Superposition

^{CHAPTER 12}

David Haviland was apparently a morning person. He greeted the judge and the jury with a cheerful smile. I had barely slept, and, next to me, Terry didn’t look much better. He was clutching a paper cup of coffee like it was a life raft.

“The People call Officer Brandon McBride to the stand,” Haviland said.

McBride was a big man gone to fat, with thinning gray hair and the hint of jowls forming in his cheeks. He was wearing a tie that seemed too tight for the folds of his neck.

“Officer McBride,” Haviland said. “How long have you been with the Media police force?”

“Thirty-seven years.” McBride emphasized each word, apparently proud of his length of service.

“And what is your current title?”

“I’m a senior evidence technician.”

“And what does that role entail?”

“We receive thousands of items ranging in size from hair samples to vehicles, and we track and store the items and release them as appropriate. Mostly my job is to ensure that the integrity of the chain of evidence is preserved. We store the items and make sure that nothing is tampered with and there is a clear chain of custody for any item from the place where it was confiscated to its appearance in trial.”

“On December third, did your office receive into custody a weapon taken from Jacob Kelley when he was arrested?”

“Yes, we did,” McBride said.

“How can you be sure?” Haviland asked.

“I reviewed the record this morning in preparation for this trial.”

Haviland looked at the judge. “Permission to approach the witness, Your Honor?”

“Granted.”

Haviland handed McBride a paper-clipped sheaf of papers. “This document is presented to the record as Exhibit A1. Officer, can you identify the document for the court?”

“This is the evidence register for December third.”

“Is this the same record you reviewed in preparation for the trial?”

“Yes.”

“Could you please summarize the entry for the court?”

“It says that a Glock 46 nine millimeter with black polymer grips and a scratched barrel was confiscated from the Kelley residence at three PM.” McBride flipped through the pages. “There are photographs of both sides of the weapon.”

“Do you receive many weapons?”

“Quite a few,” McBride said.

“How could you be sure that a particular weapon was the one received from the Kelley residence?”

“The weapon is tagged with the evidence ID number and stored in a secure compartment. Anyone removing or returning it must sign in and out under the supervision of an evidence clerk, who also signs his or her name.”

“Is that record part of the documentation in front of you?” Haviland asked.

“It is.”

“Did anyone sign this weapon in or out on December third or fourth?”

“I signed the weapon in for the first time on December third, once I received it from Officer Carter, then I signed it out again on December fourth.”

“And why did you sign it out?”

“Our office received a bulletin that the New Jersey State Police wanted Jacob Kelley in relation to a gunshot murder.”

“And when you signed it out, what did you do?”

“I called Jersey to let them know, and then I personally walked the weapon over to ballistics to get it test-fired.”

“Why did you do that?”

McBride smiled ruefully. “Well, I walked it over myself because I wanted to get some credit for making the connection. They can compare the bullet they test-fire to the slug they retrieve from the crime scene, see, and they can tell if it was fired by the same weapon.”

Haviland lifted a plastic-wrapped handgun, and I recognized the Glock. “The prosecution would like to enter Exhibit A2 into evidence. Permission to approach?”

The judge nodded.

“Officer McBride,” Haviland continued, “is this the firearm you brought to ballistics?”

McBride examined it carefully. “Yes, it is.”

“And did you establish that it was the murder weapon?”

“Yes, sir. We test-fired it in our forensics lab, and we were able to match the rifling marks under a comparison microscope.” He turned toward the jury. “Rifling marks on a bullet are left by the barrel of the firearm. Each one is unique, like a fingerprint. Two bullets fired from the same firearm will leave the same marks.”

“So the gun that the police found in Jacob Kelley’s possession on December third at Mr. Kelley’s house was the same gun that was used to kill Brian Vanderhall?”

“Absolutely.”

“Could there have been a mistake? Could this gun have gotten mixed up with a different one?”

McBride looked affronted. “This is my job,” he said. “This is what I do every day. The chain of evidence is properly documented, and the firearm was under the proper security from the moment it was received. There is no doubt whatsoever.”

Haviland produced another plastic bag, entered it into the record, and showed it to McBride. “Can you tell us what this is, Officer?”

“Those are Mr. Kelley’s shoes, recovered by Officer Carter when he arrested Mr. Kelley and submitted to me at the same time as the firearm.”

“Can you tell us what you found on the shoes?” Haviland asked.

“The soles of the shoes were covered in human blood,” McBride said.

“And did you work with the New Jersey State Police in relation to this evidence as well?”

“Yes. They sent us images of the footprints they found at the murder scene, which we were able to match with these shoes. Also, DNA analysis of the blood confirmed that it was Brian Vanderhall’s.”

“Was there any other analysis performed on evidence taken when Mr. Kelley was arrested?” Haviland asked.

“Yes, we did a GSR test on Mr. Kelley’s hands,” McBride said. He turned toward the jury again, and it was clear that he had explained this to juries many times in thirty-seven years. “GSR stands for gunshot residue, the small, burnt particulates which fly out of a firearm when it’s discharged and stick to surrounding objects within three to five feet away. The closer an object is to the firearm, the greater the residue. A shooter will have a high concentration on his hand and sleeve, as well as smaller amounts on his face and clothing.

“When a suspected shooter is arrested, the arresting officer uses a kit with small adhesive-coated metal discs. He presses one of the discs to each of the suspect’s hands and seals the discs in a labeled plastic tube that comes in the kit. Back at the lab, we remove the discs and examine the particulates under a scanning electron microscope.”

“And when you examined the discs collected from Mr. Kelley?” Haviland asked.

“We discovered large concentrations of lead, barium, and antimony on both hands, consistent with firearm discharge,” McBride said.

“Could those particulates have gotten on his hands just by standing in the room when the gun was fired?”

“No. The concentrations were too large. Mr. Kelley held and discharged a firearm, probably several times.”

Haviland bowed his head slightly. “No further questions, Your Honor.”