Judge is calling it a day. Be back 9 a.m. Monday. May do closings and deliberations Monday or Tuesday. 

Thanks for following today and all week! 

Johnston: You received videos from June 15?

Kasper: Yes. 

Kasper is excused. 

 

CRPD Investigator Rob Kasper takes the stand. He prepared search warrant for Ring camera at Jackson's house on June 17th.

They were looking for additional information to see if it captured officer's motions during test. 

Ring didn't return any data. They asked for all videos on that day. 

Slaughter: You wrote search warrant but he has no knowledge of information in warrant? You received that information from others?

Kasper: Yes. 

Schier: Being prepared in any situation- part of being a eagle scout?

Gritton: Yes. 

Schier: He had to be familiar with a ,22 rifle - know how to shoot it, load it. 

Gritton: Yes.

Schier: These merit badges help in traumatic events. An eagle scout can step up and help?

Gritton: Yes. 

He hasn't had contact with Jackson since 2017. He doesn't know what his relationship was with his sister or parents. 

Gritton: To receive eagle scout rank he had to complete a project. He worked on Heritage home and renovating it. Article in The Gazette. 

He counted on Jackson to help woth hiking trips. He mentored younger scouts. He was responsible. 

Gritton: He got a rifle shooting merit badge. He was proficient with .22 caliber rifles. Care of gun, cleaning it. 

Levi Gritton, takes the stand. Former Eagle Scout leader. 

Jackson was an eagle scout. 

Met Jackson in 2014. He earned his badge in 2017. He has 34 merit badges. Citizenship and community, camping, archery, communication, coin collecting, disabilities awareness, family life, fingerprinting, first aid and others.

Jackson enjoyed camping. They would camp out in area every month and then go on bigger trips to places like Grand Canyon.   

Slaughter: Are you sure you played video games on June 14?

Burrack: Yeah. He knows they played that month around that time. Not positive it was 14th. 

He is excused. 

Burrack: Halo is a shooting game. They can talk to others online while playing. Sometimes players usually know each other. 

Halo wasn't regular games. Playing board games - card games - a few times a week. 

Play for a few hours in the summer. 

Other shooting games - G Mod - sandbox game. Build things. they also played Call of Duty. 

Slaughter: Did Jackson mention his sister was bi-sexual?

Burrack: No

Burrack under cross: They hung out at each other's homes. Maybe once a week. Stayed overnight maybe once a month. He would sleep in basement in living room area. 

Never slept on porch. 

Slaughter: Do you share Jackson's political views? 

Burrack: No.

Slaughter: Different view points?

Burrack: Yes. 

He never saw Jackson and his sister fighting. Or arguing with his dad. 

Burrack: Others also playing online. 

Jackson didn't mention any problems at home. Just regular chit chat. 

Played until about 11 p.m. 

Jackson never complained about spending time with parents. 

Ryan Burrack, 21, student at UI, takes the stand. He is friends with Jackson, since middle school. 

They have good friendship. Hang out and play board and video games.

Jackson is mild manner. No trouble with law or at school. Not a violent person. They were in band together. Jackson played the flute. 

Jackson  and he played video games online June 14, 2021. They played Halo.   

Heyen is excused. 

Schier: You retired from training dogs was in 2004?

Heyen: Yes.  

Heyen: Success rate for urban tracks is 10 percent. That's probably high. 

He's been handing dogs and training police and departments for decades. 

 

Heyen under redirect: There is a difference between dogs smelling human odor and tracking human odor. 

Dog doesn't track human odor. 

Korsa's certification was expired at one point on June 15, 2021. He realizes it was Covid. There were other ways to support it. Set up tracks and then send video of it to national police canine association.

 

We are back 

My apologies. I'm having internet issues and my liveblog program is slow this afternoon. Not sure why.    

Judge called for break. Be back in 15 min. 

Schier: You don't understand how the CRPD forms are set up for training.

Heyen: No. 

Schier: You've mostly been retained by defense?

Heyen: The majority is. 

Schier: For civil, more for plaintiffs

Heyen: Yes. 

Heyen: He receives $300/hr. for trial testimony. 

Heyen: Admits he said Korsa put her head down. Not tracking.  

Heyen: He agrees he didn't see Korsa, except on this video. there was inaccurate tracking records the he reviewed.

Schier: Important to be in area not contaminated? That area where you would say they should start was an area that emergency personnel and police had been there. 

Heyen: He didn't know that. There was no information.

Schier: That's why Buckles didn't start his track there. 

 

  

 

Schier: Didn't you say they couldn't smell human odor?

Heyen: He didn't say dogs couldn't smell human odor.  

They can't smell human odor on a track because they step over concrete and other areas. They smell ground disturbances.  

Schier: Are you aware of a study that says they could track human odor off concrete or it can fall off a person on a track. 

Heyen: He wasn't aware of those studies. 

Heyen under cross: Last time he handled dog was in 1991 as certified canine officer.

Important to work and train with dog partner. 

Last time he presented was in 2016. Police service dog seminar in 1999. Last major contract was in 2003.

Last year he did training on internet a few weeks ago regarding dog smelling.

He doesn't agree with standards of national organization. They don't have proper training. He agrees with German standards and some other organizations that use strict standards. 

Schier: Hundreds of standards throughout the country? 

Heyen: Yes.   

Heyen: Heyen's performance on track doesn't give him confidence that suspect - wasn't there. 

Buckles didn't go with the dog when it did start sniffing. 

He would have started 10 feet from the house and out into the backyard. Not from farther out and up toward the house. 

If intruder left at 8:21 a.m., then odor were be lessened by the time she was tracking. She was panting most of the time and couldn't smell through her nose. 

Korsa did catch something by bucket or trash can and by vegetation area. 

Heyen: Korsa picks up law enforcement scents on side area and at tree area. 

The odor on grass lessens over time.  

Heyen: The dog continued to pant as they come close to house and he would have said the dog is too hot and can't track. 

He should have stopped for dog sake. Dogs can have heat strokes.   

Heyen: Not much disturbance on gravel. 

Korsa walked over gravel at one point. 

Korsa's head was down sniffing by tree. She was sniffing something. 

Korsa went back down to the side. Buckles stayed back and Korsa comes back. They are back in Jackson's yard. 

Korsa is sniffing ground by a bucket or something. Buckles didn't step out with her. Buckles is stopping her.  

Heyen: Buckles didn't go out when Korsa went off to side and put her head down. Korsa may have been sniffing something. 

Korsa out 30 feet and you can still hear her breathing. Not sniffing with her nose.  

Heyen said dogs track ground disturbances, not human scent. 

Johnson said Buckles testified they could track human scent. 

Heyen: She's excited. Her panting hasn't slowed down. She's not listening to commands right away. 

Clip is of Buckles and Korsa waiting for another officer to go with them on the track. 

When dogs track they track ground disturbance odors, not human scent. They can pick up amount and age - fresher -  of disturbances. 

Johnston: Buckles said it was human scent. 

Heyen: She's excited. Her panting hasn't slowed down. She's not listening to commands right away. 

Clip is of Buckles and Korsa waiting for another officer to go with them on the track. 

When dogs track they track ground disturbance odors, not human scent. They can pick up amount and age - fresher -  of disturbances. 

Johnston: Buckles said it was human scent. 

Heyen: Dog close to Buckles microphone. Korsa's mouth is open and trying to cool off. She was hot.

She hadn't started the track at this point.

In hot weather, concrete is hotter than on grass. Buckles took Korsa on concrete at start of tracking. It wouldn't help her cool down. 

Heyen: Korsa is breathing through open mouth. She's been worked up or excited. Dogs can't sniff if they are breathing through the mouth. Can't smell through the mouth, as Buckles said during testimony, Heyen said. 

Smell of gun powder could have stressed her. Korsa was trained to sniff explosives. 

The clip was Korsa getting out of the car to start tracking. 

Heyen: He doesn't take any case until he has all information, evaluates it and then decides to take it.

Has testified on handling, training and on behavior of police dogs. All over the country in state and federal court.

He reviewed in this case the body camera from K-9 officer, training logs, certification for tracking, the officer's depositions.

Johnston will play the body camera footage of the tracking for a suspect at Jackson's home and have Heyen point out observations.  

Heyen: He also has trained police service dogs. 

The jury is back now.  

Kyle Heyen takes the stand. He formerly owned Detector Dogs International and now consults on civil and criminal cases involving police service dogs. He is a former law enforcement officer with Laramie, Wyo. Police Department.   

Outside presence of jury. Defense makes a motion for a judgment of acquittal. Prosecution doesn't have sufficient of evidence for a guilty verdict. 

Prosecution says there has been ample evidence and testimony to establish all the elements of the charges. Asking court to deny motion. 

Judge Anderson denies motion of judgment of acquittal.  

Judge is calling for early lunch break. Be back at 1 p.m. 

The prosecution rests. 

Denlinger: Jackson's foot prints start in his bedroom walking into hallway, steps over dad and stands there awhile and lighter footprints going back. He was in the back hallway when they encountered him in the house.  

No footprints going into his bedroom. 

Pool of blood by leg of his bed. 

Johnston: No shell casing in bedroom?

Denlinger: He thinks he dropped the shell casing by his dad's body.  

 

Schier is pointing out that jackson wasn't crying on 911 call or in body camera video. He wasn't under meds at that time.

Denlinger agrees. 

Denlinger: Jackson was confused about a handful of times. He was coherent. He told Jackson he didn't have to speak to him.  

Denlinger under redirect: Not everyone confesses that they kill someone.  

Johnston: Nothing on his phone about how to shoot his foot or how to kill someone? 

Denlinger: No. Nothing on Jackson's phone incriminating, except that he did google seaches or was on social media at times he said he was sleeping.  

Johnston: None of police activity showed up on Ring camera of backyard, so doesn't that suggest something is wrong with it.

Denlinger: He doesn't know. It was working day before  on June 14 and not on June 15. 

Earlier it was mentioned it can be controlled by an app. Jackson didn't have an app on his phone.  

 

Johnston is arguing with Denlinger that it is possible to get touch DNA. There is a DCI criminalist that found touch DNA in another case.  

Denlinger said Thursday that he rarely gets results for touch DNA. He didn't get any in this case.      

Denlinger: He agrees that Jackson said his grades had gone down in college and his dad wanted him to get a job. His dad was giving him $100/month.

 

We are back. 

Judge calls for 15 min break. 

Johnston is reading most of the interview and asking Denlinger if that's what he said. Denlinger has answered by saying "yes or that's correct."    

Denlinger: He agrees that Jackson said he never would hurt his family. He loved them. 

Denlinger: He agrees Jackson said his parents were proud of him.  

Denlinger: He doesn't know if any of the other guns were loaded. He would have to check with crime scene investigator. 

Johnston: Jackson said he loved his family? 

Denlinger: Yes. He agrees that he didn't say their life was all "rosy." He agreed they have disagreements. 

Johnston: He said he and his dad went shooting? There was a lot of guns in the house?

Denlinger: Yes.  

Johnston: Jackson said his family had family time every night. They all get along. 

Denlinger: Yes. 

Denlinger: He admits to knowing Jackson was in pain. Lacina asked Jackson if he would hold off on meds so they could talk. They asked his opinion on it. They weren't going to let him suffer.

  

Denlinger: He agrees that Jackson didn't know there was a camera in the backyard. 

 

Denlinger: He agrees that Jackson never changed his story. 

Denlinger: He agrees he told Jackson some things weren't true. He did have some wrong information at the time and later got updates.

Johnston: He was respectful to you?

Denlinger: Yes. 

Johnston: You were trying to get him mad - show that homicidal rage?

Denlinger: I guess. 

Denlinger: Everything he does and says is to get answers. He agrees the jury will see his reactions. 

 

Denlinger: He was the same throughout the interview. 

Johnston: You even asked the nurse to hold off 15 min. for pain meds? Because you knew how it might affect him.  

Denlinger: He thought he might fall asleep. 

Denlinger: Started the interview at 9:15 and ended it after 1 p.m. 

Denlinger: He agrees Jackson was happy to see you and he said he wanted the person caught. 

 

Denlinger: He admits he takes into account his demeanor and behavior. Interviewing someone in the hospital isn't an ideal situation. 

Jackson agreed to talk to him.

Johnston: Doesn't mean he's not under the effects of shock?

Denlinger: No.

Denlinger: He realizes everything he does and says is recorded. He is trying to get everything out of the defendant. 

Johnston: You're trying to influence the jury?

Denlinger: He's not trying to do that.  

Denlinger: He set up the camera to capture all the things that happen in interview. He set up camera in front of him. He knew it would be possibly used in a trial. 

 

 

Johnston: You knew he had been shot and traumatized and under meds?

Denlinger: Yes. 

Johnston: You still interviewed him?

Denlinger: yes.

Johnston: Trauma can cause confusion?

Denlinger: Yes.

Johnston:  In your experience, have you observed someone under anesthesia?

Denlinger: Yes. He agrees they can be confused, saying dumb things.

Johnston: Officer Brown told you Jackson's "not there?" that he was under fentanyl?

Denlinger: Yes. He didn't know he was under fentanyl 

Denlinger: His first choice would be to interview someone at department.  

Johnston on cross: Have you told a false statement in an interrogation?

Denlinger: I try not to. But admits he has in other cases. 

 

Denlinger: Jackson said he had $30 in his bank account.

Schier: Do you know who would get the Jan and Melissa Jackson's money?

Denlinger: He (Alex) would. 

Denlinger: The neighbors' surveillance cameras didn't show anyone coming and going from the Jackson home June 15, 2021. Never saw a man with dark clothing and green shoes coming to or leaving the home.

The Jacksons, according to video footage on other days, mostly used their front door to leave and enter. 

Denlinger continues his testimony.

 

Good morning! Day 5 of testimony will get started in a few minutes. The prosecution will wrap up with CRPD Investigator Matt Denlinger and then the defense will begin its case.