183 1 IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA 2 CASE NO. CTC01-00101MMANO-E 3 4 STATE OF FLORIDA ) ) 5 V. ) VOLUME II ) 6 JESSE PRINCE, ) ) 7 Defendant. ) ) 8 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴�) 9 PROCEEDINGS: Jury Trial 10 BEFORE: Honorable Michael F. Andrews 11 Judge of the County Court 12 DATE: May 23, 2001 13 PLACE: Division E Criminal Justice Center 14 14250 49th Street North Clearwater, FL 34620 15 REPORTED BY: Jennifer Fleischer, RPR 16 Notary Public - State of Florida 17 18 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 19 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS TAMPA AIRPORT MARRIOTT HOTEL (727) 224-9500 20 ST. PETERSBURG - CLEARWATER (727) 821-3320 21 22 23 24 25 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 184 1 APPEARANCES: Lydia Wardell, Esquire Criminal Justice Center 2 14250 49th Street North Clearwater, FL 34620 3 Assistant State Attorney 4 Denis DeVlaming, Esquire 1101 Turner Street 5 Clearwater, FL 34616 Attorney for the Defendant 6 Paul Johnson, Esquire 7 101 South Franklin Street Suite 101 8 Tampa, FL 33602 9 Helena Kobrin, Esquire 1100 Cleveland Street 10 Suite 900 Clearwater, FL 33755 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 185 1 INDEX 2 VOLUME I PAGE LINE 3 PRETRIAL MOTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 4 VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . 15 1 5 PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . 145 25 6 OPENING STATEMENTS . . . . . . . . . 159 1 7 VOLUME II 8 STATE'S WITNESS: HOWARD CROSBY Direct Examination . . . . . . . 188 14 9 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . .220 23 Redirect Examination . . . . . 240 21 10 Recross Examination . . . . . . 248 22 11 STATE'S WITNESS: MICHAEL BRUNO Direct Examination. . . .. . . 251 3 12 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 265 12 Redirect Examination . . . . . . 273 22 13 STATE'S WITNESS: STACY MACE 14 Direct Examination . . . . . . . 276 8 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 282 9 15 STATE RESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 8 16 MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL . . . 286 24 17 DEFENSE WITNESS: BARRY GASTON 18 Direct Examination . . . . . . . 312 2 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 342 8 19 Redirect Examination . . . . . 369 5 Recross Examination . . . . . . 370 7 20 VOLUME III 21 DEFENSE WITNESS: BRIAN RAFTERY 22 Direct Examination . . . . . . . 381 1 23 DEFENSE WITNESS: JOSEPH FABRIZIO Direct Examination . . . . . . . 399 9 24 25 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 186 1 INDEX CONTINUED 2 VOLUME IV PAGE LINE 3 DEFENSE WITNESS: FRANK OLIVER Direct Examination . . . . . . . 436 3 4 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 465 5 Redirect Examination . . . . . . 477 22 5 PROFFERED TESTIMONY: DENEEN PHILLIPS 6 Direct Examination . . . . . . . 469 21 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 525 5 7 JURY CHARGE CONFERENCE: . . . . . . . 528 13 8 DEFENSE RESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 8 9 STATE'S REBUTTAL WITNESS: DENEEN PHILLIPS 10 Direct Examination . . . . . . . 560 1 Cross-Examination . . . . . . . 594 3 11 Redirect Examination . . . . . 608 5 12 STATE'S RESTS: . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 13 13 MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL . . . 613 19 14 VOLUME V 15 STATE'S CLOSING REMARKS . . . . . . . 622 22 16 DEFENSE CLOSING REMARKS . . . . . . . 637 22 17 STATE'S REBUTTAL REMARKS . . . . . .. 647 8 18 JURY INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 661 12 19 ALLEN CHARGE . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 8 20 VERDICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696 22 21 22 23 24 25 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 187 1 EXHIBITS 2 3 STATE'S EXHIBITS RECEIVED PAGE LINE 4 STATE'S NO. 1 - Investigative 195 15 Assistance Agreement 5 STATE'S NO. 2 - Marijuana Sent To 264 15 6 The Laboratory 7 STATE'S NO. 3 - Photographs 261 4 8 STATE'S NO. 4 - Photographs 261 4 9 STATE'S NO. 5 - Photographs 259 22 10 STATE'S NO. 6 - Photographs 259 22 11 STATE'S NO. 9 - Marijuana Plant 263 18 12 13 DEFENSE EXHIBITS RECEIVED PAGE LINE 14 DEFENSE NO. 1 - Black Flower Pot 195 16 15 DEFENSE NO. 2(A-I) - Photographs 410 7 16 DEFENSE NO. 3 - Pot With Dead 410 16 Root System 17 DEFENSE NO. 5 - Videotape 393 2 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 188 1 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S C-O-N-T-I-N-U-E-D 2 THE COURT: State, prepared to call 3 your first witness? 4 MS. WARDELL: Thank you, Judge. Judge 5 the State calls Detective Crosby. 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 7 Whereupon, 8 HOWARD CROSBY, 9 the State's witness herein, being first duly 10 sworn upon oath, was questioned and testifies as 11 follows: 12 THE COURT: Please proceed. 13 MS. WARDELL: Thank you. 14 DIRECT EXAMINATION 15 BY MS. WARDELL: 16 Q If you could please turn to the jury and 17 introduce yourself by stating your name and how you 18 are currently employed. 19 A Howard Crosby. Sergeant. I supervise the 20 afternoon shift parole for Largo Police Department. 21 Q And how long have you been with Largo? 22 A Since 1981. 23 Q Was that all, what, nineteen, twenty years? 24 A Almost. 25 Q And if you could talk to the jury a little KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 189 1 bit about your current duties and responsibilities. 2 A My current duties are to supervise patrol 3 units on afternoon shift. I was previously assigned 4 to the narcotics unit back in 1994. 5 Q How long were you in the narcotics unit? 6 A About six years. 7 Q From 1994 until you took over patrol? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And when did you switch jobs? 10 A I believe it was in September. 11 Q Of 2000? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Okay. And I want to take you back to 14 April of 2000 and have you talk to the jurors about 15 your assignments and responsibilities while a member 16 of the narcotics force. 17 A At that time I was assigned to the county 18 wide narcotics unit. I was also assigned to the high 19 intensive drug trafficking unit over there. I had 20 attended an eighty-hour class at St. Pete Junior 21 College on basic narcotics, and I also attended a 22 four hundred-hour narcotics handler, K-9 handler, 23 class prior to that. From there I went to the drug 24 enforcement administration school, which is an 25 eighty-hour course, and another advanced eighty KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 190 1 hours. 2 Q During this six-year tenure in the 3 narcotics unit, would you use your training or 4 experience in each and every case that you do? 5 A Yes. 6 Q And the more cases you did, the more you 7 learned and the more you became experienced? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And is it fair to say that you have seen 10 various drugs as a matter of routine as part of your 11 job? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Specifically with regards to marijuana, is 14 marijuana something you can recognize on sight? 15 A Yes. 16 Q Both in plant form and in ground up form, 17 if you will? 18 A Yes. 19 Q You've seen it in plant form? 20 A Yes. 21 Q But you've also seen it in it's form where 22 it's ready to be smoked? 23 A Right. 24 Q Are there any other forms that you can talk 25 to the jury about? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 191 1 A For marijuana? 2 Q Right. 3 A I've seen it in pipes, in marijuana 4 cigarettes, in plants, plant material. 5 Q Lots of ways marijuana can look? 6 A Right. 7 Q And you're familiar with all of them? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Is that a part of your training and 10 experience that allows you to have this familiarity? 11 A Yes, it is. 12 Q Is it common while in the narcotics unit to 13 utilize an informant? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Can you talk to the jury about what an 16 informant is and how it is you come into contact with 17 one and how you turn out utilizing one. 18 A Usually informants come to us. Sometimes 19 we find them. The main use for the informants are to 20 help us gain access to the drug dealers or people 21 possessing narcotics. What we normally use them for 22 is either to do the buys for us, to get us actually 23 introduced to people. 24 Q They're the go-between, if you will? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 192 1 Q In this particular case with regards to 2 Jesse Prince, was a confidential informant utilized? 3 A Yes, he was. 4 Q Okay. Was that informant actually assigned 5 a specific number? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Is that just routine policy so you can keep 8 track of who's who? 9 A That's so when we write the reports we can 10 refer to the informant as a number and not as their 11 name. 12 Q That's for the protection of the informant? 13 A Right. 14 Q And that's common and routine to do that? 15 A Very. 16 Q And in this particular case, do you recall 17 the number that was assigned to this informant? 18 A The number was 273. 19 Q And was there actually a fake name that 20 went along with NO. 273? 21 A Well, the informant had -- his name was 22 Trinidad. 23 Q Do you recall the first name that he used? 24 A Rinzy. 25 Q And that wasn't his real name? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 193 1 A No. 2 Q That was a stage name for the 3 investigation? 4 A Correct. 5 Q And that name came to you, you didn't 6 create that name? 7 A No, I didn't. 8 Q He was already using that when he came to 9 you? 10 A Yes. 11 Q Okay. Now, is there a certain 12 conversation, if you will, that you're going to have 13 with an informant before you as law enforcement would 14 utilize one? 15 A Yes. After we debrief the informants, find 16 out what information they have, we go over the basic 17 rules of what they're to do, what they're not to do. 18 What it comes down to is they act with us. They 19 don't act on their own, and they don't go off without 20 us being there. 21 Q Basically it's your game, and they're 22 supposed to play by your rules? 23 A Exactly. 24 Q And you tell these rules up front? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 194 1 Q And you hope that they follow these rules? 2 A Right. 3 MS. WARDELL: Judge, may I approach the 4 witness? 5 THE COURT: You may. 6 BY MS. WARDELL: 7 Q I'm showing you what's been previously 8 marked as State's Exhibit NO. 1 for identification 9 purposes, and I would ask you to take a look at it 10 and tell me whether or not you recognize what that 11 is. 12 A This is a CI form that's labeled 13 "Investigative Assistance Agreement." We go over 14 each statement and have the informant sign and sign 15 the bottom and eyewitness the signature. It gives 16 the rules. 17 Q I'm sorry. That's the actual form that was 18 used in this case as relates to CI NO 273. 19 A 273? 20 A Correct. 21 Q And that would be the informant's initials 22 next to each rule that's outlined to him? 23 A Yes. 24 Q And you were present when he went over that 25 form? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 195 1 A I went over the form with him. 2 Q Okay. Even better. And you kept that form 3 in a business records that's maintained down in Largo 4 Police Department? 5 A Well, this goes into the CI file and it's 6 kept under lock and key. 7 Q And although that's an original -- I mean, 8 excuse me, that's a copy, there's an original that's 9 going to be maintained in Largo's files? 10 A Right. 11 MS. WARDELL: Judge, at this point I 12 would introduce State's Exhibit NO. 1 into 13 evidence. 14 THE COURT: Any objection? 15 MR. DEVLAMING: None. 16 THE COURT: It will be received. 17 MS. WARDELL: Permission to just 18 briefly publish to the jury? 19 THE COURT: Okay. Publish. 20 BY MS. WARDELL: 21 Q And do you recall the date that you met 22 with this informant and assigned him this number? 23 A It's written on bottom. It's 4/24/2000. 24 Q Now, as part of the debriefing that you 25 mentioned, is that basically when the CI tells you KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 196 1 what he already knows so that you'll kind of know 2 what you're fixing to get into? 3 A Correct. 4 Q And was there actually specifically a 5 prearranged date and location that you knew it was 6 okay for you to go to the defendant's house along 7 with the CI? 8 A After talking to the informant, he told me 9 that specific date that he was invited over to the 10 defendant's house. 11 Q And you were to tag along? 12 A That he was going to bring a friend, which 13 would be me. 14 Q And tell the jury what your story, if you 15 will, was. In other words, who were you to be when 16 you got to his house? 17 A I was the informant's friend from up north, 18 and the informant became friends with Mr. Prince and 19 said that he was going bring his, which is me, friend 20 over to his house, so -- since I'm down from up 21 north. 22 Q So Mr. Prince was aware ahead of time that 23 Mitch, or whoever you were, was going to come to his 24 home? 25 A I assume so. The informant told me that he KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 197 1 knew a friend was coming. 2 Q And what was your name in this scenario? 3 A Mitch. 4 Q Mitch. Okay. Did you actually respond to 5 Mr. Prince's home? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Speaking of Mr. Prince, do you see him in 8 the courtroom today? 9 A Yes, I do. 10 Q Could you please point to him and describe 11 an article of clothing? 12 A He's sitting right over there with a dark 13 suit and white shirt on. 14 MR. DEVLAMING: Judge, we'll stipulate 15 to the identity of Mr. Prince to my right. 16 THE COURT: So stipulated. 17 BY MS. WARDELL: 18 Q So the few times that I've said the 19 defendant or Mr. Prince, that's to whom you're 20 referring? 21 A Yes, ma'am. 22 Q And did you actually respond to his 23 residence? 24 A Yes, we did. 25 Q And do you recall where? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 198 1 A 1949 Belleair Road. 2 Q What city? 3 A That's Largo, Clearwater mailing address. 4 Q In what county? 5 A Pinellas. 6 Q Could you speak up a little bit louder? 7 I'm having a hard time hearing you. 8 And would this have been your first 9 personal contact with Mr. Prince? 10 A Yes, it was. 11 Q Could you take a minute and describe to the 12 jury what happened as you approached the door and 13 what happened once inside? 14 A Both the CI and I, we drove over to 15 Mr. Prince's residence and went to his front door and 16 knocked on the door. The -- a black female answered 17 the door, who was later identified as Deneen 18 Phillips, and let us inside the house. 19 Q Were you introduced to Mr. Prince? 20 A Yes. 21 Q And how so? 22 A The CI introduced me as Mitch, and we went 23 into the room to the left of the door. 24 Q Would that have been the computer room? 25 A Well, there was a computer in the room, KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 199 1 yes. 2 Q Okay. And tell us what happened inside 3 that room. 4 A Inside the room Mr. Prince was working on a 5 computer. We sat down, had a conversation. He asked 6 us if we wanted a beer. We said yes. He went up and 7 got us each a beer, himself and Miss Phillips a beer. 8 We continued to talk, and he then asked us if we 9 wanted to smoke, and we said yes. 10 Q You said he asked if you wanted a, quote, 11 smoke. What did you take that to mean? 12 A Smoking cannabis. 13 Q Marijuana? 14 A Marijuana. 15 Q Not a cigarette? 16 A No. 17 Q And were you somewhat surprised or taken 18 aback, if you will, that that was mentioned so soon 19 in that context? 20 A Yes, because it was my first time even 21 meeting him. I didn't think that we would get that 22 far that quick. 23 Q And it was Mr. Prince that used the words 24 "a smoke" first? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 200 1 Q So the first mention of marijuana at this 2 visit comes from Mr. Prince's mouth, correct? 3 A Correct. 4 Q And did you agree to a smoke? 5 A Yes, we did. 6 Q And why did you agree to that? 7 A To maintain my undercover status. 8 Q And to state the obvious, you weren't 9 dressed in uniform, were you? 10 A No, I was not. 11 Q How were you dressed? 12 A I believe I was in shorts and a T-shirt. 13 Q Casual clothes? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Was marijuana actually produced? 16 A Yes, it was. 17 Q How so? 18 A Miss Phillips rolled a cigarette, a 19 marijuana cigarette, lit the cigarette and passed it 20 to Mr. Prince. Mr. Prince then passed it to me, and 21 I passed it to the informant, and it went back to 22 Miss Phillips again. 23 Q On May 7th of 2000, you personally observed 24 Mr. Prince in possession of a marijuana cigarette? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 201 1 Q Did you recognize that marijuana cigarette 2 to be that? 3 A That and the odor. 4 Q You recognized the odor? 5 A Yes. 6 Q You're familiar with the odor of a 7 marijuana cigarette? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Is there any doubt in your mind that what 10 was passed that day in that room was a marijuana 11 cigarette? 12 A No doubt. 13 Q And is there something called simulation in 14 the field of uncover work? 15 A Yes, there is. 16 Q Could you tell the jury what that means? 17 A Where we actually don't smoke the 18 cigarette. We simulate smoking the cigarette. And 19 then I passed it to the informant. 20 Q Did those around you close to you think you 21 were smoking it but you have a technique to where 22 you're not? 23 A That's correct. 24 Q And was it Mr. Prince personally who handed 25 you the joint? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 202 1 A Yes, he did. 2 Q Now, during this joint passing, if you 3 will, did the conversation of plants come up? 4 A The -- when Miss Phillips left the room to 5 get the marijuana -- 6 THE COURT: I'm -- hold up for one 7 second. Can you all here okay? Is there 8 anybody who's having any trouble hearing? 9 Okay. Thank you. Please proceed. 10 THE WITNESS: When she went to the get 11 the marijuana, we -- Mr. Prince stayed in 12 the room with us, so it was the three of us 13 in the room together and the topic of 14 marijuana plants came up, and he said that 15 they were growing and they're getting 16 bigger. And Miss Phillips overheard that 17 conversation when she came back. 18 BY MS. WARDELL: 19 Q Was there any conversation with regards to 20 whether the children in the home knew of the presence 21 of the marijuana plants? 22 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection unless she 23 lays a predicate by the client and not by 24 another hearsay source. 25 THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 203 1 MS. WARDELL: As to that reason? 2 THE COURT: You need to lay the 3 predicate as who it is that's going to be 4 answering -- who you're talking about as it 5 relates to the conversation. 6 BY MS. WARDELL: 7 Q During the course of the conversation, was 8 a comment made with regards to whether the children 9 knew of the presence of the marijuana? 10 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection. Same 11 objection, Judge. 12 THE COURT: Comment by whom? 13 MS. WARDELL: Well, first I need to lay 14 the comment, then by whom. 15 THE COURT: Okay. 16 BY MS. WARDELL: 17 Q Was, in fact, a comment made? 18 A Yes. 19 Q And who, in fact, made it? 20 A Deneen Phillips. 21 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, same. 22 THE COURT: Sustained. 23 BY MS. WARDELL: 24 Q Did Mr. Prince brag about the marijuana 25 plants getting bigger? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 204 1 A Yes, he did. 2 Q Did this indicate to you that he had 3 knowledge that marijuana plants existed on his 4 property? 5 A Yes. 6 Q Did he also brag the marijuana plants were, 7 quote, doing fine? 8 A Yes, he did. 9 Q And did this also indicate to you he had 10 knowledge that marijuana plants were on his property? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Did there come a point in time when you 13 were shown around the residence? 14 A Yes, we were given a tour of the house. 15 Q Were you aware that the Princes -- excuse 16 me, Mr. Prince and Miss Phillips had moved into this 17 home in the late part of February? 18 A That's what I -- I wasn't for sure, but 19 that's what I had heard. 20 Q It was a new house to them? 21 A Right. 22 Q And so talk to the jury, please, about 23 being shown around and where you went. 24 A Miss Phillips gave us a tour of the house, 25 walked us through the whole house showing us the KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 205 1 different bedrooms, and we went out to the back porch 2 area, which is a pool area, a large pool area that's 3 enclosed by a screen. 4 Q And how do you enter into the pool area 5 from the home? 6 A We went through the kitchen and then out 7 some sliding glass doors. 8 Q Sliding glass doors from a kitchen area? 9 A Kitchen/living room area. It was an open 10 area. 11 Q There's more than one way to get to the 12 pool from the inside of the house? 13 A I believe so. We went through the same 14 area. 15 Q So once into the pool area, what did you 16 observe? 17 A The -- there were several pots with 18 marijuana plants in the pots, planters. 19 Q And tell us how it was you were able to 20 recognize these plants as marijuana plants. 21 A Miss Phillips pointed the marijuana plants 22 out to me, and, of course, I recognized them as being 23 marijuana plants. And she pointed out about five -- 24 about five different areas where the plants were, 25 when Mr. Prince came out and pointed an additional KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 206 1 one out that was smaller to me. 2 Q And Mr. Prince personally pointed out one 3 another marijuana plant to you? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Did this indicate to you that he had 6 knowledge that marijuana plants were on his property? 7 A Yes. 8 Q And were they basically in arms reach of 9 Mr. Prince? 10 A Well, they were in the enclosed area of 11 the -- of his back porch. 12 Q And while walking around and pointing them 13 out, they were within arms distance? 14 A Right. Well, yes. 15 Q Now, was there a conversation about how to 16 keep the plants healthy? 17 A I asked Miss Phillips how to keep the 18 plants healthy. She said -- 19 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, Judge. 20 Hearsay. 21 THE COURT: Did you wish to respond to 22 that objection? 23 MS. WARDELL: It's going to be a 24 statement that's against interest of the 25 defendant. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 207 1 THE COURT: Overruled. Well -- 2 MS. WARDELL: And as corroborated, if 3 necessary, by the other party. 4 THE COURT: Okay. You said a statement 5 against the interest of the defendant. I'll 6 overrule the objection on statement against 7 interest. Proceed. 8 BY MS. WARDELL: 9 Q I'll reask it this way. Was there an 10 indication in that conversation that Mr. Prince 11 participated in keeping those plants healthy by 12 watering them? 13 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, Judge. We 14 need the predicate as to who's making these 15 statements. I need to cross-examine the 16 declarant. 17 MS. WARDELL: I'll produce the 18 declarant to tie it up. 19 THE COURT: Please do. Sustained. 20 Please lay the predicate. 21 MS. WARDELL: Well, I'm -- 22 THE COURT: Approach the bench. 23 (WHEREUPON THE FOLLOWING BENCH CONFERENCE WAS HAD) 24 THE COURT: What I am going to ask you 25 to do, and this is what Mr. DeVlaming is KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 208 1 objecting to, is that you -- I guess I 2 understand what you're doing. You're just 3 asking was there a statement, and then after 4 that you are going to ask who made the 5 statement. Is that it? 6 MS. WARDELL: Yeah. And well, the 7 statements are coming from the girlfriend, 8 and I'll bring in the girlfriend to say the 9 same ones. 10 THE COURT: See, the thing I'm trying 11 to figure out is and the reason I keep 12 getting tossed off is you keep asking was 13 there any statement, but it's obviously an 14 objectionable statement unless there is a 15 exception to the hearsay rule if 16 Miss Phillips made the statement. 17 MS. WARDELL: Right. 18 THE COURT: But it's not an 19 objectionable statement. It is an admission 20 if the defendant made it. So what 21 Mr. DeVlaming is objecting to is your 22 failure to establish who made the statement 23 before you ask the question. 24 And what I get confused about, and I think 25 I have to sustain the objection, is that you KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 209 1 haven't laid the predicate as to did 2 Mr. so-and-so make a statement regarding this? 3 What was that statement? 4 MS. WARDELL: Okay. All right. 5 Because my thinking is that Miss Phillips, 6 when I call her, made deny making that 7 statement. So I need to ask this officer 8 now did she say it. I guess I'm bringing 9 the cart before the horse. 10 THE COURT: You are. 11 MS. WARDELL: But the bottom line is in 12 opening statement Mr. DeVlaming gave an 13 entire hearsay conversation at that lunch. 14 I mean, are you going -- are the same rules 15 going to apply that now nothing that was 16 said at that lunch is going to come in? 17 THE COURT: Unless you object, how can 18 I rule on it? 19 MS. WARDELL: Well, you know, I think, 20 you know -- 21 MR. DEVLAMING: Well, what you need to 22 do -- here's the thing, if -- you know 23 Miss Phillips can be making here a statement 24 against interest. I mean, you've said that 25 and I overruled the objection when you said KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 210 1 that. But you still have to lay the 2 predicate before -- 3 MS. WARDELL: All right. Then I'll do 4 it the other way because Miss Phillips' 5 statement against interest would go against 6 this defendant because they were 7 cohabitating in the house. 8 THE COURT: It's a statement against 9 interest. It doesn't have to do with who 10 the defendant is. As long as it's against 11 pecuniary interest, it comes in. 12 MS. WARDELL: All right. 13 THE COURT: Overruled. 14 (WHEREUPON THE BENCH CONFERENCE CONCLUDED) 15 THE COURT: Please proceed. 16 MS. WARDELL: Thank you. 17 BY MS. WARDELL: 18 Q You mentioned Miss Phillips earlier, and 19 what was your understanding of her relationship to 20 the defendant? 21 A She was living with him. 22 Q As a girlfriend or a fiancee? 23 A Girlfriend, fiancee. 24 Q Did Miss Phillips make statements to you on 25 the pool patio area with regards to how to keep those KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 211 1 plants? 2 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection. Hearsay. 3 THE COURT: And your response would be? 4 MS. WARDELL: Statement against 5 interest. 6 THE COURT: Overruled. 7 THE WITNESS: Yes. When she was asked 8 she said that, her and Jesse, it does not 9 take much to grow these plants and that they 10 just need water and sunlight. 11 BY MS. WARDELL: 12 Q But that she and Jesse -- 13 A She and Jesse. 14 Q -- kept them healthy? 15 A Correct. 16 Q Do you recall what time you left 17 Mr. Prince's home? 18 A 1658 hours. 19 Q When is your next involvement with 20 Mr. Prince in this investigation? 21 A The August, August 6. 22 Q And can you tell the jury the reason for 23 the time lapse between May 7 and August 6? 24 A The time lapse was I had other cases going. 25 I believe I was even out on knee surgery also, so KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 212 1 that's why there was a time lapse. 2 Q This wasn't your only investigation? 3 A No. 4 Q This was just one of the many that you were 5 doing? 6 A Yes. 7 Q And on August 6 did you actually meet with 8 the confidential informant, the same one, 273? 9 A Yes, we did. We met at the police 10 department. 11 Q And was there already, as far as you knew, 12 a prearranged meeting or stopping by? 13 A We were going to stop by because we were 14 going on a trip. 15 Q Mr. Prince -- 16 A -- to say good bye. 17 Q Okay. And did you, in fact, do that? 18 A Yes. 19 Q And where did you respond? 20 A 1949 Belleair Road. 21 Q Do you recall what time you got there? 22 A At 10:53 a.m. 23 Q And who opened the door? 24 A At first a child opened the door, and then 25 Mr. Prince came right up after behind the child. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 213 1 Q And what did you see when you got inside? 2 A Mr. Prince let us inside, and we went into 3 an area like a living room type area. 4 Q And from there where did you go? 5 A I saw Miss Phillips on the back porch 6 watering the plants. They had all other types of 7 plants on the back porch. And we asked if we could 8 go back out there and say hi to her. 9 Q And did you? 10 A Yes. 11 Q When you got to the screened-in area, the 12 pool area, what did you see? 13 A When I got to the pool area, we made 14 contact with Miss Phillips, talked to her, and then 15 Mr. Prince came out to us. 16 Q And when he came out, was there a reason 17 for his coming out? 18 A To talk to us. 19 Q Did he show you anything? 20 A Yes. He pointed out a pot with a small 21 plant, marijuana plant, in it. 22 Q Did you recognize it to be marijuana? 23 A Yes. 24 Q Approximately how tall was that plant? 25 A About a foot or two. Tall? Is that what KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 214 1 you said? 2 Q Yeah. How tall? If you need to refer to 3 your report -- well, let me ask this: Did you make a 4 report back when this was fresh in your mind? 5 A Yes. 6 Q Back in the -- for the first instance, the 7 May time frame, and now the August time frame? 8 A Yes, I did. 9 Q Is that because you never know when you're 10 going to get asked questions about it and it's tough 11 to remember what you did? 12 A That's true. 13 Q If you need to refer to your report at any 14 point for a specific, that's fine. Did you document 15 in your report how tall the plants were? 16 A I said in the southwest area of the 17 screened-in pool that it was approximately two to 18 three -- 19 MR. DEVLAMING: Judge, I'm going to 20 object to the reading of the report that's 21 not in evidence. 22 THE COURT: Sustained. 23 BY MS. WARDELL: 24 Q Take a minute and read it, and then once 25 your memory is refreshed, you can look up and KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 215 1 testify. 2 A About two to three feet high. Also he told 3 me he had just previously, about a month ago, pulled 4 out about fifteen other marijuana plants, and that 5 this one was -- came up, started growing on it's own, 6 and all you need to do was basically give it water 7 and sunlight and that it will grow, and that he 8 needed -- he needed more sunlight so he was going to 9 pull it out into the sun. 10 Q And he actually talked to you about how to 11 help the plant grow? 12 A Yes. 13 Q And he actually pointed that plant out to 14 you? 15 A Yes. 16 Q And did it appear to be more than one plant 17 when you saw it did? 18 A It was bushy. To me it looked like two or 19 three plants, but I didn't get close enough to see 20 the actual stalk. 21 Q The stick part of it? 22 A Right. 23 Q Okay. And you had mentioned the southwest 24 corner. Can you tell us, coming from the house out 25 to the pool, would that be to the right? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 216 1 A To the right. 2 Q Or to the left? 3 A As you walk in from the house on the pool 4 area, it would be over to your right. 5 Q By a screen door? 6 A Yes, there is a screen door there. 7 Q Do you recall him stating, quote, let 'em 8 grow? 9 A That he was letting them grow, yes. 10 Q Did he actually talk to you about how easy 11 it was to maintain these plants? 12 A That they would grow on their own. All 13 they needed was sun and water. 14 Q Based upon your personal observations of 15 August 6th of 2000, did you assist in drafting a 16 warrant in this case? 17 A Yes, I did, for cultivation of cannabis. 18 Q And have you actually assisted in the 19 drafting of other warrants? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Do you have experience in writing warrants? 22 A Yes. 23 Q And, in this particular case, were you the 24 affiant? 25 A Yes, I was. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 217 1 Q And that is the person that made the 2 observations and signed you name at the bottom? 3 A Right. 4 Q And took it to the judge and the judge 5 signed it? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Now, this warrant had a very limited 8 purpose, correct? 9 A Correct. 10 Q What was it you were asking to search for? 11 A For marijuana plants. 12 Q Where? 13 A Back porch. 14 Q Of this particular residence? 15 A Of 1949 Belleair Road. 16 Q And more specifically in the screened porch 17 area? 18 A The back porch, yes, screened-in pool area. 19 Q Were you actually present when the warrant 20 was executed? 21 A Yes, I was there. I didn't go inside the 22 house. 23 Q Is that a safety reason? 24 A Yeah. Because I was still undercover at 25 the time, so what I did is I drove the van and I went KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 218 1 to the side of the house, but once they made contact, 2 I went back and I did not participate in the warrant 3 at all. 4 Q You didn't want to blow you cover? 5 A Right. 6 Q Is it protocol for a tactical team to come 7 in and actually execute the warrant? 8 A Yes. All the warrants in Largo the 9 tactical team serves the warrants. 10 Q Prior to them entering the home in 11 furtherance of the warrant, had you communicated to 12 them the observations you made on August 6? 13 A Yes. Once I get the warrant, we have a 14 briefing with a tactical team. I tell them who the 15 person is, I show them pictures, and then tell them 16 what the warrant's for. I actually give the person 17 who's going to read the warrant to him, and then the 18 tactical commander goes over the tactics on how to 19 approach the house. 20 Q So they knew they were to go to the pool 21 area and look in that specific location? 22 A Right. 23 Q Now, what's the purpose in bringing an 24 entire team in? 25 A For safety and security and officer safety. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 219 1 When you're going in someone's home, you bring as 2 many people as you can. We don't know how they're 3 going to act once we get there. 4 Q Do different officers have different 5 assignments? 6 A Yes. The main officers are going in for 7 security to handcuff the suspect, and anyone else 8 inside the residence, they're there to secure them, 9 and then we have a search team that goes in also. 10 MS. WARDELL: Judge, I don't have 11 anything further. 12 THE COURT: Okay. Before we go into 13 cross-examination, how are you all feeling? 14 Do you all need a break or can we proceed? 15 I got a break. Okay. We're going to take 16 about a fifteen-minute break at this point 17 in time, and we'll proceed right after that. 18 Okay? 19 (OUTSIDE THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY) 20 MS. WARDELL: Judge, may Mr. DeVlaming 21 and I approach? 22 THE COURT: Sure. You all come on up. 23 MS. WARDELL: We don't need the court 24 reporter. 25 (A DISCUSSION WAS HAD OFF THE RECORD) KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 220 1 (A RECESS WAS HAD) 2 THE COURT: I promise we won't start 3 without him. Somebody look out there and 4 see if he is outside. Please bring the jury 5 back. 6 THE BAILIFF: Sure. 7 MR. DEVLAMING: Your Honor, since the 8 jury is not in here, I just want to put on 9 the record that Miss Wardell and I have an 10 agreement that we'll not release any 11 witnesses without consulting each other. 12 I have had Miss Phillips available. I will 13 not release her unless Miss Wardell tells me 14 that -- I subpoenaed Officer Crosby. It's 15 possible I might have to call him back. 16 THE COURT: Okay. 17 (IN THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY) 18 THE COURT: Your Honor, the jury is in 19 the courtroom and seated. 20 THE BAILIFF: All right. 21 Mr. DeVlaming, sir, are you at this time 22 able to proceed to cross? 23 MR. DEVLAMING: Thank you. 24 CROSS-EXAMINATION 25 BY MR. DEVLAMING: KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 221 1 Q Detective Crosby, do you remember when you 2 first received information concerning this 3 investigation? 4 A Not the date, no, I don't. 5 Q Well, would it have been on or about the 6 24th of April when this man was made a CI, or would 7 it have been quite a bit before that? 8 A No. He was made a CI on the 24. 9 Q Right. When did you first become involved 10 that there was an investigation or information on -- 11 A That's the date that I'm not sure about. 12 It was probably a week, maybe two, before then. 13 Q Okay. And who called you? 14 A Brian Raftery -- Raferty. 15 Q Raftery? 16 A Raftery. 17 Q Okay. And on the basis of your call from 18 Raftery, you met with Gaston? 19 A Yes, sir. 20 Q You ultimately met with Gaston? 21 A Yes, sir. 22 Q Now, did either Raftery or Gaston discuss 23 with you what happened from February 7 until right 24 around April 24 or a week before April 24? Did they 25 say what they had been doing? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 222 1 A That he was being surveilled. 2 Q Okay. 3 A And that the informant had met him and 4 became friends with him. 5 Q And did they say how often he was being 6 surveilled? 7 A I don't recall them saying how often, no. 8 Q Did you get the impression it was 9 regularly? 10 A Daily. 11 Q Daily? 12 A Yes. 13 Q And was the word "Church of Scientology" 14 mentioned? 15 A Yes. 16 Q And did Raftery mention that the Church of 17 Scientology had hired him as an investigator? 18 A Yes, sir. 19 Q And did he tell you that on the first 20 meeting, the first discussion with you? 21 A Yes, he did. 22 Q What did you say to him? 23 A That I wasn't real pleased with getting 24 this type of case. 25 Q Why? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 223 1 A Because of the church being involved, and I 2 didn't want -- if they're doing that much 3 investigation on one person, then, you know, 4 something's going to have to come to me. I'm going 5 to see for myself, and not just going to take 6 someone's word for it. 7 Q You didn't feel comfortable? 8 A Correct. 9 Q Have you come to learn the parts of this 10 investigation now that you were not aware of back 11 when you were dealing with Gaston? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Would you have gotten involved in it again? 14 A Once I saw the marijuana plant, then I 15 would. Yes, I would have. 16 Q When you dealt with Gaston, was he up-front 17 with you about what he was doing in this 18 investigation? 19 A Yes. 20 Q Okay. Subsequently, did you learn that he 21 was doing things outside of this investigation and 22 the permission that Largo Police gave him? 23 A Correct. 24 Q All right. When you found out that he was 25 possessing marijuana himself? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 224 1 A Yes. 2 Q All right. And is that against department 3 policy? 4 A Yes. 5 Q And do you discuss with him or did you 6 discuss with him back on April 24 what the rules and 7 regulations were about being a confidential informant 8 for your department? 9 A Yes, sir. 10 Q All right. And do you consider a 11 confidential informant who outside your presence 12 possesses drugs to be unlawful? 13 A Correct. 14 Q It's against the law? 15 A Yes. 16 Q Did Mr. Gaston ever turn over to you any of 17 his daily reports that he was making in this case? 18 A No. 19 Q Did you know that he was making daily 20 reports? 21 A Later on I found out that he was actually 22 making the daily logs or reports. 23 Q Okay. 24 A I would probably assume that he wrote 25 something down to give to his boss. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 225 1 Q But you learned that reports were in 2 existence after the arrest in this case? 3 A Right. 4 Q Now, when you went to Mr. Prince's house on 5 May 7, did Rinzy Trinidad make the introduction of 6 you? 7 A Yes. 8 Q And when you were within the house of 9 Mr. Prince, did you see any pots that appeared to 10 have marijuana in them? 11 A On that date? 12 Q Yes, sir. 13 A On the back porch. 14 Q Okay. And on the back porch, were they 15 interspersed with other tropical plants? 16 A Yes. There were a lot of plants back 17 there. 18 Q And Deneen was caring to or watering those 19 plants? Did you ever see her water the plants? 20 A Yes, I did. 21 Q Okay. And was it on that date? 22 A I believe it was on the second date where I 23 actually saw her water the plants. 24 Q Were these plants interspersed among 25 tropical plants on the porch, the ones -- now I'm KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 226 1 talking about on the 7? 2 A Yes. 3 Q Were you able to see the color of the pots 4 they were in? 5 A Yes. 6 Q What color were they? 7 A On the second date? 8 Q Let's take the first date. 9 A On the first date I can't recall what color 10 the pots were. 11 Q Okay. Can you tell us whether or not on 12 the first date, that is on May 7, were any of the 13 plants that you saw there tested by a laboratory to 14 confirm that they were marijuana? 15 A No. 16 Q All right. Now let's take the second date. 17 How many pots did you see? 18 A With marijuana plants in them? 19 Q Yes, sir. 20 A One. 21 Q And what did that pot look like? 22 A I believe it was, like, just a planter, a 23 round pot. 24 Q And what color was it? 25 A It was black. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 227 1 Q Okay. Was it larger or smaller -- 2 MR. DEVLAMING: Judge, I'm going just 3 for -- if I may do this, I'll have to have 4 the Clerk mark this as Defense 5 Exhibit NO. 1, but if I could do that in a 6 moment? 7 THE COURT: Okay. Any objection? 8 MS. WARDELL: No, sir. 9 THE COURT: Proceed. 10 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 11 Q Was it larger or smaller than this black 12 pot? 13 A I can't say for sure. I didn't -- I'm not 14 sure if it was larger or smaller. I don't think it 15 was any smaller than that. 16 Q Okay. Based upon what you saw, could this 17 have been the pot? 18 A Yeah, it could have been. 19 Q All right. And on the second visit which 20 led to the warrant in this case, it was your opinion 21 that the marijuana -- that a plant that was growing 22 out of a black pot was the one that you ended up 23 getting a warrant for the search of Mr. Prince's 24 residence? 25 MS. WARDELL: Judge, I would object. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 228 1 The officer wasn't present when the actual 2 marijuana was seized from the pool. That 3 would be outside of his knowledge as to 4 whether the marijuana that was seized was 5 actually the plant that he saw the day 6 before. 7 MR. DEVLAMING: Well, I'll rephrase it, 8 Judge. 9 THE COURT: Rephrase. 10 MR. DEVLAMING: Okay. 11 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 12 Q You saw what appeared to be a marijuana 13 plant or maybe plants, you weren't sure of the number 14 of stalks, in a black pot. Was it that description 15 that let to you to get a warrant for the search of 16 the house? 17 A What led me to get a warrant was the 18 marijuana itself, not the pot that it was in. 19 Q Well, of course. Well, of course. The 20 plant that you saw growing in the black planter? 21 A Correct. 22 Q So you were able to see that, view it, and 23 then you went and got the warrant, correct? 24 A Correct. 25 Q All right. And so we're talking about then KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 229 1 from roughly August 6, which is when you and Gaston 2 went over, and then until the 11th, when the actual 3 search took place and the warrant was issued, 4 correct? 5 A Correct. 6 Q How long did it take to get a warrant? 7 A I can probably have one drafted -- it 8 depends on the circumstances. If I -- 9 Q Okay. Tell you what. Let me help you here 10 then because the question was sloppy. What I meant 11 was from the time that you leave the house and you're 12 going to have to draft what the house looks like, the 13 affidavit for search warrant and the rereading it, 14 the drafting it, the approval by the prosecutor and 15 seeing the judge, you know, until you walk away with 16 the judge's signature, beginning to end, roughly how 17 long does it take in this case? 18 A Probably about a day. 19 Q Okay. A full -- a full working day? 20 A By the time you draw it and find the judge 21 to sign it, yes. 22 Q Okay. Have you ever gotten a warrant for 23 marijuana plant before? 24 MS. WARDELL: Objection, Judge. 25 Relevancy. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 230 1 THE COURT: Overruled. 2 THE WITNESS: For a marijuana plant? 3 MR. DEVLAMING: Yes, sir. 4 THE WITNESS: No. 5 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 6 Q You talked about conversations that Dee was 7 having and Jesse was having. At any time during this 8 investigation when you were present were there any 9 type of body bugs or recording devices used to 10 preserve conversation? 11 A No. 12 Q Okay. Was there ever any kind of 13 transmitting device used? 14 A Yes. 15 Q All right. And who wore the transmitting 16 device? 17 A I did. 18 Q Okay. And where was it transmitted to and 19 on what date? 20 A The second time we were there to another 21 unit on the street. I don't know where that unit was 22 though. Probably down the block. 23 Q And sitting in an undercover car of some 24 kind? 25 A Right. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 231 1 Q And do they have the capability of 2 recording what is going on in this house and what is 3 being said? 4 A Yes, we have the capability of recording. 5 Q And can you tell me whether anything was 6 recorded concerning the discussions had inside 7 Mr. Prince's home? 8 A No. 9 Q It was not, or you can't tell me? 10 A No, it was not. 11 Q It was not recorded, or it was recorded but 12 it's -- 13 A No. Okay. It was recorded, but there 14 was -- it was -- it was so broken up that you 15 couldn't get anything from the recording. 16 Q Okay. Who was on the other end that did 17 the recording? 18 A Officer Desgardens. 19 Q Okay. Did Officer Desgardens ever take 20 that recording to try to have it, I guess, cleaned up 21 or whatever they call it? 22 A I don't believe so. 23 Q Now, on the second visit, Mister -- I'll 24 call him Trinidad, but it was Gaston/Trinidad. 25 A Okay. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 232 1 Q Trinidad, did he ever try to buy marijuana 2 from Mr. Prince? 3 A In my presence? 4 Q Yes, sir. 5 A We had to ask if he had any, and he said 6 no. 7 Q Did Trinidad then say, "Listen, we're going 8 to the Keys. I'd be even willing to pay you for it"? 9 A Well, that's what I was saying. We tried 10 to see if we could get any marijuana from him, but he 11 had none to give to us. 12 Q On the first visit you said Dee showed you 13 around the house? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Okay. Did you ever on that visit or on the 16 second visit or at any time inside Mr. Prince's 17 residence see any marijuana that was being cured? 18 You know what I mean by being cured? 19 A Yes. 20 Q Did you ever see it? 21 A No. 22 Q Okay. Did you ever see any leaves being 23 laid out to be dried? 24 A No. 25 Q Did you ever see any drying lamps? Those KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 233 1 are the heat lamps. 2 A No. 3 Q Did you ever see any type of paraphernalia 4 that would lead you to believe that the plants that 5 were outside were in any way being processed -- 6 A No. 7 Q -- for use. Now, you said that Mr. Prince 8 made a comment that he had pulled out about fifteen 9 plants? 10 A Yes, sir. 11 Q Would that have been big ones or little 12 ones, or did he not say? 13 A He did not say. 14 Q But he said that after he pulled these 15 plants out that one plant remained -- or, excuse me, 16 grew in it's place? Is that what he said? 17 A Right. 18 Q Did he ever say that he planted any 19 marijuana? 20 A No. 21 Q Did he ever tell you that he fertilized 22 marijuana? 23 A No. 24 Q Did you ever see him watering marijuana? 25 A No. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 234 1 Q Now, I think you had some knee surgery 2 during some of this time? 3 A I believe it was during that time. 4 Q Okay. Would it have been somewhere between 5 May 7 and August 6? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Okay. Did you know what Gaston was doing, 8 now that he had become a confidential informant 9 concerning this case, from May 7 to August 6? Did he 10 give you any briefings on what he was doing during 11 that period of time? 12 A Other than just phone conversations saying 13 that, you know, he is still around, no. 14 Q Okay. Did he tell you that he had been 15 inside the Prince home? 16 A No. 17 Q Did he tell you that he had smoked or used 18 marijuana? 19 A No. 20 Q Had he ever used Mr. Gaston/Trinidad 21 before? Had he ever been a confidential informant 22 before? 23 A For me, no. 24 Q Ever used him since? 25 A No. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 235 1 Q Would you? 2 A No. 3 Q You weren't sure, Detective Crosby, but I 4 think you said that you believe that Mr. Prince and 5 his girlfriend moved into this house or bought the 6 house sometime in February? 7 A I wasn't -- no, I don't -- 8 Q You're not sure? 9 A No. 10 Q Okay. But were you -- I think Miss Wardell 11 asked you whether you were knowledgeable of the fact 12 that he was a recent owner of this particular 13 residence. 14 A I had been told, but I didn't have -- I 15 didn't know for sure. 16 Q Okay. And you've been to the residence? 17 A Three times. 18 Q Okay. Can you get to the back lanai from 19 the street without having to go through a gate? If 20 you need -- want me to show you pictures to help you? 21 A Yeah. I know there is a screen door on the 22 west side. 23 Q Okay. If you're standing on the street, 24 can you walk back to the back? 25 A I believe so. I think there's a fence KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 236 1 there, but I don't know if it is his fence or not. 2 Q I'm going to show you what in a moment is 3 going to be marked Defense Exhibit NO. 2(A-I) for 4 identification, if I may your Honor. 5 THE COURT: Please. Proceed. 6 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 7 Q And show you A and B and see if this helps 8 refresh your recollection. Are those two different 9 views of this home? One looking towards street and 10 one looking away from the street, to help you. 11 A Yes. But -- yes. I don't know what side. 12 I don't know what side of the house this is on. 13 Q Okay. But is that Mr. Prince's house? 14 A I can't say for sure. I don't have the 15 address here. 16 Q Well, if you don't know, you don't know. 17 A No, not from just this. 18 Q All right. Then let me ask you this. Can 19 you -- you can get to the back of his house from the 20 street without going through a gate, correct? At 21 least on one side of the house, correct? 22 A I believe so. The stockade fence I believe 23 it is -- I'm not sure, but I think it's the 24 neighbor's fence. 25 Q Okay. Which runs the property line? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 237 1 A Right. 2 Q All right. So if you go walk from the 3 street back to the lanai, there's a screened-in porch 4 area in the back of the house? 5 A A pool area. 6 Q Pool area. Do you know whether the screen 7 is capable of being locked? 8 A I don't know. 9 Q All right. Do you know whether there was 10 any disrepair to the screen? 11 A I don't recall. 12 Q Okay. Do you know whether or not that is 13 subject to a security system at all? 14 A No. 15 Q Okay. But these plants were inside this 16 screened-in area, not inside the house proper, 17 correct? 18 A Correct. 19 Q All right. If no one was home, could you 20 have gone, without going over any fence, to the back 21 property of Jesse Prince and Dee Phillips? 22 A Yes. 23 MS. WARDELL: I'm sorry. I missed 24 that. Can you repeat that? 25 MR. DEVLAMING: Yes. I asked him KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 238 1 whether or not if nobody was home if he 2 could go from the street to the back of the 3 property without going over or through any 4 fence. 5 THE WITNESS: Except for the screen 6 area, yes. 7 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 8 Q During the course of your investigation, 9 which I suppose is when you first became involved 10 about a week before April 24 or thereabouts -- I'm 11 not going to hold you to dates -- up until the very 12 end April, May, June, July, August, so that's four 13 months, were you getting calls from Brian Raftery? 14 A Yes. 15 Q He wanted to know the status of the 16 investigation? 17 A Yes, sir. 18 Q After the arrest did you get calls from 19 Brian Raftery? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Did he want additional charges other than 22 cultivation brought against Jesse? 23 A They were mentioned. 24 Q Okay. He wanted child abuse charges? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 239 1 Q Possession of drugs within a thousand feet 2 of a school? 3 A Yes. 4 Q What did you tell him? 5 A No. 6 Q Did you tell him it was your investigation, 7 not his? 8 A Correct. 9 Q Did you ever ask him why he wanted you to 10 load up on the charges? 11 A No. 12 Q To your knowledge, Officer Crosby, was any 13 substance tested by a laboratory other than that what 14 was taken on the 11th of April? 15 A No. 16 MR. DEVLAMING: Judge, if I could have 17 one moment, I think I'm almost done. 18 THE COURT: Okay. 19 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 20 Q So if I understand correctly, Officer, the 21 first time you went, you saw what looked like more 22 than one plant, correct? It looked like more than 23 one plant? 24 A Yes. 25 Q Jesse makes some comment to you he had KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 240 1 pulled out some plants and another one grew in its 2 place, correct? 3 A Correct. 4 Q Then on the second time you came, there was 5 only one pot? 6 A Well, the statement was made on the second 7 time. 8 Q I'm sorry? 9 A That statement was made on the second time. 10 Q That he had already pulled them out? 11 A Right. 12 Q Okay. And then on the second time there 13 was the one singular plant left? 14 A Yes. It was bushy and I thought it was 15 several. 16 MR. DEVLAMING: Judge, I believe that's 17 all the questions I have. 18 THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. DeVlaming. 19 Miss Wardell, do you have any redirect? 20 MS. WARDELL: Yes, your Honor. 21 THE COURT: Please proceed. 22 REDIRECT EXAMINATION 23 BY MS. WARDELL: 24 Q I just want to clear something up first. 25 On my direct I referred to the informant as the KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 241 1 NO. 273, and during cross-examination Mr. DeVlaming 2 referred to a Gaston. Is NO. 273 and Gaston one in 3 the same? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Also known as this Trinidad? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Just to make sure everyone knows we're 8 talking about the same person, 273 is Gaston, is 9 Trinidad? 10 A Correct. 11 Q Okay. And with regards to Raftery wanting 12 you to come up with a child abuse charge, that's 13 because the indication was children were present in 14 the home while marijuana was there, correct? 15 A Correct. 16 Q That was the rationalization? 17 A Right. 18 Q The children were around marijuana when it 19 was being smoked? 20 A That they were present in the home, yes. 21 Q Okay. And as far as the school charge, 22 that's because the Prince's home was, in fact, within 23 a thousand feet of a Montessori school? 24 A I don't know if it was within a thousand 25 feet. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 242 1 Q That's what Mr. Raftery believed? 2 A Correct. 3 Q And he wanted you to look into that? 4 A Correct. 5 Q And you made a determination that that, 6 although it may, in fact, be true, it wasn't 7 something that was justified under these 8 circumstances? 9 A Yes. 10 Q And so you quelled that? 11 A Right. 12 Q With regards to whether or not you saw 13 Mr. Prince fertilize these marijuana plants, isn't it 14 true he said to you they only needed sun and water? 15 A Correct. 16 Q And did you see plants in the sun? 17 A Yes. 18 Q And you did see Miss Phillips watering 19 them? 20 A She was watering the plants. I didn't see 21 her specifically watering that one. 22 Q You saw her out back with water. 23 A Correct. 24 Q Okay. And there was actually a hose hookup 25 in the porch area too, if you recall? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 243 1 A I don't know if there was a hose hookup. 2 Q Okay. But the two things that Mr. Prince 3 said these plants needed, you witnessed, correct? 4 Sun and water? 5 A Yes. 6 Q He didn't tell you they needed fertilizer? 7 A No. 8 Q There are very easy to grow, in his words, 9 right? 10 A Correct. 11 Q And as far as whether or not the marijuana 12 plants were in the, quote, house proper, as 13 characterized by the Defense, on May 7, when the 14 joint that was smoked, that was in the house proper, 15 correct? 16 A Yes. 17 Q So you observed Mr. Prince in possession of 18 marijuana in his house proper, correct? 19 A Correct. 20 Q And you based it being marijuana on your 21 training and experience? 22 A Yes. 23 Q You recognized the odor? 24 A Yes. 25 Q In fact, you brought it to your mouth, KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 244 1 correct? 2 A Yes. 3 Q Now, you told the Defense -- actually you 4 told the jury through defense questioning that you 5 didn't really care for the source of this 6 investigation, and is that why you wanted independent 7 corroboration that a crime, in fact, was being 8 occurred? 9 A Yes. I wanted to see it for myself. 10 Q And did you, in fact, satisfy yourself that 11 Mr. Prince was in possession of marijuana? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Did you, in fact, gain independent 14 corroboration that Mr. Prince possessed marijuana on 15 May 7? 16 A Yes. 17 Q And did you obtain independent 18 corroboration that Mr. Prince possessed marijuana on 19 August 6? 20 A Yes. 21 Q And although you weren't present when the 22 plant was seized on the 11th, are you satisfied from 23 independent corroboration that Mr. Prince possessed 24 marijuana on August -- 25 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, Judge. He KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 245 1 wasn't there, Judge. He can't testify. 2 THE COURT: Sustained. 3 BY MS. WARDELL: 4 Q Based upon your knowledge and the 5 circumstances with regard to how that marijuana plant 6 was seized and where it was seized, are you satisfied 7 that there was independent corroboration that a crime 8 had occurred? 9 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, Judge. If 10 he wasn't there, he doesn't know whether my 11 client was in possession on the day of the 12 warrant. 13 THE COURT: Sustained. 14 MS. WARDELL: May I be heard? 15 THE COURT: Yeah. 16 MS. WARDELL: This is in direct 17 response to his questions on cross that 18 opened the door to that particular question. 19 He asked him all kinds of questions about 20 what was going on outside his presence and 21 did he know or not know that it was going 22 on. 23 THE COURT: I sustain the objection 24 still because -- approach the bench. 25 (WHEREUPON THE FOLLOWING BENCH CONFERENCE WAS HAD) KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 246 1 THE COURT: Even if Mr. DeVlaming did 2 do that, I don't recall that in his 3 questioning. What Mr. DeVlaming -- what the 4 defendant, I mean, witness ultimately ended 5 up testifying to is that he didn't see or in 6 any way became aware of exactly what the 7 plant was that was taken out of house on 8 that day. 9 MS. WARDELL: That's why I said based 10 on what you learned from the case as part of 11 your investigation as to what the other 12 officers took and what went on. And he said 13 he was driving the van. I mean, in other 14 words, another officer can be independent 15 corroboration. It doesn't have to be this 16 officer. 17 MR. DEVLAMING: That -- 18 MS. WARDELL: Just forget it. 19 Whatever. 20 MR. DEVLAMING: If she is withdrawing 21 it then, that's fine. 22 (WHEREUPON THE BENCH CONFERENCE CONCLUDED) 23 MS. WARDELL: May I proceed? 24 THE COURT: Please. 25 BY MS. WARDELL: KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 247 1 Q You were asked on cross-examination about 2 conduct that Mr. Gaston may have had with or without 3 your knowledge as relates to Mr. Prince? Were you 4 involved in any way in furtherance of Mr. Gaston's 5 conduct with Mr. Prince when you weren't around? 6 A No. 7 Q And do you -- do you approve at all in any 8 way of that conduct? 9 A No. 10 Q And, in fact, isn't it true that in light 11 of what we've learned about Mr. Gaston's conduct he's 12 subject to the same charges that Mr. Prince is 13 subject to with the exception of the plants? 14 A Correct. 15 Q And Mr. Gaston will be handled accordingly, 16 correct? 17 A Yes. 18 Q Now, are you also aware that Mr. Prince and 19 defense investigators met with Mr. Gaston? 20 A One more time? 21 Q Okay. Were you aware that Mr. Prince and 22 two defense retained investigators met with Gaston 23 early on after the arrest in an attempt to identify 24 him as the, quote, informant? 25 A Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 248 1 Q And are you aware that they did, in fact, 2 identify him as the informant? 3 A Yes. Mr. Prince was there, from what 4 Gaston told me. 5 Q Mr. Prince participated in that? 6 A Yes. 7 Q Okay. And at that time Mr. Gaston was a 8 witness in the case, correct? 9 A Correct. 10 Q And that certainly can be perceived as 11 being witness tampering, correct? 12 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, Judge. That 13 elicits facts as far as how the meeting took 14 place. This witness cannot testify as to 15 whether -- 16 MS. WARDELL: It can certainly be 17 perceived that way, Judge. 18 THE COURT: Sustained. 19 MS. WARDELL: Nothing further. 20 THE COURT: Thank you. 21 MR. DEVLAMING: Two questions. 22 THE COURT: Sure. 23 RECROSS EXAMINATION 24 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 25 Q Officer, when the prosecutor asked you when KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 249 1 Raftery mentioned the Church of Scientology, you said 2 that you wanted to see for yourself. Remember saying 3 that a minute ago? 4 A About the narcotics? 5 Q When you heard that they were behind the 6 investigation, that you wanted to see for yourself, 7 correct? 8 A About the investigation, yes. 9 Q Correct. All right. Is that because you 10 didn't trust the tactics of the Church of 11 Scientology? 12 A I -- I just wanted to be able to see. I 13 mean, in all my other case I usually don't take the 14 word of a CI or someone coming off the street. 15 Q Okay. When you learned that Gaston may 16 have violated the law during the course of this 17 investigation, is it your opinion based upon what you 18 know now that he may be subject to criminal charges? 19 A He may be subject, yes. 20 Q Do you know whether he engaged in any 21 entrapment involving Mr. Prince? Do you know 22 firsthand? 23 MS. WARDELL: Objection. That calls 24 for a legal conclusion. 25 THE COURT: Sustained. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 250 1 MR. DEVLAMING: That's all I have. 2 THE COURT: Ladies and gentlemen of the 3 jury, do you all have any questions? 4 Anybody? Don't be shy. All right. No 5 questions. May this -- sir, you may step 6 down and you are asked to remain. 7 MR. DEVLAMING: Your Honor, I will tell 8 you that I doubt that the officer -- well -- 9 THE COURT: So are we saying remain 10 under subpoena? 11 MR. DEVLAMING: Yeah. I don't mind if 12 he leaves the building. 13 THE COURT: All right. Sir, if you 14 would please make sure that we have a way to 15 contact you if we need you back. 16 THE WITNESS: Yes, sir. 17 THE COURT: All right. Thank you. 18 State, please call your next witness. 19 MS. WARDELL: The State calls 20 Officer Bruno. 21 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 22 Whereupon, 23 MICHAEL BRUNO, 24 the State's witness herein, being first duly 25 sworn upon oath, was questioned and testifies as KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 251 1 follows: 2 THE COURT: Please proceed. 3 MS. WARDELL: Thank you, Judge. 4 DIRECT EXAMINATION 5 BY MS. WARDELL: 6 Q If you could please turn to the jury and 7 state your name by introducing yourself. 8 A Officer Michael Bruno from Largo Police 9 Department. 10 Q And how long have you been with Largo? 11 A I completed the police academy in December 12 of '98 and hired by Largo Police also in December. 13 Q And what are your current duties and 14 responsibilities? 15 A I'm currently assigned to the patrol 16 division of day shift of Largo Police Department. 17 Q And if you could briefly describe to the 18 jury your background, training and experience. 19 A I attend the twenty-week police academy, 20 which is a basic recruit training. I then completed 21 a twelve-week in-house training with Largo Police 22 Department, and a ten-week field training program 23 where I was assigned to a second officer and assigned 24 to patrol. 25 Q Would part of your training specifically KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 252 1 include the detection of narcotics? 2 A Yes, ma'am. I've been involved in 3 several -- many drug cases. I was also assigned 4 temporarily to a narcotics unit within the Largo 5 Police Department. 6 Q And although not assigned directly to the 7 narcotics now, on any given day at any given time you 8 could run into a narcotics investigation? 9 A Yes, ma'am, almost on a daily basis. 10 Q Routine traffic stop, marijuana in the 11 glove compartment? 12 A Yes, ma'am. 13 Q You've seen it on more than one occasion? 14 A Yes, ma'am. 15 Q You know it when you see it? 16 A Yes, ma'am. 17 Q I want to direct your attention to 18 August 11th of 2000. Did your department at that 19 time have a special task force that was designed to 20 assist in narcotic detail? 21 A Yes, ma'am. 22 Q And were you a member of that task force? 23 A Yes, ma'am, I was. 24 Q And was that your assignment during that 25 time frame? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 253 1 A Yes, ma'am. 2 Q That was a special assignment? 3 A Yes, ma'am. 4 Q And what would this have entailed? 5 A It would have entailed doing controlled 6 buys, using confidential informants, surveillance and 7 execution of warrants. 8 Q All with narcotics as targets? 9 A Yes, ma'am. 10 Q And part of your regular duties would 11 include the discovery and seizing of narcotics where 12 appropriate? 13 A Yes, ma'am. 14 Q And on August 11, 2000, as a member of this 15 task force, did you assist in serving and executing a 16 warrant at 1949 Belleair Road here in Pinellas 17 County? 18 A Yes, ma'am, I did. 19 Q Prior to serving and executing that 20 warrant, would you have received specific training as 21 to what to do? 22 A Yes, ma'am. 23 Q In other words, you had a protocol or 24 checklist, if you will, of procedures? 25 A Yes, ma'am. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 254 1 Q And as a rule when you serve a warrant, are 2 you going to go alone or are you going to go with a 3 team? 4 A With a team, ma'am. 5 Q And what's the purpose of the team? 6 A The team is to assure that the warrant is 7 served safely, as safely as possible and as 8 efficiently as possible. 9 Q Would each member on that team have a 10 specific assignment? 11 A Yes, ma'am. 12 Q And at approximately 7:30 a.m., 13 August 11, 2000, did you arrive at 1949 Belleair 14 Road? 15 A Yes, ma'am. 16 Q If you could please tell the jury what 17 occurred. 18 A I exited the van that we arrived in, and I 19 proceeded to the west side of the residence with 20 Investigator Crosby. I maintained a visual contact 21 on the west and south side of the residence. We 22 could see a small marijuana plant inside the 23 screened-in porch. I maintained visual contact with 24 that to make sure it was not disturbed while the 25 tactical team executed the warrant. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 255 1 Q Did members of the team actually knock on 2 the door and, excuse me, secure Mr. Prince? 3 A Yes, ma'am. 4 Q Was that for safety reasons? 5 A Yes, ma'am. 6 Q Basically, at that point there was probable 7 cause to arrest him for the -- you would have talked 8 to Detective Crosby before going, correct? 9 A Yes, ma'am. 10 Q And you knew what Detective Crosby had seen 11 a few days prior? 12 A Yes, ma'am. 13 Q So he's then arrested and detained based on 14 those observations? 15 A Yes, ma'am. 16 Q And did you actually enter the residence 17 along with Mr. Prince? 18 A Yes, ma'am. He was already inside when I 19 walked in. 20 Q You came into contact in the residence? 21 A Yes. In the living room. 22 Q Did you read him his Miranda rights? 23 A Yes, ma'am. 24 Q And after that did you read him the 25 warrant? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 256 1 A I did. 2 Q And is that standard procedure? 3 A Yes, ma'am. 4 Q Did you actually provide him a copy of the 5 warrant? 6 A I did. 7 Q And that's standard procedure? 8 A Yes, ma'am. 9 Q What specifically did this warrant allow 10 you to search for? 11 A For contraband, including the marijuana 12 plants in the back screened-in porch area of the 13 residence. 14 Q This was a very limited search? 15 A Yes, ma'am. 16 Q Members of team didn't whip through 17 drawers, open up desks, brief cases, kitchen drawers, 18 things of that nature? 19 A No, ma'am. 20 Q Members of the team did go do a cursory 21 check of rooms to make sure there weren't adults or 22 risk of harm, correct? 23 A Correct, for safety purposes, yes. 24 Q But there was no search, per se, of any 25 area other than the pool screened-in area? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 257 1 A Correct. 2 Q And that's because the warrant limited you? 3 A Yes, ma'am. 4 Q And you followed the parameters of the 5 warrant? 6 A Yes, ma'am. 7 Q Did you actually enter the screened-in 8 porch area? 9 A I did, ma'am. 10 Q And please describe. 11 A I entered the -- actually I exited the 12 residence through the sliding door, and as I exited 13 to the right-hand side, there was an exit to the 14 screened-in porch area, an opening door, which was 15 closed at that time. There was also several plants 16 on the west side of the screened-in area, including a 17 marijuana plant tucked in with the other plants. 18 Q Okay. I just want to -- sometimes I don't 19 follow west and north and all that stuff real good. 20 Let's go through this slowly. When you leave the 21 back of the Prince residence to get into the pool 22 area, it's a sliding door? 23 A Yes, ma'am. 24 Q Is that in the living room to the pool? 25 A I believe it was the living room or KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 258 1 kitchen. 2 Q Okay. One or two areas? 3 A Correct. 4 Q You can get back from both ways? 5 A I believe so, yeah. 6 Q You can't remember? 7 A I can't remember if it was the kitchen or 8 the living room. That would be heading south. 9 Q Okay. And then to the right? 10 A To the right. 11 Q So to the right would be the rest? 12 A Yes, ma'am. 13 Q And so it's to the right that you see this 14 pot of marijuana plants? 15 A Yes, ma'am. 16 Q And that's still within this screened-in 17 area? 18 A Yes, ma'am. 19 Q Actually by a door? 20 A Yes, ma'am. 21 Q And do you recall -- 22 MS. WARDELL: Well, Judge, may I 23 approach the witness? 24 THE COURT: You may. 25 BY MS. WARDELL: KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 259 1 Q Was this the plant you actually seized? 2 A Yes, it was. 3 Q I'm going show you State's Exhibits NO. 4 4 and NO. 6 for identification purposes and ask you if 5 you recognize those. 6 A Yes, ma'am, I do. 7 Q And what is that? 8 A That is a marijuana plant along with the 9 west screened-in wall to the screened-in porch area. 10 Q Where it was when you observed it before 11 you seized it? 12 A Yes, ma'am. 13 Q Is that a fair and accurate representation 14 of where the marijuana plant was when you saw it? 15 A Yes, ma'am. 16 MS. WARDELL: At this time I would move 17 State's Exhibits NO. 4 and NO. 6 into 18 evidence. 19 THE COURT: Any objection? 20 MR. DEVLAMING: Let me just -- I 21 probably won't, Judge, but if I could just 22 see them. None. 23 THE COURT: That will be received. 24 BY MS. WARDELL: 25 Q You actually took these pictures, right? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 260 1 A Yes, ma'am. 2 MS. WARDELL: May I briefly publish to 3 the jury? 4 THE COURT: Please. 5 MS. WARDELL: May I approach? 6 THE COURT: You may. 7 BY MS. WARDELL: 8 Q I'm showing you State's Exhibits NO. 3 and 9 a NO. 5, and I want to ask if you recognize these. 10 A Yes, ma'am. That's the same plant. And I 11 took those photos back at the Largo Police 12 Department. 13 Q This would be it in its uprooted condition? 14 A Correct. 15 Q What you actually seized? 16 A Correct. And I also removed one leaf to be 17 processed, and that's placed on the desk next to it. 18 Q That single leaf was what you sent to the 19 lab? 20 A That is what I did a presumptive on. 21 Q Okay. Let's talk about that in a minute. 22 This is a fair and accurate representation of how 23 they looked when you took them? 24 A Yes, ma'am. 25 MS. WARDELL: Judge, I would move KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 261 1 State's Exhibits NO. 3 and NO. 5 into 2 evidence. 3 THE COURT: Any objection? 4 MR. DEVLAMING: None. 5 THE COURT: They will be received. 6 MS. WARDELL: Briefly publish? 7 THE COURT: All right. So publish. 8 BY MS. WARDELL: 9 Q Okay. You mentioned a presumptive. Tell 10 us about that. What is that? 11 A A presumptive is a test that is given to us 12 that detects a narcotic substance. It's specifically 13 designed for one or multiple narcotics. The tests 14 that I used was specifically for marijuana. What you 15 do is you take a small portion of the substance you 16 want to test, place it inside a plastic ampule, close 17 it and break both -- there's two separate ampules 18 inside, shaking it, mixing the chemicals and it will 19 indicated a color change. For marijuana specifically 20 it's purple color. From clear to purple. It did 21 activate as a positive presumptive test. 22 Q Not withstanding the fact the test told you 23 it was marijuana, did you on your own form an opinion 24 that it was marijuana? 25 A Yes, ma'am. It's a marijuana leaf. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 262 1 Q Based on your training and experience? 2 A Yes, ma'am. 3 Q And is it procedure to place this into 4 evidence? 5 A Yes, ma'am. 6 Q And is it procedure to forward a portion of 7 that plant over to the lab to have the lab actually 8 test it? 9 A Yes, ma'am. 10 Q Did do you that in this case? 11 A Yes, ma'am, I did. 12 MS. WARDELL: Judge, may I approach the 13 witness? 14 THE COURT: Please. 15 BY MS. WARDELL: 16 Q I'm going to show you State's Exhibit NO. 2 17 and NO. 9. Let's talk about NO. 9 first. What is 18 that? 19 A This is the entire marijuana plant that has 20 been folded up into smaller portions to be able to 21 fit into the bag, and that was placed into evidence. 22 Q So basically it's been sitting there since 23 August 11 drying out? 24 A Yes, it's dried out. 25 Q And are those your markings on it so you KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 263 1 can recognize what it says? 2 A Yes. You notice on the tape part here 3 these are my initials, M.P.B, and the date that 4 was -- it was sealed covering the tape on the back. 5 Q So if you open that, it's going to be dried 6 marijuana? 7 A Yes, ma'am. 8 Q Is that a fair and accurate representation 9 of the same condition that was in when you sealed it? 10 A Well, it was a lot bigger because it has 11 dried out at this time. 12 Q Is the bag the same? 13 A The bag is the same. 14 MS. WARDELL: I would move State's 15 Exhibit NO. 9 into evidence over any 16 objection. 17 THE COURT: Objection? 18 MR. DEVLAMING: None. 19 THE COURT: It will be received. 20 MS. WARDELL: It's -- Judge, it's not 21 my intent to open it at this point. If that 22 needs to be done later, that's fine. 23 BY MS. WARDELL: 24 Q And with regards to State's Exhibit NO. 2, 25 is this what you actually sent to the lab? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 264 1 A I sent a total of five leaves to the lab. 2 I don't know how many were used, but this is one of 3 the leaves that was sent, yes. 4 Q And that was the bag you sent it in? 5 A I sent it in the inside plastic bag. It 6 was resealed by, I imagine, a lab worker. 7 Q And is this in the same condition with the 8 exception of what the lab people did to it as when 9 you packaged it? 10 A Yes, ma'am. It's just a little dried out 11 at this point. 12 MS. WARDELL: Judge, I would move 13 State's Exhibit NO. 2 into evidence? 14 THE COURT: Any objection? 15 MR. DEVLAMING: None. 16 THE COURT: Be received. 17 MS. WARDELL: Permission to publish? 18 THE COURT: Please. 19 BY MS. WARDELL: 20 Q And what was the point of just picking a 21 few leaves to send over. 22 A We don't need to send the entire plant. 23 It's an accurate representation of the plant to take 24 off a few leaves and send them out to be processed. 25 Q Is that standard police procedure? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 265 1 A Yes, ma'am. 2 Q Do you recall how much the plant weighed 3 before you sent it to the lab? 4 A After shaking off the excess dirt, I have 5 it listed as 75 grams. And I did weigh that myself. 6 Q Yourself? 7 A Yes, ma'am. 8 MS. WARDELL: Judge, I don't have 9 anything further. 10 THE COURT: Any cross? 11 MR. DEVLAMING: Yes. 12 THE COURT: Proceed, sir. 13 CROSS-EXAMINATION 14 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 15 Q Officer Bruno, were you one of the officers 16 that executed the warrant? 17 A Yes, sir. 18 Q Did you have bulletproof wear on your 19 person? 20 A I believe I was wearing shorts and a 21 T-shirt and then a bulletproof vest over the top of 22 the T-shirt, yes. 23 Q Okay. And did -- how many members of your 24 department served the warrant? 25 A I believe it was myself and Officer Crosby KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 266 1 outside the residence, and probably four to six 2 members of the tac team inside went to the front 3 door. 4 Q Okay. And that's -- that's to be done very 5 quickly, right, in order to gain some sort of, you 6 know, control and surprise? 7 A In order to -- well, in most warrants, yes. 8 Q Okay. And these half a dozen people, were 9 they dressed like you, or were they in all black? 10 A I believe they were in all black except for 11 Officer Lauance (phonetic) who was wearing a full 12 uniform like I'm wearing. 13 Q The ones that were in all black did they 14 also have bulletproof vests on? 15 A I would imagine they did underneath their 16 shirts, yes. 17 Q Okay. And either automatic or 18 semiautomatic firearms? 19 A I believe some. Officer Chaney I do 20 remember specifically carrying and MP5, which is a 21 semiautomatic rifle, or not a rifle but a medium 22 sized machine gun. And other than that, I believe 23 everyone else had handguns. 24 Q Okay. And is it practice for all of them 25 to go in in order to gain control of the house as KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 267 1 quickly as possible? 2 A Yes, sir. 3 Q And was that done in this case? 4 A I believe it was. I was on the side of the 5 residence. I couldn't see exactly what was going on. 6 Q Was there any debriefing that there was a 7 nine-year-old and a thirteen-year-old asleep in the 8 house when it was being searched? 9 A I was made aware that there were children 10 inside the residence, and I was made aware that they 11 were sleeping upon entering the residence after the 12 warrant had already been executed and Mr. Prince was 13 secured. 14 Q Where was Mr. Prince arrested, do you know? 15 A Do not know, sir. 16 Q Did you go inside residence? 17 A Yes, sir. 18 Q Okay. Did you go out into the lanai area? 19 A By the front door? 20 Q No, no. The lanai, meaning the screened-in 21 porch area. 22 A Yes, sir. 23 Q Okay. So you're out back making sure that 24 nothing happens to that plant by looking through it, 25 correct? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 268 1 A Right. 2 Q The six officers go through the door, 3 secure the house, and you're still outside looking at 4 that plant? 5 A Correct. 6 Q All right. So at some point in time when 7 they say, "all secured," you're able to take your 8 eyes off the plant and go in the house, right? 9 A Correct. 10 Q Did you ever see Mr. Prince on that date on 11 the lanai, that is, in the screened-in porch area? 12 A No, sir, I did not. 13 Q Go ahead. 14 A He was inside the residence when I made 15 contact with him. 16 Q All right. So did you ever see him in 17 possession of what was on the lanai on April 11th of 18 the year 2000? 19 A No, sir, I did not. 20 Q And how many marijuana plants did you take 21 after this house was secured? 22 A One plant, sir. 23 Q And is this, which I am showing you will be 24 marked Defense Exhibit NO. 3 for identification, does 25 this appear to be the pot that you got that marijuana KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 269 1 out of? 2 A It appears to be. I do recall the dead 3 root system in there also, and it's evident in the 4 photos that there is a dead root system in that 5 plant. 6 Q You took the plant out of that pot? 7 A Yes, sir. 8 Q Okay. You remember taking it out of the 9 pot before another officer said, "Hey, did you take a 10 picture of that?" 11 A Yes, sir. 12 Q All right. So then you put the plant back 13 in the pot? 14 A Yes, sir. 15 Q Okay. So that picture that we saw was you 16 replanting -- replanting that pot into the pot before 17 the photo was taken? 18 A Correct. I took it out, shook some of the 19 dirt off it and placed it back into the planter. 20 Q You sure this is the planter you took it 21 out of? 22 A Yes, sir. 23 Q Are you absolutely sure it did not come out 24 of a black planter that might have looked something 25 like Defense Exhibit NO. 1 for identification? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 270 1 A I'm positive it came out of that planter, 2 sir. 3 Q Thank you. When you went to the 4 screened-in porch area, did you have to trans -- did 5 you have to go over any gates? 6 A To go over any gates? 7 Q Right. 8 A I don't recall, sir. I don't believe that 9 there was a gate on the west side of the residence. 10 Q All right. Let me show you what's been 11 marked at Defense Exhibit NO. 2-A and B for 12 identification. Does that look like the west side of 13 the residence? 14 A Actually, that looks like the east side of 15 the residence to me, sir. 16 Q Okay. Well, does one side have a gate 17 where you would need to open it, yet the other side 18 is open where you can walk right back to the 19 backyard? 20 A I don't recall, sir. This does look like 21 it is the east side of the residence though. 22 Q Okay. And let me show you what's been 23 marked as Defense Exhibit NO. 2-C and D. Does that 24 appear to be the rooted plant system that you saw on 25 the date that you conducted your seizure? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 271 1 A It looks similar to it. I couldn't 2 absolutely say it is the same one. 3 Q Does that help you? Does that other 4 photograph that I just showed you help you by showing 5 you where on the lanai it was sitting? 6 A That is an accurate representation of where 7 the plant was removed. Whether that's the same root 8 system I couldn't tell you though. 9 Q But you have no reason to believe it's not? 10 A Not -- I couldn't tell you either way, sir. 11 Q Unless we did a pretty good job in 12 rerooting the dead rubber tree plant? 13 A Yes. 14 Q Okay. Is it part of the team when they 15 first get there for safety reasons to go through 16 every room. 17 A Do a cursory search to make sure there is 18 no armed gunmen hiding behind a closet door, yes. 19 Q Okay. So they walk in every room to make 20 sure that there's nobody that could cause them a 21 safety problem later, correct? 22 A I don't know that that's what they did as I 23 was not in the house. That would be normal 24 procedure, yes. 25 Q All right. Now, you can tell us this. Did KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 272 1 you ever see -- well, let me ask you this. If you're 2 doing that cursory search and you see something 3 illegal, you can take it, can't you? 4 A If it's in plain view? 5 Q Right. 6 A Yes, sir. 7 Q Okay. Did you ever see on that date any 8 curing marijuana? Do you know what I mean by that? 9 A No, sir. 10 Q Okay. Do you see any marijuana hanging 11 upside down so it can dry out and be later smoked? 12 A The only room I entered that day was the 13 living room. I didn't go in any rooms and no one 14 presented me anything else. 15 Q That's not what I asked you. Did anybody 16 present you with anything? 17 A No, sir. 18 Q How about any dried leaves? 19 A I was presented no other evidence other 20 than that marijuana plant. 21 Q Just that one plant in that dead rubber 22 tree planter? 23 A That's what I took in evidence. 24 MR. DEVLAMING: May I open this? 25 THE COURT: Yes. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 273 1 BY MR. DEVLAMING: 2 Q I'm having in my hand what's been marked as 3 State's Exhibit NO. 9 now into evidence. Did you 4 take custody of the marijuana bush? 5 A The plant, yes. 6 Q The plant? 7 A Yes, sir. 8 Q And you sent one leaf off? 9 A Five leaves off to the lab. One for 10 presumptive on that I did. 11 Q Okay. And the rest of the plant you put in 12 this bag? 13 A I believe so, sir. 14 Q And on August 11th of the year 2000, is 15 this what you carried out of that residence? 16 A I believe there was more to it than that, 17 sir. 18 Q And that little foliage that's left? 19 A Yes, sir. 20 MR. DEVLAMING: That's it. 21 THE COURT: Thank you. Any redirect? 22 MS. WARDELL: Just briefly, Judge. 23 REDIRECT EXAMINATION 24 BY MS. WARDELL: 25 Q You were asked whether or not you saw KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 274 1 Mr. Prince in the possession of marijuana on 2 August 11. Now, possession doesn't have to be 3 actual, i.e., it doesn't have to be physically on him 4 to be possession, correct? 5 A Correct. There's constructive possession 6 also. 7 Q There is something else in the law called 8 constructive possession, right? 9 A Yes, ma'am. 10 Q And, in your opinion, Mr. Prince was in 11 constructive possession -- 12 MR. DEVLAMING: Objection, your Honor. 13 Object to the form of the question as being 14 asking for a legal conclusion. 15 MS. WARDELL: Judge, he opened the door 16 when he asked him was he in possession. 17 THE COURT: Overruled. 18 BY MS. WARDELL: 19 Q In your opinion, was Mr. Prince in 20 constructive possession of the marijuana plant that 21 was seized from his pool area? 22 A Yes, ma'am. 23 Q And this dried stuff basically has been 24 sitting in some evidence room somewhere since 25 August 11, right? KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 275 1 A Yes, ma'am. 2 Q It was a big and bushy plant when you put 3 it in and now it's dried? 4 A It's completely dried. 5 Q And it's this dried stuff that people 6 crunch and crumble and do whatever when they put it 7 in a paper and smoke it, right? 8 A It's the buds from the plant. 9 Q Right. This could be smoked? It could 10 have been smoked? 11 A It has THC content, yes. 12 Q All right. 13 MS. WARDELL: Nothing further. 14 MR. DEVLAMING: That's all, Judge. 15 THE COURT: Any questions? None? Sir, 16 you may step down. You are still under 17 subpoena. 18 THE WITNESS: Thank you, sir. 19 MS. WARDELL: He may be excused from 20 the building. 21 THE COURT: You are excused from the 22 building, sir. 23 You have any other witnesses you wish to 24 call at this time? 25 MS. WARDELL: Yes, your Honor. KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 276 1 Stacy Mace. 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3 Whereupon, 4 STACY MACE, 5 the State's witness herein, being first duly 6 sworn upon oath, was questioned and testifies as 7 follows: 8 THE COURT: Please proceed. 9 DIRECT EXAMINATION 10 BY MS. WARDELL: 11 Q Good afternoon. If you could please turn 12 to the jury and introduce yourself by stating your 13 name and how you're employed. 14 A My name is Stacy Mace. I work at the 15 Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory as a forensic 16 chemist. 17 Q And what would your duties and 18 responsibilities include? 19 A I analyze evidence to determine whether or 20 not there is controlled substances present. 21 Q And what type of training have you had to 22 enable you to do that? 23 A I have a Bachelor's of Science Degree from 24 the University of Central Florida in forensic science 25 and a minor in chemistry. I participated in a KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 277 1 one-term internship at the University with the head 2 of the forensic science department. I completed an 3 on-the-job training program with the Pinellas County 4 Forensic Laboratory, and I also completed a 5 forty-hour DOA forensic chemistry seminar. 6 Q How long have you held this position? 7 A A little over two years. 8 Q Have you during that two year period had 9 the occasion to chemically analyze various substances 10 to determine whether or not they contain narcotics? 11 A Yes, I have. 12 Q And how many times? 13 A Over a thousand. 14 Q Specifically, have you had an occasion to 15 do chemical testing to see if marijuana is involved? 16 A Yes, I have. 17 Q And how many times? 18 A Several hundred. 19 Q Is this a daily job for you? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Are you right across the street in one of 22 those labs, or where is the building? 23 A It's located at the Sheriff's Office 24 complex on Ulmerton Road and Seminole Boulevard. 25 Q As a matter of routine, you analyze KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 278 1 evidence throughout Pinellas County in cases? 2 A Yes, I do. 3 Q Have you been declared an expert before in 4 this particular area? 5 A Yes, I have. 6 MS. WARDELL: Judge, at this point I 7 would tender her an as expert in the 8 specific area of using chemical testing to 9 determine whether or not marijuana is 10 present. 11 THE COURT: Any voir dire? 12 MR. DEVLAMING: Not right now, no. 13 THE COURT: Be received. 14 MS. WARDELL: May I approach? 15 THE COURT: Please. 16 BY MS. WARDELL: 17 Q I'm show you State's Exhibit NO. 2 for 18 identification purposes and ask you whether or not 19 you recognize it? 20 A Yes, I do. 21 Q And how is it you recognize that? 22 A On the evidence label this is my signature 23 indicating that I opened this evidence and the date 24 that which I opened it and sealed it back on the heat 25 sealed bags. These are my marks on here, including KANABAY COURT REPORTERS 279 1 the date I that sealed this evidence, the laboratory 2 number, item number and my signature. 3 Q So when the evidence came to you it was 4 just in a manila bag and you, after the fact, put it 5 in this sealed bag? 6 A Yes, I did. 7 Q And do you recall the date you received it? 8 A May I refer to my notes? 9 Q Sure. 10 A I received the evidence on August 15, 2000. 11 Q And do you recall how you received it? 12 A I received it from our evidence custodian. 13 Q Is there a specific procedure that your 14 office has in place with as far as receiving 15 evidenc