Resurrection Walk

“I got a SORS text,” Sanger said. “Like everybody in the department.”

“Can you tell the judge what a SORS text is?”

“The Special Operations Reporting System is a texting service that allows the department to get messages to all sworn personnel. A text went out that said there had been a deputy-involved shooting in the AV division and that we had lost one of our own.”

“AV as in Antelope Valley?”

“Correct. I then made a call and found out that the deputy killed was Roberto Sanz from my unit.”

“And what did you do?”

“I called another deputy in the unit and we proceeded to the scene to see if we could be of any help.”

“Which deputy was that?”

“Keith Mitchell.”

“Why did you only call him when you say the unit consisted of six deputies and a sergeant?”

“Because Keith was the closest to Robbie Sanz.”

I opened the file I had brought to the lectern and took out three copies of a document. I distributed them to Morris, the witness, and the judge and asked Coelho for permission to enter the document as the next plaintiff’s exhibit and to question the witness about it. Permission was granted.

“What is that, Sergeant?”

“It’s a copy of the SORS text that went out,” Sanger said.

“And what time does it say it went out?”

“Twenty-eighteen hours.”

“Or eight eighteen p.m. in nonmilitary time, correct?”

“Correct.”

“How soon after that went out did you arrive at the crime scene?”

“Probably no more than fifteen minutes later.”

“The AV, as you call it, is a big place. How was it that you were so close you could be there within fifteen minutes?”

“I happened to be eating dinner at a restaurant nearby.”

“What restaurant was that?”

“Brandy’s Café.”

“Were you with anyone?”

“I was alone at the counter. I got the text, put down some money, and immediately left. I called Keith Mitchell on my way.”

She said it in a tired tone, as if I were asking irrelevant questions with no bearing on the case. The judge must have felt like this as well; she interrupted me.

“Mr. Haller,” she said. “Is this line of questioning really necessary?”

“It is, Judge,” I said. “That will become clear when other witnesses testify.”

“Well, please hurry through this so we can get to those witnesses sooner rather than later.”

“We would get there sooner if my examination were not interrupted.”

“If that remark is intended as a rebuke to the court, we have a problem, sir.”

“I’m sorry, Your Honor, it was not intended as a rebuke in any way. May I continue?”

“Please, but hurry.”

I nodded and checked my notes to make sure I picked up where I had left off.

“Sergeant Sanger, were homicide investigators on the scene when you arrived?” I asked.

“No, not yet,” Sanger said.

“Who from the sheriff’s department was there?”

“A lot of deputies had arrived to secure the scene for the homicide unit rolling from the STARS Center in Whittier.”

“That would put them as much as an hour out, correct?”

“Yes, most likely.”

“So, during that time of waiting for the homicide team, you decided to do their job for them, didn’t you?”

“No, that’s not correct.”

“Well, didn’t you take Lucinda Sanz from the car she had been placed in and conduct a test for gunshot residue on her body and clothes?”

“Yes, I did that. It’s best to conduct such a test as soon as possible after a shooting crime has been committed.”

“Was it procedure for a deputy who worked with the victim to swab the arms and hands of a suspect for a gunshot-residue test?”

“She was not a suspect at that time. It—”

“Not a suspect? Why was she put in the back of a patrol car and swabbed for GSR if she was not a suspect?”

Morris stood up and objected.

“Your Honor,” he said. “Counsel is badgering the witness and not allowing her to finish her answers.”

“Mr. Haller,” Coelho said. “Let her complete her answers and dial back the tone. There is no jury here to impress.”

I nodded contritely.

“Yes, Your Honor,” I said. “Sergeant Sanger, by all means, please continue and finish your answer.”

“As I said, it is important to test for gunshot residue early in an investigation,” Sanger said. “Otherwise, the evidence can dissipate or be removed or transferred. I knew in this case that it might be an hour or more before homicide investigators were on scene, so I swabbed the defendant and secured the swab disks in an evidence bag.”

“She’s the petitioner, not the defendant, Sergeant. Once you completed this test you say was required so urgently, what did you do with that evidence bag containing the swab disks?”

“I turned it over to Deputy Mitchell, who later gave it to the homicide team. It should be noted in the evidence chain-of-custody report, which I’m sure you’ve seen.”

“What if I told you it is not in the chain-of-custody report?”

“Then that would be a slight oversight on Deputy Mitchell’s part.”

“Nice of you to throw Deputy Mitchell under the bus, but why didn’t you just turn it over to the homicide team yourself? You conducted the test. Were you trying to hide that, Sergeant?”