Deputy arriving on the scene right after the altercation testified that Kody Marcelli was standing next to a car smoking a cigarette

Usually, the deputies testify for the prosecution. In this Kody Marcelli preliminary hearing, HCSO Deputies Eric Morris and Ryan Hill testified for the defense.



Their attitude was flippant when responding to both Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees and Marcelli's questions.

First, they came into the courtroom and sat for a few minutes listening to the alleged victim Gary Harner testify until it was brought to the attention of the attorneys. I am sure they have testified at least once before and know it is standard practice for witnesses to be excluded from the courtroom.

Before they testified, they were standing next to Marcelli's friend Jonathan Christian, the last defense witness and were observed talking with him.



Deputy Morris' testimony was brief compared to Deputy Hill's a testimony. He took photos of Harner's injuries, he interviewed the Harner's and Deputy Hill interviewed  Marcelli or Christian.

When asked why he did not complete his report of the Sept 5, 2017 until October 24, 2017, Deputy Morris said he was probably busy with other cases and reports.

The gist of their testimony was that they could not determine who the primary aggressor was; this was largely Deputy Hills' decision, who also made the decision to remove Marcelli's cuff because he determined Marcelli was not a threat after talking with only Marcelli and Christian. They just decided to forward all the evidence to the District Attorney for review.

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees asked if their intention was to forward all the evidence to the DA then why were the videos not collected on September 5, 2017.

Deputy Ryan Hill said when they arrived on the scene, which from all testimony was about a minute after the physical altercation had ended, Marcelli was standing next to a car smoking a cigarette.