him?”
“We did,” Russell responded, “but this guy has a history-”
“Objection,” Beckett said, rising from his chair, as is customary when making an objection.
“Approach,” Judge Sutherlin ordered authoritatively, but without emotion and without looking up from the file he was marking up. Beckett and Corbin approached the bench, as did Pierce and Morales.
“Your Honor, he’s about to go into the criminal history. We discussed this,” Beckett said.
“Your Honor,” Pierce responded, “we’re not introducing this to show any criminal history. We’re introducing this merely to explain why Sgt. Russell pulled his gun before entering the apartment.”
“Overruled, Mr. Beckett, but I will instruct the jury accordingly,” Sutherlin advised.
The attorneys returned to their respective sides.
Sutherlin looked at the jury over the top of his glasses. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to hear testimony that concerns actions Mr. Beaumont may or may not have taken in the past. This testimony is being introduced for the sole purpose of explaining why Sgt. Russell and the other officers took the actions they did. That is the only purpose for which you may consider it. You may not consider his prior actions, if any, toward his guilt in this matter.”
Pierce jammed his right hand back into his pants pocket and checked off an item on his notepad. He looked smug. “Sergeant, could you tell the jury why you drew your gun.”
“Yeah, we was aware Mr. Beaumont was arrested many times in the past for various-”
“Objection,” Beckett barked.
“Sustained,” Judge Sutherlin replied, without waiting for Pierce to respond. “There’s no need to go into the reasons for any of the arrests, Mr. Pierce.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Pierce replied. He looked at Russell again. “You were aware of prior arrests?”
“Yeah, we knew about
“What did you do?”
“We made sure everybody wore a vest. We drew our sidearms when we approached the apartment. We cleared the hallway of bystanders before we knocked. When Webb knocked-”
“Hold on a second. You’re getting ahead of me, Sergeant,” Pierce said, faking a laugh. “Who is Officer Webb?”
“Webb is my partner this past year. He’s a rookie who joined the department a few months before the arrest. He was assigned to me when my old partner retired for medical reasons.”
“Officer Webb knocked on Beaumont’s door?”
“Yes. Webb knocked on the door. He also made the arrest.”
“Ok, before we get to that, what happened when Officer Webb knocked?”
“Mr. Beaumont opened the door.”
“Mr. Beaumont opened the door,” Pierce repeated.
“He’s lying,” Beaumont whispered loudly to Corbin. Corbin put his finger to his lips to tell Beaumont to remain silent.
“Yeah, he opened the door, and I could see he was holding a gun,” Russell testified.
“What did you do then?”
“We followed our training. Since he was armed and dangerous, we needed to disarm him. So we forced our way into the apartment, forcing Mr. Beaumont to the floor, and disarming him for everyone’s safety.”
“Did Mr. Beaumont say anything at the time?”
“He was angry. He kept insulting myself and the other officers. He threatened me with bodily injury and he kept demanding I let him up and give him back his gun.”
“Why ain’t you objecting? That’s hearsay?” Beaumont demanded of Beckett.
“It’s a statement against interest; he can repeat whatever you said,” Corbin responded, trying to leave Beckett free to concentrate on the testimony.
“But I did’n say that. He’s lying,” Beaumont barked.
“That may be, but we can’t object to that. Now shut up.”
Pierce picked up a semi-automatic pistol from the prosecution table. The gun had seen better days. It was black, but covered in scratches. The stock was wrapped in duct tape. A small yellow evidence tag hung from the trigger guard.
“Have you ever seen this weapon before?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where?”
“That was the firearm I took from Mr. Beaumont.”
“You took this gun from Mr. Beaumont on November 21st?” Pierce asked, holding the gun up for the jury to see.
“Yes sir, I took it from his hand.”
“What did you do after you took the gun?”
“I handed the firearm to the control officer, Officer Sanchez, and he placed it into an evidence bag. Then I escorted Mr. Beaumont downstairs.”
“What was Officer Webb doing, while you escorted Mr. Beaumont downstairs?” Pierce asked.
“He searched the apartment.”
“What did he find?”
Beckett shot out of his chair. “Objection.” Judge Sutherlin looked at Beckett, but didn’t speak, so Beckett continued. “He can only testify to what he personally observed.”
“Sustained,” Sutherlin said, before returning his attention to the file in his lap.
Pierce scowled before he could catch himself. “Did you see what Officer Webb pulled from the drawer?”
“Objection, assumes facts not in evidence,” Beckett said.
“Sustained,” Sutherlin replied. Until someone testifies that Webb actually pulled something from the drawer, Russell could not describe anything Webb found as coming from the drawer.
Pierce bit his tongue. “Did you participate in the search with Officer Webb?”
“No.” This meant Russell could not testify to what Webb may or may not have pulled from the drawer because he didn’t actually see Webb pull anything from the drawer.
Pierce scratched his head and pursed his lips. He took a deep breath. “Did you see what Webb was holding after the search?” Pierce asked.
“Objection, relevance,” Beckett said.
“Sustained.” Without testimony that what Webb was holding came from the drawer or from Beaumont’s person, whatever Webb held was not legally relevant to the question of Beaumont’s guilt or innocence because it could not be linked to Beaumont. In effect, Beckett had kept Pierce from introducing, through Russell’s testimony, any evidence of what Webb found during his search. That meant the account documents and bad checks were not yet in evidence. Webb would now be the critical witness.
Pierce flipped through his notes. He wasn’t happy.
Sutherlin became impatient. “Counselor?”
“Can we have a moment, Your Honor?” Pierce whispered furiously with Morales before returning to the podium. “We have nothing further.”
Beckett tapped his lips with his forefingers as he gathered his thoughts. The jury watched him tensely. This was the first cross examination of the trial, and they didn’t know what to expect; Hollywood had seen to that.
“Good morning, Sgt. Russell,” Beckett offered without sincerity.
“Good morning,” Russell mirrored Beckett’s tone.
“Sergeant, you’ve seen Beaumont repeatedly over the years, correct?”
“Yeah, I saw him a lot. . year after year.”
“Did he ever have hair?” This caused each of the jurors and even Judge Sutherlin to look at Beaumont.
“No. Always bald, just like today.”
“Were any wigs found at his apartment?”
Russell laughed. “Wigs?! No, Mr. Beckett, nobody found no wigs.”
“Is Beaumont right handed or left handed?”
