Prosecution Witness #159: Detective Craig Grogan, Modesto PD
Geragos continued his cross examination of the lead detective for the entire day. Testimony highlights:
Scott would have allowed the MPD to search the house and warehouse without a warrant on December 26-27.
Police have never found the diamond earrings and Croton watch Scott said Laci was wearing on the 24th.
Scott said Laci was at the warehouse on Dec. 20 and saw the boat.
Scott looked at a 15-foot boat selling for $900, but decided against it because it was not good quality and wasn't registered. Geragos asked if Scott were only buying the boat to dump Laci's body, why not get the boat for $900 instead of the one he got for $1400?
Scott is not the only person who spoke of Laci in the past tense. Brent Rocha did in an interview on the 26th, causing enough suspicion that the reporter called in a tip. Sharon Rocha did in a Good Morning America interview on December 27th. Amy Rocha did in an interview with Grogan on January 5.
Scott rented the wheelchair for Laci on the November Disneyland trip to pamper Laci, not because she wasn't able to walk. On that same trip, Scott carried his 3-month old nephew and played with him at the restaurant. Ann Bird, his half-sister, said they went on and on about the baby and all they had done in the nursery. Laci told Anne she had never had a better time.
Laci didn't like Ron Grantski and didn't want her mother and Ron to know about Scott's affair with Amber.
Laci wanted a larger home and a better car. She contacted a real estate broker in San Luis Obispo in May 2002.
Sharon Rocha told Grogan that the Land Rover didn't have any sentimental value, and asked him to intervene with Scott to get the crib and other items from the nursery. In a Jan 31 e-mail responding to her, Scott apologized for not being forthcoming about the affair, but said Laci loved her things and they should be in her home when she returned.
Ann Bird went herself to the Berkeley Marina to find witnesses that saw Scott there, and within 15 minutes found 4 people.
A DDA who lived in Modesto but worked in Merced called the MPD January 6, 2003 because she was concerned that persons who threatened her might have mistaken Laci for her. 5'1", 140 lbs, dark shoulder-length hair, a reddish brown retriever named McKenzie, lived in Laci's neighborhood, and obviously pregnant at the time the threats were made. Follow-up on her tip was dropped when the attorney for the person who made the threat was a no-show.
Investigating Laci-sightings wasn't automatically a priority for the MPD.
After the February searches, Scott didn't want to go back to the Covena home because of the death threats, there wasn't much left in the house that the police hadn't taken, and he needed privacy.
In a surprise move, Geragos stole some of the Prosecution's thunder by questioning Grogan about the 2 extramarital relationships Scott had in the first years of marriage. One woman didn't know he was married and walked in on him and Laci in bed together. She told Grogan there was quite a scene, so no way that Laci couldn't know what Scott was up to. The other thought Scott was in the process of getting a divorce until, at Cal Poly's graduation Laci came up to Scott, kissed him and put a lei around his neck.
Laci told Renee Tomlinson on December 20, 2002, that she wasn't having sex and sex was not a priority for her in her pregnancy.
Geragos had Grogan confirm that Laci was not found in the pants she wore to the Salon Salon on Dec. 23. He went even further when he had Grogan admit it was reasonable to conclude Laci came home from the Salon, changed into the blue pajamas, got up the next morning and put on different clothes.
Grogan admitted that knowing Scott had asked Amy over for pizza the night of the 23rd would have been significant to the investigation.
Geragos then asked: If surveillance had been available at the Salon Salon that would have put to rest all this investigative effort? Grogan responded: Correct
No one from MPD went to Carmel to see what would be involved to go from the Lodge to the Beach, as Laci did just the week before she disappeared. A 3/4 mile walk marked by a steep incline gave further proof that Laci was able to walk.
Prosecution Witness #159: Detective Craig Grogan, Modesto PD
Geragos continued his cross examination of the lead detective for the entire day. Testimony highlights:
One police theory was that Scott drugged Laci. However, all items seized in conjunction with that theory had negative test results.
Another police theory was that Scott must have tied the boat to a buoy in order to steady it when he dumped Laci's body. However, red paint found on the boat did not match the paint on the buoys, the area surrounding the various buoys around Brooks Island were searched with negative results, and they were told that tying the boat to a buoy might actually make it more unsteady.
The blue tarp that was recovered from the Bay had dog and cat hairs on it. In the February 18-19 search warrants, McKenzie's hair sample was taken to compare. Results were negative.
The boat cover, which police thought Scott wrapped Laci in, tested negative for blood, urine, feces, fluids, and tissue.
On February 18, 2003, Scott voiced concerns that he was not permitted to view the surveillance tape from Longview WA after the clerk said she thought Laci might have been in the store. He told Grogan that being a family member, he would be better able to identify her than strangers. He also criticized the police for releasing photos of his truck and boat under pretense of wanting to verify his alibi on the 24th when they already had witnesses to verify it. Finally, he chastised Grogan for spending so much time investigating him instead of following up on other leads.
Dr. Boyd Stevens, ME for city and county of San Francisco and expert on tidal actions in the Bay, was interviewed by Grogan on April 2, 2003 for his assistance in determining where Laci's body might be. Reports outside the courtroom are that the Prosecution is not calling Dr. Stevens as a witness because his opinions do not support their theory.
Grogan was not aware that Ron Seitz also had a scent dog searching at the Marina on December 28, along with Anderson and Trimble, and his dog did not pick up Laci's scent.
In the initial conversation Grogan had with Dr. Peterson, who performed the autopsy on Conner, Peterson said the umbilical cord was not attached and he was unable to say whether it was cut or fell off due to decomposition; could not be certain whether the baby was stillborn or born; he could not make a determination of whether the baby had ever taken a breath; there was no animal feeding, which he thought odd. Peterson believed the baby fell within the range of 9 months, and, when asked by Grogan, if only 7.5 months he was a somewhat large baby.
Even though Officer Philips, who found the Target bag at Laci's recovery site, said he smelled decomposition on the bag similar to the smell of decomposition on Laci in front of 2 MPD Detectives, that information never made it into any report and Grogan didn't know about it until just a month ago.
MPD investigated the duct tape on the Target bag to see if there was any connection to Scott, but other than that, the various items recovered at the site were not tested for connection to Laci's murder.
When Kevin Bertalloto conducted his demonstration to show a woman Laci's size could fit into the toolbox, a cardboard box had to first be removed from the toolbox. Testimony about the demonstration did not document the removal of the brown box, the cardboard box was not taken as evidence, and the contents of the toolbox were not listed prior to the demonstration.
The cardboard box contained rain gauges with Trade Corps' name, an advertising gimmick Scott purchased from Adventures in Advertising, a business neighbor and owned by Peggy O'Donnell. Both O'Donnell and her employee, Rosemary Louise, told police in December 2003 that Laci used the bathroom at Adventures in Advertising on December 20, 2002, confirming Scott's story that Laci was at the warehouse that day.
Much detail given about Kim McGregor who lived on Encina just around the corner from the Petersons and who broke into the Peterson home on January 19, 2003. Testimony focused on the many times she changed her story, her criminal record prior to December24, 2002, how well her alibi for December 23 and 24 was checked, and whether her activities during the burglary included moving items of clothing.
Geragos reviewed with Grogan a number of Laci-sightings that were not followed up on. Most notable is Grace Wolf, who only two blocks from the Petersons, had previously seen Laci walking McKenzie alone and accompanied by Scott prior to the 24th, and had some interaction with Laci. She was sure she saw Laci on the morning of Dec. 24, between 9-10 am, probably about 9:30.
Other sightings discussed were by the truck driver and Homer Maldonado and his wife.
The tip called in by Tom Harshman on December 28 was recorded on the tip sheet as coming from Tom Harsh. He is the witness who say a pregnant woman fitting Laci's description being forced into a van. The information from the tip said he saw her 3-4 days earlier, which would be the 24th or 25th, between 2-4 pm.
Prosecution Witness #159: Detective Craig Grogan, Modesto PD
Main Points:
Tom Harshman called the tip-line on December 28, but it was recorded as Tom Harsh. In that tip, he said he saw the woman he thought might be Laci 3-4 days earlier. When he wasn't called back, he went to the command post and reported his sighting to Sgt. Cloward.
On re-direct, Grogan noted that the information Harshman gave a year later clearly indicated the sighting was on Dec. 28.
2 meetings in Chambers were required to establish the Diane Jackson information was offered for the truth, not just the reasonableness of the investigation.
Jackson saw a van in front of 516 Covena (directly across the street from the Peterson home) at 11:40 am on Dec 24 with 3 dark-skinned, short-stature men and a safe being removed from the house. The information Jackson provided was used to prepare the flyer asking the public for information about the burglary. Jackson at first thought they were landscapers, but usually landscapers will not pay attention to the street traffic, and these men were.
On re-direct, Grogan noted that Jackson's initial statement did not mention witnessing a burglary or a safe.
In November 2003, Kristen Reed was interviewed by Brocchini and told him she saw a van on Covena.
On Re-direct, Grogan noted Reed admitted she may have been influenced by media reports.
A January 30, 2003 affidavit filed by Jacobson said Scott's arrest was already being planned. Grogan said he could not say on that date state an arrest was being planned.
On April 1, 2003, while in Berkeley Scott called the police to report some teens engaged in graffiti, and he gave his name and contact information, demonstrating that he was not trying to hide from LE.
Grogan said Scott's purchase of only $13 gas on the way home from the marina on the 24th was suspicious, but Geragos produced purchase records for the previous several months, which included at least 10 $13 or under gas purchases.
On July 25, 2003, the Medina safe was destroyed by MPD after Defense had requested access to it for fingerprint and other forensic testing.
When asked by Grogan on February 18 if he was having trouble sleeping, Scott said
Grogan reported that when Laci inquired into housing in San Luis Obispo in May 2002, she had the broker looking at houses in the range of $400K-$600K.
Scott told Grogan that the last time he had walked with Laci was December 16. Grace Wolf said she saw Scott and Laci walking together on December 22.
Grogan said the Laci-sightings were dismissed because of the distance between them and they did not fall into the 10:08-10:18 am timeline.
Prosecution Witness #162: Ronald Schweitzer, San Diego County Sheriff's Office
Schweitzer was part of the DOJ surveillance on April 16. Scott stopped alongside his unmarked car and asked what agency he was with, state or local. He told Schweitzer that he knew he had been following him all morning. Scott also took down his license plate number. On cross, Geragos noted that surveillance team members intentionally did not want to be recognized as police and Scott thought they were members of the press.
Prosecution Witness #159: Detective Craig Grogan, Modesto PD
Birgit Fladager began her re-direct examination of Detective Grogan.
Prosecution Witness #159: Detective Craig Grogan, Modesto PD
Grogan concluded his testimony today with two rounds of re-direct and re-cross.
Fladager again pointed out the discrepancy between Grace Wolf's statement that she last saw Scott and Laci walking together on Sunday, December 22, and Scott's statement that he last went walking with Laci on Tuesday, December 16.
Geragos quizzed Grogan again about the chicken wire and the eventual LE conclusion that it had nothing to do with Laci's murder. However, Grogan said that LE never told Dr. Cheng, their expert hydrologist witness, that chicken wire had been eliminated as a theory.
Geragos reviewed again with Grogan the times other family members referred to Laci in the past tense, but Grogan insisted doing so can be suspicious, depending on a number of factors.
In response to Grogan's statement under re-direct that Scott's inquired about the investigation not on a daily, or weekly, but monthly basis, Geragos noted the 11 contacts within the first 10 days, frequent contact with others, and Scott's admission to Brent Rocha that MPD wouldn't tell him anything, they were only talking to Kim Peterson. Geragos asked Grogan if he really expected Scott to continue to contact him after February 19 when Grogan made no secret that Scott murdered Laci.
Grogan admitted that Scott told MPD about his internet search of fishing sites before they executed the search on the warehouse.
When asked why Scott going fishing on Christmas day was suspicious, but Ron Grantski doing the same thing was not, Grogan said that was common behavior for Ron, but uncommon for Scott.
Regarding Laci looking for houses in the range of $400-$600K in San Luis Obispo, Geragos asked Grogan if he knew what Laci's annual salary was for 2002 ($6000) and the inheritances she was receiving from her Rocha grandparents. Grogan was not, but he insisted financial pressures arguably existed.
Geragos played tape of Scott calling the MPD and asking to be able to see the Longview WA video surveillance tape because he, better than strangers, would be able to tell if Laci was on that video. Grogan said no one at MPD ever viewed the video, but relied solely on Longview's assessment.
Geragos also noted that MPD'S 10:08 - 10:18 am timeline for Dec 24th was not in play at the time most of the sightings were reported. Rather, the 9:30 - 10:30 timeline was.
In April 2004, a gentleman came forward when he heard MPD was claiming Laci had stopped walking well before December 24. He saw Laci walking her dog down Encena two weeks before she disappeared. He didn't come forward before because he didn't want the media attention.
Grogan admitted that with the January 2 release of photos of Scott's boat and truck, emphasis had shifted to investigating Scott-sightings instead of Laci-sightings.
Grogan did not know that the dining table Scott tried to protect by slipping paper under the receipt Boyer was writing belonged to his mother, Jackie, who was present, and did not inquire whether Laci was particular about people writing on the table.
Dr. Boyd Stevens told Grogan that 30 lbs. would not be enough to sink a body Laci’s weight, especially wrapped in plastic, the body would travel considerable distance before catching on something or the weights be significant enough to stay in place, and when the body did lodge, it would still be in pristine condition.
Prosecution Witness #163: Kevin Kolbe, CA DOJ
Prosecution Witness #164: Peter Shear, CA DOJ
Prosecution Witness #165: Claude Jubran, CA HP
Prosecution Witness #166: Sonia Ramos, CA DOJ
Prosecution Witness #167: Ernie Limon, CA DOJ
This group of 5 witnesses participated in the surveillance in San Diego just prior to and/or including Scott's arrest. All testified about Scott's knowledge that he was being followed and the various contacts they had with him, which included bluntly asking them what agency they were with to clapping his hands.
On cross, they all likewise admitted that the purpose was to keep their identity as LE concealed, they were in unmarked cars, Scott was recording their license plate numbers, and he never was seen trying to flee towards the Mexican border.
The agents who participated in the arrest testified that he stopped immediately when the lights and sirens were used and made no effort to resist arrest. And he apologized to the agent who nearly wrecked her car and told her he thought they were all media.
Prosecution Witness #168: Dr. Ralph T. Cheng, USGS Sr. Research Hydrologist Testimony
Today's testimony delved only into Cheng's credential as an expert and a PowerPoint presentation on the basics of tides and winds in the San Francisco Bay. He will take the stand on Monday.