"A loud whack sound. Three or five whomps and a moaning sound."

Today, the Jonas Semore jury trial is not in session. Will resume tomorrow morning at 8:30.

On Monday, Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees gave his opening statement to the jury of 7 men and 5 women. Two men and two women are alternate jurors.

In just three days, the jury trial has been full of surprises. With witnesses not showing up; witnesses admitting on the stand they are under the influence of meth or possibly alcohol and "controlled substances"; DDA Rees had a challenge but so far, has still presented a credible case for the People.

Defense attorney, Mr. Russ Clanton, despite vigorous advocacy and courtroom bravado has not impeached any of the witnesses' credibility.

DDA Rees opened his remarks to the jury by saying, "During the process of jury selection, you may have been wondering why you are here. This is my chance to tell you what the evidence will show."

"The incident happened in the Blue Lake area. One of the men involved in this incident is a man named Dan Reynolds. He lives here." A google map flashed on the projector screen.

"On April 28, Dan Reynolds spent time at the Blue Lake Casino. An acquaintance, Samantha Martinez drove Dan. Reynolds home. They parked in front of the house; right in front of the door. They sit and talk in the car. They see a group of men standing in front of the house. Dan Reynolds recognizes two men, one is the defendant. Dan Reynolds gets out of the car and sees Jeremy Cringle standing outside. Five men go into the house. Samantha Martinez drives away. Dan and Jeremy are standing outside about 15 feet away from the door. They will describe what they heard. A loud whack sound. Three or five whomps and a moaning sound."

"Samantha Martinez is halfway down the driveway. Samantha Martinez sees a silver sedan behind her and thinks someone is following her. Nick Johnson and defendant are in the silver BMW. They go down to the casino."

DDA Rees played surveillance video from Blue Lake Casino. "Notice the time, 11:30. The defendant walks into the store, followed by Nick Johnson.Doesn't buy anything. They interact. Walk into the casino area. Look around. Don't play anything. Johnson and Semore briefly interact and leave."

"Dan Reynolds goes into his room and he is processing what he just hear and goes around the back of the house to another entrance, enters the house through the kitchen. From there he can see in the living room. Sees David Ganfield who has injury to his head, a large contusion. He is incapable of speech but David can move around. He stumbles down the steps near the garage and collapses to his knees. Dan realizes something is wrong, helps Dave get back on his feet andthinks we need to get help."

"He tells Sarah Jones. Randall Cook is the only one with a driver's license. David sits on the couch. Dan Reynolds asks Jeremy Cringle to help. With his help, they get David into a gold Nissan Maxima. Randall Cook drives David Ganfield to the hospital."

"Deputy Gagnon is at the hospital responding to a different call. He sees medical personnel around Ganfield. Later on inside, he realizes something serious has happened. He takes some photos and does an investigation."

DDA Rees showed the jury photos on the projector screen of Ganfield on a hospital gurney and his injury. "The wound didn't appear to have bled profusely. No laceration. Ultimately, Ganfield is flown to Mercy Hospital in Redding. "

"Deputy Gagnon goes to Blue Lake area to find the gold Maxima. Around the gas station, he sees the car. Goes inside, asks the clerk, 'Who came in with the car?' Attendant says, 'that guy', the defendant. Randall Cook shows up."

"Cook tells Deputy Gagnon a story about what happened to Ganfield." DDA Rees showed the jury another video. "Deputy Gagnon detains Jonas Semore, escorts him out to the patrol vehicle. Deputy Gagnon makes calls and at 2:07 Randall Cook comes up to Deputy Gagnon."

DDA Rees then tells the jury what Cook told Deputy Gagnon. "He was in  Blue Lake near the Patriot Gas station. A man and woman he did not know gave him $20 to take this guy to the hospital. He didn't know the victim. He didn't know when the attack took place."

Then the word "lies" flashed on the screen in big bold letters.

"Detetcive Musson's took us to an investigation of 120 people. After the investigation, that dropped to 15 people. The witnesses will include three law enforcement including Deputy Gagnon and Cody Shalinski, who works for the Blue Lake Casino. The rest of the folks were there before, during when and after David  Ganfield was attacked. 15 witnesses including Dr. Mark Super."

"I don't know what Randy Cook is going to say. He may finally decide to tell the truth."

"The defendant did not admit to the killing. He told Eric Harmon and Jennifer Crook that he is going to jail for a long time for the death of David Ganfield. He told Rebecca Hamline he killed David Ganfield by killing him with a baseball bat."

The jury than saw photos of the autopsy, David Ganfield's wound and skull. That photo was bloody and messy. "The skull was fractured in many places Dr. Super will tell you about the damage to the brain."

"Out of 120 people, we are down to 15 or 20 witnesses. All lead back to one man--Jonas Semore. There is only one reasonable conclusion; he is guilty."

Previous posts:

http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/05/instead-of-whodunnit-it-is-will-witness.html http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/05/semore-case-resumes-today-witness-shows.html
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/05/semore-jury-sent-home-until-tomorrow.html
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/05/man-who-dropped-david-ganfield-at-mad.html
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/05/out-of-120-people-15-or-20-witnesses.html