By Ryan Gonzales
Following the afternoon break on October 7, 2016, the prosecution began the direct examination of their final witness, Deputy Sheriff Jesse Dacanay, in the case of the People v. Darnell Dorsey with Judge Paul Richardson presiding.
Mr. Dorsey is being charged with assaulting and causing fatal injury to his girlfriend’s 20-month-old child, Cameron Morrison, in January of 2014. Deputy Public Defenders Martha Sequeira and Joseph Gocke represent Darnell Dorsey, while Deputy District Attorney Michelle Serafin represents the People.
Before the deputy’s testimony, Judge Richardson wanted to make it clear to the jury that the prosecution and the defending council had come to a stipulation agreement, which is a fact or set of facts that are deemed true and not to be contested. Judge Richardson described the fact that police officers from the Davis Police Department secured the victim’s residence from January 22, 2014, at 11:59 pm to January 23, 2014 9:18 am. During this investigation no one had entered or exited the trailer.
The prosecution inquired if the deputy sheriff was present at the residence on January 23. Deputy Dacanay testified that he was there to process a possible crime that occurred in the Slatters Court and Davis Trailer Park residence. Furthermore, Dacanay testified that, once the protective sweep of the scene was concluded, he was in charge of photographing and video recording the trailer to show the state and structure of the residence.
The prosecution proceeded to show the court the recordings taken on January 23, 2014. These recordings, labeled People’s Exhibit 94, were four separate clips ranging from 30 seconds to about four minutes long.
At the end of the final clip, the prosecution inquired about the article of clothing located at the bottom of a bedroom door. Dacanay described this clothing as a child’s blue sweatpants. The prosecution then brought out People’s Exhibits 105 and 106, which were images of the blue pants.
Dacanay testified that, on the close-up image, there was a dark and dry spot that he assumed to be blood due to its consistency, so he collected it as evidence. Once the item was placed in an evidence bag, Dacanay testified that he gave the bag to Officer Tony Dias to seal the bag, securing the item.
Next, the prosecution inquired about the removal of two pieces of carpet, one located underneath the blue sweatpants and the other located underneath the television. Dacanay testified that he removed those pieces of carpet because they seemed to hold “evidential value.”
The prosecution then asked if there were any other items removed from the master bedroom that suggested evidentiary value. Dacanay stated that two cell phones were removed.
After the discussion of methods of removal of evidence concluded, the prosecution brought out pictures of the main and master bathrooms. In People’s Exhibit 96, which was a still of the main bathroom sink, the prosecution questioned whether Dacanay had the lights off when he took the picture. Dacanay testified that, in order to identify any particles, he had to use a technique with a flashlight to gain an “oblique angle” of the sink, thus requiring the lights to be turned off.
Dacanay stated that this technique was used in the other photographs, such as the still of the master bathroom tub. The prosecution questioned if Dacanay was able to detect anything significant, and he stated that he found droplets of water in the master bathroom tub.
Mr. Gocke, for the defense, conducted a very short cross-examination of Dep. Dacanay. Mr. Gocke asked if the two cell phones found in the master bedroom were in “working order,” to which Dacanay responded no. The cross-examination ended and Dep. Dacanay was excused, subject to recall.
Due to the Columbus Day holiday, the trial will resume on October 11, 2016.
