Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveSean Goode - Cross/Redirect/Recross
274 linesCOURT CLERK: All persons having any business before the Honorable Cannone, Justice of the Norfolk Superior Court, draw near, give your attendance, and ye shall be heard. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is now open. You may be seated. 22-0117, the Commonwealth versus Karen Read. Can I have counsel identify themselves for the record?
MR. LALLY: Adam Lally for the Commonwealth. Good morning, Your Honor.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Mr. Lally.
MS. MCLAUGHLIN: Good morning, Your Honor. Laura McLaughlin for the Commonwealth.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Ms. McLaughlin.
MR. JACKSON: Your Honor, Alan Jackson for Ms. Read. Good morning.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Mr. Jackson.
MR. JACKSON: Good morning, Your Honor.
MS. LITTLE: Elizabeth Little, also on behalf of Ms. Read. Good morning, Miss Little, and good morning, Your Honor.
MR. YANNETTI: David Yannetti for Karen Read. Good morning.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Mr. Yannetti. Good morning, Ms. Read. Good morning, jurors. So I apologize for the delay this morning. What I'm going to start doing — we don't want to keep you folks waiting, and sometimes there's traffic or other reasons that we're delayed — rather than having you report at 8:20 in the morning, I'm going to let you report at 8:30. Okay? Just — we'd rather you have us waiting than — um — so I do have to ask you those three questions. Was everyone able to follow the instructions and refrain from discussing this case with anyone since we left yesterday?
PARENTHETICAL: [jurors respond yes / nod affirmatively.]
PARENTHETICAL: [jurors respond no.]
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Thank you very much. Could we have Sergeant Goode, please?
JUDGE CANNONE: Were you also able to follow the instructions and refrain from doing any independent research or investigation into this case?
PARENTHETICAL: [jurors respond yes / nod affirmatively.]
JUDGE CANNONE: Did anyone happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case since you left yesterday?
COURT OFFICER: Sir, can you please raise your right hand? Do you solemnly swear the evidence you give the court and jury in the case now before the court, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MR. GOODE: Yes, I do.
COURT OFFICER: Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Good morning.
MR. YANNETTI: May I proceed?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Good morning, Sergeant.
MR. YANNETTI: Sergeant, you are familiar with the key swipe system at the Canton Police Department?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Could you explain to the jury how that works?
MR. GOODE: So police officers are issued a — looks like a credit card, I have it in my wallet — um, anytime I enter or leave the police department, the exterior doors going out the back, there's a key scan you put up to it to unlock the door to come in. When you leave you don't have to scan, but if you need to go into the booking area you have to scan yourself in and out, and to get out of the sally ports you have to scan in and out.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And just trying to keep your voice up so the last few jurors can hear you. How many officers on your department have those keys that can be swiped?
MR. GOODE: I would believe all of them.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And — how many — or strike that — do you know how this information is stored at the Canton Police Station?
MR. GOODE: I do not. I don't know the software, but I believe it's recorded anytime we would come and go.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And you say you believe that it's recorded at the time that the information is obtained — in other words, somebody key swipes in and that information is then stored — you believe, at the Canton Police Station?
MR. GOODE: I don't know the software, so I wouldn't be able to give you an educated response to that.
MR. YANNETTI: And do you yourself, as a sergeant, have access to the key swipe data, or is that limited to certain officers at the department?
MR. GOODE: I don't believe I have access to that. I've never accessed it.
PARENTHETICAL: [parties approach sidebar]
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. Your Honor, we do have a stipulation between the parties, if the Court will accept it, to introduce the key swipe records from January 29th of 2022.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. I would offer that as the next exhibit. Any objection? [No objection.] Okay. Are they subject to redactions?
MR. YANNETTI: Yes, we have redacted them. The Court can certainly take a look to make sure. Have you all agreed to the redactions?
JUDGE CANNONE: May we approach, just as to that?
MR. YANNETTI: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Before you took the stand today, did you go over your police report?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Were you looking for anything specifically?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: How long did you take to review that report between yesterday and today?
MR. GOODE: I scanned over it — a few minutes.
MR. YANNETTI: Sure. Have you spoken to anybody about your report?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: Nobody from the Canton Police?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: You recall that I had asked you about the fact that one name had not been completely spelled out — in terms of first name — right?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And you had, I believe, indicated that Sergeant Lank was the one that altered — or added — that to the report.
MR. GOODE: Not altered. So he was the one that got those names. When he entered his report, I believe he would enter those.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. So he entered that into your report. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Anybody writes a supplemental — if you have the authorization — can enter who you speak to, to add those names. I only spoke to Miss Roberts, Ms. Read, and Miss McCabe that morning.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. But the report has your name on it. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Did you speak to anybody from the prosecution — either Mr. Lally or Miss McLaughlin, or anybody else from that office — about this issue?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: You would agree with me that it is important when you're writing a police report to be transparent. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: You want to be clear. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: You do not want to mislead the reader into believing something that is not true. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Can I see P and Q for identification, please? Thank you, sir. May I approach, Your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: I'm showing you first P for identification — you identified that yesterday, correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: We went over with the jury the five bits of information that are up at the top of the report, starting with the incident number. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: You had indicated — again — incident 22-87?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Call 22-4449?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Date and time reported January 29th, '22 at 6:08?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And the report date and time was January 29th of '22 at 8:24 a.m.?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Reporting officer, Sergeant Sean Goode?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: I'd like to show you now what has been marked Q for identification. And you can hang on to P if you like. With regard to those bits of information — oh, first of all, let me have you identify Q for identification.
MR. GOODE: I'm sorry, yes. I'm reading Q. Okay.
MR. YANNETTI: What is Q for identification — Exhibit Q — what is the actual document?
MR. GOODE: We call this a face sheet.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And with regard to P for identification — that's also a face sheet. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: They appear to be nearly identical. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct, except I'm looking at the top right corner — one says 1-30-2022 and the next would be 10-25-2022. That is the print date of the report.
MR. YANNETTI: Correct. Okay. I don't know — so regardless of when those two face sheets had been printed, ignore that. With regard to the information about the incident number, the date of the report, the date of the incident, and the reporting officer — those appear to be identical. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Now with regard to P for identification — which is the first report that you were shown, and you were shown that yesterday, and now you have it in front of you — there is a photo on the right side of that report, is there not?
MR. GOODE: There is.
MR. YANNETTI: Do you know what that photo is of?
MR. GOODE: It looks like the scene, um, probably a couple days later when the snow had melted.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. Does it look like a berm that was actually exposed — uncovered — by the officers on scene the very first day?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Are we looking at Q?
MR. GOODE: No — at P. At P?
MR. GOODE: Yes. P. Yes. It looks like the berm.
MR. YANNETTI: Correct. And then with regard to Q for identification — which again is the face sheet with the identical information — is there a different photo?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: What does that photo appear to depict, if you know?
PARENTHETICAL: [parties approach sidebar]
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. — I'm sorry — just one moment. Before — you can ask questions while you wait for this.
MR. GOODE: It looks like the same area that Mr. O'Keefe possibly was found.
MR. YANNETTI: I believe both those documents — P for identification and Q for identification — those are actually your report. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct. But can I explain?
MR. YANNETTI: Mr. Lally will — I'm sure — let you explain. I'm at this point going to be asking the questions, if you don't mind. Your Honor, I would offer into evidence as full exhibits both P and Q for identification — just the face sheet. Is there an objection?
MR. YANNETTI: Yes.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. The objection — sustained. May we approach? Can I see those, please?
MR. YANNETTI: I'm just getting the exhibit that I need. I appreciate it. Right. While I'm waiting for that, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. Thank you.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay, I've placed a photo before you, Sergeant. Do you recognize what that depicts?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: What does it depict?
MR. GOODE: I believe that's a photo of a piece of a tail light.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And when you say a photo of a piece of a tail light — obviously referring to a piece of a tail light allegedly found at 34 Fairview Road in Canton?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Now that photo is the photo that is included in Exhibit Q for identification that you previously saw — right? That's the second photo, is it not, on the second face sheet that he gave me?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Yes. All right. And I'm showing you — if I may approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: What has already been marked in Exhibit 20A. Do you recognize that?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: What do
MR. GOODE: You recognize that to be — that's the berm from that morning.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay, and Exhibit 20A is the photo that was in the first version of your report, which was P for identification. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: I can take those back from you. Sir, can you — [unintelligible] — I'm sorry. With regard to the first photo that you identified, which was a piece of tail light that allegedly was found at 34 Fairview — that was a fair and accurate representation of that photo. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. May I offer that, Your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. There's no objection, Mr. Lally?
MR. YANNETTI: No, you're okay.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And I'm sorry, the exhibit number was 42.
JUDGE CANNONE: 42. Thank you.
MR. YANNETTI: May I publish 20A and 42 separately for the jury, Your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. 20A is — you've testified — the photo of the berm that was included in the first version of your police report, which was P for identification. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. Let's put up 42, please. I'm sorry, where is 42?
MR. GOODE: Right here.
MR. GOODE: Yes.
PARENTHETICAL: [court officer]
JUDGE CANNONE: : All rise. All right. So I thought you were going to cut them. Apparently you probably don't have scissors. Let's get these so that they're acceptable to go to the jury. I mean, this just came in with the whole report on it.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. Now, having seen those photos — one was included in P for identification, one was included in Q for identification. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Which you've previously identified as your report — report, I should say.
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. Your Honor, I would offer the top portion of P and Q for identification as full exhibits.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. And there's an objection—
MR. YANNETTI: Yes.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sure. Okay. It will come in. When the jury actually gets it, we'll have it on the same 9 by 12 paper that everything else is. Perfect. And all exhibits go through Madam Court Reporter, of course. So, jurors, I'm going to send you for five minutes. Okay. Close your notebooks. All follow me.
MR. YANNETTI: I'm sorry, this just came into evidence with the whole report, and that's not what you agreed to at sidebar. Right?
JUDGE CANNONE: I mean, I guess we didn't have scissors, but what I was going to do — because it's folded — all I was going to show the jury was the part that got in, but these are now in evidence. Understand?
MR. YANNETTI: Okay.
JUDGE CANNONE: And that can't happen. So fix them. Do we have scissors? Mr. Clerk, thank you. So why don't— —you fix them? Run them through a copy machine. All right. We'll take a five-minute recess. And actually, this is probably a good time for me to say — and it's not just the defense, it's not just the prosecution — but we're taking an awful lot of these jurors' time. Taking days and weeks. Let's not squander it by, you know, repetitive evidence or taking time like this that we shouldn't need to take. Okay? Let's move this case along. All right? All right. I'll be out in five minutes.
PARENTHETICAL: [recess]
COURT CLERK: Put back to session. You may be seated.
MR. YANNETTI: Can I have P and Q marked as the next exhibit in the trial?
COURT CLERK: Okay. Thank you.
MR. YANNETTI: And with the Court's permission, I'd like to display these one above the other.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. Sergeant Goode, you have previously testified about the details in these reports. You would agree that each of these reflects your report — it says "Reporting Officer, Sergeant Sean Goode." Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Each of these is page one of your report. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: You've previously testified that you call that the face sheet of the report. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Each of these has the identical incident number and call number. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: The identical date and time reported. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: The identical report date and time. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And of course, the identical officer.
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Other than the print date of the face sheet of your report — one appears to be in January, one appears to be in October — the major change is the photo that's included on the face sheet. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes. Can I explain why?
MR. YANNETTI: So, that second photo with the piece of tail light that is included on the first page of your report — that photo is not from January 29th of 2022. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: You never took a photo of a piece of tail light on January 29th of 2022. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: You never saw a piece of tail light at 34 Fairview on January 29th of 2022. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Did you personally switch the photo on the face sheet of your police report?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: Do you know who did?
MR. GOODE: So, whoever updated the report — they're — supplemental, you add photos, but you — when —
MR. YANNETTI: In answer to my question: do you know the specific person from your department who altered the photo on the face sheet of your report?
MR. GOODE: I didn't take the supplemental report, so I don't know.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. I don't know who took the photo. But given that this is your report — you're the reporting officer — you are responsible for the content of that report. Are you not?
MR. GOODE: For my report, yes. Not other officer supplementals to an investigation.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. But this is your report — this is the face sheet for the reporting officer, Sergeant Sean Goode. Is it not?
MR. GOODE: Yes, on the face sheet.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. Now, would you agree— —with me that someone reading this report and seeing that the date and time of the report is listed as January 29th of 2022 at 8:24 a.m. — that's when you wrote it. Correct?
MR. GOODE: That's when I logged in, yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Somebody reading that and seeing a photo of a piece of tail light might believe that that photo is from the same date that you're writing the report. Correct?
MR. LALLY: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. YANNETTI: You think it's misleading to include a photo on the face sheet of the report when the report is dated January 29th, 2022, and the photo is not from that day — it's from sometime later?
MR. LALLY: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. YANNETTI: Is there anything on what is now marked Exhibit 44 — on that face sheet— —that indicates the date and time that the photo on Exhibit 44 was taken?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: Is there anything on Exhibit 44 — that face sheet of your report — that indicates that it applies to some supplemental report that was later filed?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. YANNETTI: May I have a moment?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Nothing further. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Please take the exhibit down. And we need that exhibit, Mr. Yannetti.
MR. YANNETTI: Oh, yes, of course. We have two others as well.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. The exhibits are to remain up here with the clerk.
MR. YANNETTI: With the clerk. Yes.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. All right. Go right ahead, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. So, Sergeant Goode, turning back to some questions you were asked yesterday — in regard to Christopher Albert and whether— —or not he was a town selectman. Is that correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And he is currently. Is that correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And was he on January 29th of 2022?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. LALLY: So he was elected to the Board of Selectmen subsequent to the date that you've been talking about — January 29th, 2022. Correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, the location where you were directed to — where Mr. O'Keefe had been located just after 6:00 a.m. — where was that in relation to the property line between 34 Fairview Road and the home next door?
MR. GOODE: If I had a guess, probably 10 to 12 feet to the property line.
MR. LALLY: Now, you were asked some questions about having been to that residence at 34 Fairview Road prior, and you indicated— —that you had been there years ago with Sergeant Lank. Is that correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what was that in regard to, sir?
MR. GOODE: It was a hit-and-run investigation.
MR. LALLY: And who — if anyone — so, why were you at that residence at 34 Fairview?
MR. GOODE: So, there was a call for a motor vehicle crash at the corner of Dam Street and Washington Street, and the suspect vehicle had fled the scene. Officer Lank — it's my partner that day, that night — he followed the oil spill of the vehicle down Dam Street, up Cedarcrest, all the way down to the intersection of Cedarcrest to Fairview, and the oil spill actually drove into 34 Fairview, where we found the— — vehicle. And who, if anyone, did you through your investigation associate with operating that?
MR. LALLY: That would be Tim Albert?
MR. GOODE: Yes. And was Mr. Timothy Albert charged in reference to that incident?
MR. LALLY: Yes, he was. And do you know approximately when that was?
MR. GOODE: It was in 2009. I don't know the exact date, but I know the year.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as your report — you were asked a number of questions about that — and I'm sorry, before I get to that, you had testified earlier that when you were leaving the scene there was an amount of snow that had accumulated on your windshield, correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And after leaving the scene, what if anything happened with the snowfall throughout the course of the day?
MR. GOODE: Our windshield was completely covered. We had to take time to clear off the windshields. It snowed considerably.
MR. LALLY: And then following that, throughout the course of the rest of the day, in the afternoon, what if anything did you observe about the snowfall?
MR. GOODE: That it continually got worse.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as your report is concerned — what you were shown and what you've seen — has there been any change as far as your narrative in reference to who you talked to, what they said, anything of that effect?
MR. GOODE: No.
MR. LALLY: You've been asked a bunch of questions about what you called a face sheet. Can you explain to the jury what a face sheet is and sort of how that comes into being?
MR. GOODE: Easiest way — it's the top sheet of a report. It's not the actual meat of the report. It just gives you the date and time. Usually, if you can fit it on the front of the sheet, it would be the first party involved, there was a suspect defendant, and that's it. It would be their name, date of birth, social security number, all their personal information.
MR. LALLY: So as far as the meat of the report, it has no real relation to that, correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Now you were handed two exhibits — or two parts of a report — and you were told to ignore the date that they were printed, correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And so what, if any, significance would the dates that they were printed have in relation to what's on a face sheet?
MR. GOODE: So in this case there were supplemental reports done after the 29th, so those reports were added to my initial report. You can add a supplemental narrative, so if that includes meeting new people, talking to other people, or taking photos of anything you found, you would add that to your report and it would be documented in the supplemental.
MR. LALLY: And you have offered, I believe a couple of times, to explain to the jury sort of why a photo might be different from one face sheet when it's printed versus a subsequent date when the face sheet is printed. Can you explain to the jury at this time why that would be different?
MR. GOODE: So when that face sheet was printed, if photo number one was the top photo, and now there was a new photo added, that could now be the top photo on that face sheet when it was printed.
MR. LALLY: And would that be something someone would physically go in and do, or is that something that within the system automatically occurs, if you know?
MR. GOODE: I don't know how the system numbers the photos. So we added our photos on January 29th, and then any photos subsequent to that were added. I don't know how the software would put them one through twenty, or however many there were.
MR. LALLY: Nothing further.
MR. YANNETTI: If I might?
JUDGE CANNONE: Very briefly.
MR. YANNETTI: You had just talked about how Tim Albert was charged as a result of the investigation years ago, correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: The evidence in that case, you would agree with me, was strong against Tim Albert for that crime, was it not?
MR. GOODE: For leaving the scene? Yes, sure.
MR. YANNETTI: Sergeant Lank was actually able to follow the trail of fluid from the accident scene right to 34 Fairview, correct?
MR. GOODE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And Tim Albert admitted that he got nervous and left the scene, correct?
MR. GOODE: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: All right. Now despite the fact that he was charged, are you aware that the case was just flat out dismissed upon restitution?
MR. LALLY: Objection. Move to strike.
PARENTHETICAL: [unclear]
JUDGE CANNONE: ? Go ahead — from after the police reports.
JUDGE CANNONE: The objection is sustained. Ladies and gentlemen, you are to disregard that. All right, you're all set, sir. Thank you. Who is your next witness, Mr. Lally?