By Novpreet Shoker
The trial of Joseph Hernandez, Rakhem Bradford, and Joshua Givens resumed today in Department 8, as two officers from the Davis Police Department testified about responding to the burglaries these three men are charged with.
The afternoon began with cross-examination by James Granucci, the defense lawyer for Mr. Givens. The witness, Officer Francisco Talavera, testified about responding to one of the burglaries, which was at 1213 Alvarado Avenue. He mentioned noticing a partial shoeprint on the front door of the residence.
Cross-examination continued as the defense counsel for Mr. Bradford, Ava Landers, asked about the shoeprint in further detail. Officer Talavera testified that the shoeprint indicated that the door was kicked open. Ms. Landers asked if the window above the kitchen was open, to which the officer answered no. He also said that the window was locked. Officer Talavera explained that the intruders took the window screen off, but, once realizing the window was locked, they must have proceeded to kick open the front door.
Ms. Landers asked if the officer spoke to anyone near the residence, and Officer Talavera responded that he spoke to two neighbors, who both heard nothing from the time of the incident. He went on to explain that, because the burglary had happened within the hour, he decided to canvass a half-mile radius around the residence. Ms. Landers asked if he found anything, and the officer answered that there were no obvious leads.
The defense counsel for Mr. Hernandez continued with cross-examination by asking about another residence that was burglarized. Officer Talavera explained that he took a statement from the residents, attempted to retrieve fingerprints from the scene, but did not canvass the nearby area.
The defense asked if the officer found anything at that scene, to which the officer answered that he did not find any substantial fingerprints nor was canvassing a viable option because the burglary occurred much
earlier in the day.
During redirect, the prosecutor asked about the shoeprint’s pattern. The officer explained that there was a partial shoeprint that resembled a section of the sole of the shoe. The pattern was not as perceivable, so the officer did not find anything significant.
The People then asked Officer Talavera how often he dusts for fingerprints in incidents such as these. He responded about 75 percent of the time, although it has only been successful about 5 percent of the time. As for shoeprints, the officer said the success rate is even lower, about 1 percent.
Judge David W. Reed excused the witness.
The next witness called by the prosecution was Officer Matt Franti. Although Officer Talavera was the responding officer to the incident at 1213 Alvarado Avenue, Officer Franti further investigated the case. He was also involved with a similar incident at 2734 Albany Avenue, where he explained that he identified the point of entry.
At this point in the hearing, much of Officer Franti’s testimony was being stricken due to objections from all defense counsel, but mostly from Hernandez’s and Givens’ attorneys. Their reasoning was that Officer Franti’s testimony was mostly hearsay.
The prosecutor then decided to change direction and ask the witness to add his information about the case onto the poster board that detailed the burglary at 2734 Albany Avenue.
During cross-examination, Ms. Landers asked the officer if the extent of his involvement in the case of 1213 Alvarado Avenue was the follow up, to which he agreed that that was correct.
She also asked about how he established the point of entry for the residence on Albany Avenue. The officer explained that, based on the statement he got from the residents themselves and his own observations, he came to a conclusion.
The defense counsel for Hernandez asked the officer about the case’s result. Officer Franti explained that there were no leads or suspects, and therefore the case was suspended pending leads. Counsel also asked if he dusted for fingerprints, to which the officer explained that he attempted to but was unsuccessful in finding anything noteworthy.
Mr. Granucci then asked the officer about the Albany case and if there were any leads. Officer Franti testified that one of the victims, a resident from the 2734 Albany location, called at a later time reporting a suspicious person wandering around the residence. The resident described the suspect as a “white or hispanic” individual, who was “college-aged” and wearing a sweatshirt. This description is similar to Hernandez’ appearance.
Mr. Granucci then reaffirmed that the suspect was not black, and the officer agreed.
The witness was excused.
Judge Reed then dismissed the jury, and the trial will resume in the morning.
