After jury instructions from Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis, Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm and Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo provided their opening statement in the David Kobak jury trial.
The People's first witness, EPD Senior Communications Dispatcher Jenelle Crnich was already on the stand by 10:15. EPD Sgt. Terry Liles was the second witness and being cross examined before lunch.
Kobak is charged with the murder of his roomate Frederick William Loftus. He is also charged with the special allegation that Kobak "personally and intentionally discharged a firearm" causing great bodily injury or death to Loftus.
During the preliminary hearing, Eureka Police Department Senior Detective Ron Harpham testified that when he advised Kobak of his Miranda rights, Kobak said, "I have no rights. I fucked up. I killed my buddy."
When officers first arrived on the scene, Kobak was making spontaneous statements, including that shooting Loftus was " the biggest mistake of my life."
What has been masterful is that Ms. Timm played the actual 911 call and showed the body cam footage from Sgt. Liles from the moment he arrived on the scene. This is very effective because it saves time, the witnesses' answers are corroborated and jurors see and hear what happened in real time. Ms. Timm's opening statement was interspersed with photos and the visual impact was very powerful.
Kobak will testify. At preliminary hearing we heard, Loftus smacked Kobak's face a couple of times. This is the first time we heard from defense that Loftus also threatened Kobak and unsure if that is referring to the smacks to the face that Kobak told Det. Harpham about in his interview or other threats.
Recent posts:
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/david-kobak-case-loses-one-juror-and.html?m=1
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2020/01/potential-tells-judge-he-is-not-my.html?m=1
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.