Judge Anderson is calling it a day. He didn't want to start another witness since it's close to 4:30 p.m. The jurors also will have a long weekend because Monday is a  holiday - MLK day - and the courthouse is closed. 

Judge is giving longer admonition to jurors. 

Trial will resume 9 a.m. Tuesday. 

Buckles is dismissed. 

Buckles: He said Korsa was excited and panting that day but she was sniffing alot. 

Schier on re-direct: How long have you been canine officer? 

Buckles: 14 years. 

Schier is having Buckles read logs where Korsa did well locating the tracks. 

Johnston is pointing out more training logs that showed Korsa had trouble in the heat, keeping a track. 

Johnston: You didn't work very hard on letting Korsa find track? It was about 10 min. 

Buckles: Based on information he had, he had Korsa in area that he felt most productive. It took 10 min. to cover back area where he thought intruder would go. He felt it was most productive area. She was tired and he didn't pick up a track.  

Johnston: 15 days after this shooting, you said Korsa was having trouble with heat and wasn't tracking as well.

Buckles: She was casting -  moving back and forth. She was still tracking but wasn't tracking as usual. 

Johnston: July 6, 2021, in explosive training, Korsa was panting heavily.

Buckles: He doesn't remember that but it that's what the training notes say, it's right for that day.   

 

We are back. 

Johnston: Experienced handlers can miss a start of a track?

Buckles: Yes.He said Johnston is using training log from 2019 when he had been training Korsa for 3 or 4 weeks. 

Judge calls for break. Be back in 15 min. 

Johnston: Korsa doesn't usually do panting like that?

Buckles: No. She was excited. 

Johnston: You described dog as quiet breather and have a hard time hearing her - in a training log?

Buckles: Yes. He was talking about her breathing that day in training. If humid out she will breath louder.  

Johnston: Korsa is trained to smell gun fire?

Buckles: Yes. He kept her outside. He didn't tell her to go smell for it. He took her in to clear residence. He didn't prepare her for explosive odors. There is a different routine he would have to follow.   

Buckles: Tracking long distance on cement isn't something she's trained for. 

Johnston: Dogs only track about 10 percent of the time. This doesn't mean there wasn't an intruder?

Buckles: He doesn't know. Korsa didn't find a track that day. 

Johnston: Korsa didn't find because you didn't take her where track was?

Buckles: He doesn't know because he didn't know where the track might be. The caller said the intruder went out the backdoor.

Johnston: You started in neighbors yard and go into gravel area and she alerted on tree.

Buckles: He started there first because he didn't think it was a disturbed area and moved then moved back towards the house to see if Korsa could pick up odor. 

Johnston: When dog is panting hard it's more difficult to track? She was panting hard during this track. 

Buckles: It can be but they can still smell and detect odor. Maybe it's harder but not unable to smell. 

Johnston: She can miss track first time? 

Buckles: He lets her go back and forth. 

Johnston: How many times on the job did you take Korsa to track burglary after 30 min of the call?

Buckles: He doesn't know. He has had success with some.    

 

Buckles: He would think there would be an odor left behind by an intruder if person left in hurry and wouldn't be careful where he/she steps. They would have "fear" body odor - sweating.  

Buckles on cross: Dog can't detect odor going down street. A dog can cross the street and still pick up odor.  

 

Buckles: Another officer always goes along with him and dog to act as Buckles protection and Buckles is focused on dog's behavior.

Dogs can catch odor through noise and mouth. Buckles was working leash give her more room investigate. When she gets an odor, he pulls tighter on the leash. 

He started out farther from around house because emergency responders and officers had taken that path. He didn't start at basement door because that's where several had gone in and out of and that wouldn't have helped. 

He didn't have dog search driveway or other others officers had been walking. 

She had a changed behavior by trees where officer Brown had been standing. She didn't have change in behavior anywhere else.        

Schier is playing the second part of Buckles' body camera footage. 

It's about 26 min. long.

Buckles: Shell casings found about 2-feet from door, behind the sofa in basement. 

A person could leave house by going to the right or left of the sofa and out the door.

He went outside after house was cleared and was going to wait for a search warrant. 

He and Korsa then were going to track outside the house because it had been reported that an intruder was in the house but had left.   

They were doing protective sweep of house - not thorough search. There was no sign of break in and nothing was disturbed - furniture out of place. It was neat and organized.

There was a box of ammo poured out onto hearth of fireplace. There was spent shell casings near backdoor.

Rifle was lying on ground to the side of Jan Jackson. He didn't look closely at rifle at the time.      

Buckles: When he entered. He told person on floor, Jan Jackson, to show his hands. He thought there was only one person in the house. It's the first person he came across. 

He then heard another voice and realized Jan was dead. The person down the hallway was Alex.

They searched the house and clearing house for possible intruder.  

We are back. 

Buckles will continue testifying. 

Judge is breaking  for lunch. Be back at 1:15 p.m. 

Buckles: There had never been any fake calls from this house before. Another officer mentioned that. They knew they had to get to Jackson to get him help but they needed to approach cautiously.

Don't get many calls like this in that neighborhood.

He didn't see anybody suspicious. Didn't see anyone out. No one with dark clothing or green shoes.  

Buckles: There were five other officers on the scene and Korsa. They came in the back of the residence and one officer went through front. They didn't know what was going on with call. They were concerned about officer safety. 

He brought Korsa because there was a reported break in. Didn't know if intruder was still at the house. 

Korsa was excited, which is not unusual. They are working dogs and love to work. 

 

Paramedics are taking out Jackson to the ambulance. 

Officers find shell casings. 

That was end of body camera footage.  

Buckles is taking dog onto property. He approaches cautiously and announces police before entering house. He is asking Jackson to put his hands out to his sides. Finds Jan Jackson near back door. 

They ask Jackson what happened. He says it was intruder.

They are going upstairs and search rooms. Officers are yelling police. They don't know if intruder might still be inside.

They find the bodies of Sabrina and Melissa in different bedrooms. They are dead.    

Schier is playing body cam footage. 

Jackson said he doesn't see his mom and sister. Dispatcher asks if they are safe. She asks for Sabrina number. He doesn't know it. 

Jackson said the intruder took the gun in Jackson's house and shot him.

Jackson is crying and grunting during call. He's in pain. 

That's the end of call. 

Buckles arrived on scene and had body camera when he made contact with Jackson in the house.   

 

Jackson says person who broke in left out backdoor. He doesn't when it happened. He's in pain. 

He can't remember anything intruder was wearing, except he was wearing black. He says it was long gun - rifle.

Jackson is grunting like in pain throughout call.

Dispatcher asks if he can walk. He doesn't know.

Jackson says his mom is also there.  

Schier is playing 911 call that Jackson made that day. 

Someone broke into house, Jackson says. He was shot by intruder on his foot. He doesn't know who broke in. It was a man. Can't describe more. 

Difficult to hear call.

Dispatcher tells him to get something clean and dry to control his bleeding.

Jackson says intruder came in through backdoor. He says sister Sabrina is home.  

  

Buckles is a K-9 officer with Korsa, his dog.  

He responded to shootings at Jackson home. He knew a person had called saying they had been shot. 

   

Cedar Rapids Police Officer Curt Buckles takes the stand. 

We are back.  

Judge calls for break. Be back in 15 min. 

No questions on cross. 

He is excused.

Downey: The day of shooting, he didn't see anything unusual while out walking. Only when police arrived. He didn't see anyone wearing all black with green shoes or wearing a mask.

   

Downey: He would walk every morning about 7 or 7:30 a.m. 

Wednesday before the shooting, he was on morning walk and would by side of house and he saw Jan come out with bag putting it in trash. Jane then just stared at him and then walked back in house. They usually said hello and chatted but not that day.

Another day, he saw Jan and Melissa walking towards him and said Hi and told him he could get fencing they had wanted. Jan didn't acknowledge him at all. That was unusual.

The next day, Alex and his mom came over to get the fencing. Nothing unusual at that time.   

Eddwin Downey of Loveland, Colo., takes the stand: He previously lived near Jackson's home until Aug. 2021. He knew them casually. His wife knew Melissa fairly well. They went walking together. Alex cut his grass. Sabrina would watch their pets. 

Jan would help out neighbors. Melissa was pleasant, nice. Sabrina was a sweetheart. Alex seemed like a nice enough guy. He spoke the least with him. 

 

Yang on cross: She thinks she was up around 7:30 or so. She didn't hear any shots. She didn't know what was going on when she saw police and fire trucks. 

Didn't see any cars driving around area. 

She is dismissed. 

Yang: She was home on June 15. She notice police and ambulance early that morning. An investigator came over to ask questions later in morning. 

She didn't see anything or anyone unusual in neighborhood that morning. 

 

Lydia Yang takes the stand. UI medical student. She lived in Cedar Rapids with her parents in 2021. She lived across the street from Jackson's house.

Knew them as the Jackson family. They lived across the street for 10 years or so. Not much interaction. Not close. Just talked in passing. 

She is three years older than Alex and four years older than Sabrina. Weren't close to either. She did go to Kennedy High, as they did, but not friends. 

She had least contact with Alex.      

Yang on cross: In depo, he said he had interaction with Alex. They were out of town and when Sabrina couldn't stay with his dogs, Alex would. 

He never heard any arugments among the Jackson family members. 

He is excused. 

B. Yang: He didn't have much interaction with Alex. 

He last saw family the weekend before shooting. He didn't see anything unusual.

On June 15, 2021, he saw the ambulance and police. He didn't see anything else unusual that day. 

Baoli Young, who lives across the street from the Jackson's home, takes the stand. 

He has a home surveillance camera that can see the Jackson's home. He knew the family and identified Jackson in court.

He said the family moved in about 11 years ago. Sabrina would come over and do dogsitting for them.

He would visit with Jan. No issues with him.

Melissa was active with gardening. He would see her more outside. 

Sabrina was shy. She would take care of their dog and run every day.  

I was having some wifi issues during openings. My apologies. Hopes I fixed the issue. 

Garner: Officers didn't test for DNA on shell casings. 

The K-9 dog was taken on property but not all the property. It wasn't taken on right side of  basement, which would have been a way an intruder might have gone. 

The cameras didn't show the whole area of the yard. No fingerprints of Jackson's were found on those. 

Police didn't rule out an intruder. An intruder who escaped out the backdoor.

Jackson was the fourth victim. This was a tragedy. Don't compound this tragedy by convicting Alexander Jackson. 

Garner: Officers are using interogation tactics to try to catch him in lies. They make assumptions about his relationships with his family. There's no evidence that he had problems with his family. 

The 911 call never mentioned his mother or his sister. He said he was shot and a family member was shot. Officers didn't find any blood on Jackson, except his own blood. No blood was found on gun or on muzzle. 

 

Jackson was sleeping out on the porch and heard the intruder and went to confront him but as they struggled, the intruder shot him. 

When police arrived, they gave him pain meds and he's crying asking about his father. 

At hospital, they read him miranda rights and start questioning him. They go on fishing expedition for six hours asking him about what happened and accused him of being a killer. 

Garner's opening: Police wasted no time interogating Jackson. They made up their mind he was the shooter. They hadn't even gone on the scene. 

You will hear Jackson was an Eagle Scout and he lead a  project to renovate a heritage home.

The entire family spent time together. they were close and watched movies together.

The night before they were having dinner and watching movies. He and his father cleaned the gun the night before. They would go to the shooting range together. 

The evidence will show only one person responsible for the deaths of the family members and that is Alexander Jackson. He shot them multiple times. 

 

Fingerprints and palm prints on gun belonged to Jackson. They are clear. Not smudged or wiped away.  

 

Sabrina was shot twice in the chest and face. Jan was shot five times, head, neck stomach. Melissa was shot twice. 

Most were up close and personal shot. 

Jackson said he didn't hear anything because he was sleeping outside on screened in porch with dog. It was 80 some degrees that day with high humidity. 

The .22 rifle found is loaded in stock or butt of gun. You can put 11 bullets in it. You can fire 11 shots without having to reload. When they are discharged they come out from the bottom of the gun that leaves a nice pile. 

Jackson tells police he and his father were cleaning the gun the night before.

The gun was shot more than 11 times. It had to be loaded more than once.  

There was no evidence to show anyone else was in the house or area. 

Ring doorbell camera footage showed anyone coming or going from the house that morning on June 15, 2021.

Jackson wouldn't tell police anything except that it was an intruder dressed in black. 

 

A K-9 officer and dog are on the scene to track the area. The only description of the intruder they have is he was wearing black. 

Police find Sabrina in her bedroom with gunshot wound and she is dead.

They go upstairs. They find Melissa on the bed shot multiple times and find shell casings.

Downstairs they find rifle by Alex. They realize this is a triple homicide. 

Police are still unsure what is going on. They start securing scene and look for intruders. There is no sign of anyone else. 

There is only Alex and his dead family members. No sign of anything taken. No furniture out of place. 

 

They arrived at 8:31 a.m. They didn't know what was inside. They thought there was an intruder. Police approached the home cautiously. They had dispatcher call the home, thinking the mother and sister might come out. 

The first officer that enters sees what he doesn't expect. He sees Jan Jackson on the floor with blood coming out of his mouth and body. He is dead. 

They then see Alex with a injury to his foot. There are 22 shell casings in the pile. There are shell casings around Jan Jackson's body. 

Schier: Alexander Jackson wants you to think they had perfect family life. The family dynamics aren't what he wants you to believe. 

That monring he reported someone broke in and shot him and his family. there are inconsistencies from the start. There was a struggle and he got shot in the foor. The dispatcher asked him to describe the intruder. 

He then says his sister, mother and father were there. The dispatcher didn't hear that the father was there.

 

Schier will give the opening statement for the prosecution. 

There are eight women and six men on the jury, which includes two alternates.

The jury is coming in now. 

6th Judicial District Chief Judge Lar Anderson is presiding over the trial.  

The prosecutors are Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier and First Assistant Linn Co. Attorney Monica Slaughter. 

Jackson's lawyers are Tyler Johnston, Lindsay Garner and Amber Foley. 

The prosecution will give its opening first, followed by the defense.  

A jury was selected late Thursday afternoon. The trial is expected to go about 9 days.  

Good morning all! Openings will start in a few minutes.