom, when they communicated, and whether city-issued phones were used to hide or alter evidence.

That evidentiary battle grew out of a wider probe that began after Key West City Manager Al Childress was fired without cause in June 2024. Court reporting says the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office as investigators examined allegations tied to official misconduct inside City Hall. On April 15, 2025, a Monroe County grand jury indicted Ronald Ramsingh, James Young and Rajindhar Ramsingh. Prosecutors said the three were accused of tampering with text-message evidence on city-issued phones during June 2024, while Ronald Ramsingh was also accused of illegally intercepting a Zoom interview and disclosing its contents.

The case widened further in May 2025, when prosecutors filed another indictment against Rajindhar Ramsingh alone. That filing charged him with organized fraud, alleging a two-year scheme that defrauded victims of more than $50,000. Prosecutors described the charge as a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in Florida prison, and Monroe County Circuit Judge Mark Wilson set bond at $50,000 on that case.

The stakes are high because suppression could strip away evidence prosecutors may use to connect the alleged text-message tampering and the fraud charge. If the judge keeps the cellphone evidence in the case, the government keeps a key part of its proof; if the judge throws it out, the prosecution’s account of the Key West scandal could be sharply weakened before trial.

State Attorney Dennis Ward has said the allegations involve public officials in positions of trust, and that transparency and accountability matter. Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield has said evidence tampering and illegal interception strike at the core of the legal system. Ronald Ramsingh was later released on a $75,000 bond, while Young and Rajindhar Ramsingh were each released on $25,000 bonds.