The Oregon Supreme Court ruled against compelling Meta Platforms Inc. to turn over social media records sought by the defense in the upcoming murder trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old near Salem in 2024.

The July 1 ruling leaves David Ayon-Urbano, 20, without access to records his attorney has called central to a self-defense claim. Ayon-Urbano has been held at Linn County Jail since his arrest in the June 23, 2024, shooting death of Hector de Jesus Gonzalez Mendoza on Skyline Road SE, near the Salem city limits.

He faces charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in Marion County.

Ayon-Urbano was 18 at the time of the shooting. He claims he acted in self-defense and that a teen identified in court records only as "K.T." orchestrated the fatal encounter with Gonzalez Mendoza.

Defense attorney Zachary Stern sought Instagram and Facebook messages, call records, and geolocation data from Meta related to accounts belonging to K.T. and Gonzalez Mendoza, covering the day before and day after the shooting. Stern argued the records were essential to proving that K.T. lured Ayon-Urbano to the scene.

"The state is sitting on stuff that — I don't think anybody disagrees — is central to defendant's theory of the case," Stern said at a May 2025 hearing in Marion County, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

Meta argued that the federal Stored Communications Act, a 1986 law, prohibits it from disclosing private user data to criminal defendants. A Marion County judge agreed and quashed the defense subpoena. The defense then appealed to the state's highest court.

The Oregon Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Attorney Rian Peck argued on behalf of Ayon-Urbano, telling justices that "a 20-year-old is facing a life sentence" and that courts "do not let trials happen without fundamental rights." Meta attorney Sarah Crooks and state attorney Leigh Salmon argued in opposition.

Salmon, representing the State of Oregon, told the court the defense's theory was speculative, saying, "We actually don't know that this information exists."

According to the defense's account reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Ayon-Urbano was driving around Salem in his Chevy pickup on the night of June 23, 2024, with his girlfriend and K.T. After a stop at a WinCo grocery store, Ayon-Urbano fell asleep and woke up on Skyline Road to find Gonzalez Mendoza present.

Gonzalez Mendoza was wearing a black-and-white bandana associated with the 18th Street Gang.

Stern told the Statesman Journal that a friend and classmate of Ayon-Urbano had been shot and killed at Bush's Pasture Park earlier in spring 2024 by a member of the same gang. Stern said Ayon-Urbano had no gang affiliation.

The Marion County District Attorney's Office has kept police reports and investigative records sealed. Chief Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy stated that detectives "did not believe they had the lawful authority" to search the phones of the suspect or victim.

K.T.'s phone, a Google Pixel 7, was mailed to the defense per a court order, but the defense's scan came up nearly empty. A sheriff's office staffer said the brand of phone "rarely surrendered as much metadata as other brands," according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

No trial date has been publicly confirmed. The court's full written opinion had not been published as of Wednesday, July 1. Prosecutors have notified the court they plan to seek a harsher sentence, writing that the killing was "motivated by bias" and that Ayon-Urbano lacked remorse.

A similar case involving Snap Inc. and Meta in a California murder trial is pending before the California Supreme Court.