Day 10 - May 6, 2025

ADA Hank Brennan conducts redirect of Lt. Paul Gallagher to rehabilitate his testimony after cross-examination by Alan Jackson. Brennan walks Gallagher through his reasoning for not seeking Owl camera footage from Deputy Chief Kelleher's porch — Gallagher explains the cameras were motion-activated, aimed at the porch rather than the street, and would drain batteries quickly if pointed at the busy road. Brennan establishes that no witness ever reported O'Keefe was in a fight, that Gallagher never saw O'Keefe's body or wounds, and that the scene showed no footprints or drag marks beyond the street-to-body path. On the search warrant question, Gallagher defines probable cause and testifies he had no basis to seek a warrant for the Albert home — he was invited in, no one asked him to leave, and no information suggested O'Keefe had ever entered the house. Brennan addresses documentation concerns by noting Gallagher ordered video recording of the scene search and that three police cars had dash cams. On evidence handling, Gallagher states he saw no contamination or improper handling when transferring the blood cups to the criminalist.

In recross, Attorney Alan Jackson returns to Lt. Gallagher's redirect testimony about 'spitballing' — trying to figure out what happened — and uses Gallagher's own investigative principles against him. Jackson establishes that Gallagher did not separate or formally interview the occupants of 34 Fairview, did not know Brian Higgins was present at the house, did not secure Arlo camera footage, and never searched or sought a warrant for the Albert home. Gallagher offers his most detailed defense of the warrant decision, citing the absence of witness statements placing O'Keefe inside the house and his obligation not to mislead a judge, but Jackson counters with the physical evidence — a coatless, shoeless man found on the lawn with injuries consistent with a physical altercation — as potential grounds. The exchange ends with Jackson's staccato summary: no warrant sought, no house searched, no basement searched, no garage searched.

In a brief redirect consisting of a single substantive exchange, ADA Hank Brennan asks Lt. Gallagher whether he has ever learned any fact that would have justified searching the Albert home. Gallagher answers 'Not to this day.' Judge Cannone sustains an objection as to form and directs that a glass exhibit be entered into evidence. Gallagher is then dismissed, and Brennan prepares to call his next witness by requesting a video clip be played before the court breaks for sidebar.

Prosecution expert Robert Gilman, a meteorologist with over 45 years of experience and co-founder of Precision Weather Forecasting Inc., testified about weather conditions in the Canton, Massachusetts area from January 26-29, 2022. He described the January 29th storm as the biggest January storm in recorded history, producing 23.8 inches of snowfall with visibility as low as a quarter mile and wind gusts of 40-50 mph. Gilman detailed hourly snow accumulation rates, noting light snow began late on the 28th with only 0.2 inches, building to 3.9 inches by 6 a.m. on the 29th, then intensifying to moderate and heavy snowfall through the afternoon. He established that air temperatures during the early morning hours of the 29th dropped from 31°F at 1:30 a.m. to 24°F by 5:30 a.m., and that the ground had been frozen due to an unusually cold period preceding the storm.

Defense attorney Robert Alessi methodically walked meteorologist Robert Gilman through the hourly snowfall chart (Exhibit 64) to establish precise accumulation totals during the critical early morning hours of January 29, 2022. Gilman confirmed that by 1 a.m. only 0.5 inches had fallen, by 2 a.m. only 0.8 inches, and by 3 a.m. just 1.2 inches — compared to the storm's eventual 23.8-inch total. Alessi also established that road pre-treatment and warmer pavement could have reduced even those amounts. On visibility, Gilman reported 1.25 miles at 1 a.m., sufficient to see objects 30 feet away. On temperature, Gilman estimated that windchill with 23 mph average winds would have brought the low of 15°F down to roughly zero or 10 below zero.

ADA Lally conducted a brief redirect of meteorologist Robert Gilman, revisiting three points raised during cross-examination. Gilman confirmed that only 0.3 inches of snow fell between midnight and 1 a.m. — the least accumulation of the entire storm — characterizing it as the 'trace' stage with less than one inch on the ground. On visibility, Lally drew out that Gilman's 30-foot visibility estimate assumed no obstructions, and that buildings, vehicles, or fog could reduce it further. Finally, Gilman explained the origin and meaning of windchill, developed at the Natick labs in the 1950s to measure how wind makes air temperature feel to the human body. Defense declined recross.

ADA Hank Brennan systematically addressed points raised during cross-examination. He established that Canton police officers never entered the search grid, that neither Trooper Proctor nor Trooper Bukhenik was present at the scene, and that the person who emerged from 34 Fairview was outside for approximately 10 seconds and did not interfere with the search. Brennan clarified that Lt. Tully never suggested all evidence had been found, and that O'Hara offered to return because snow and grass conditions limited the search — 99% of which focused on the street due to plow concerns. Brennan concluded by walking the jury through exhibit photographs of recovered taillight pieces, emphasizing their position at ground level under undisturbed snow.

In a brief recross of 35 utterances, Attorney Alan Jackson revisited three points from the cross-examination. He confirmed that across 60 feet of methodical searching, the SERT team found only six or seven taillight pieces and a shoe concentrated within a 1-2 foot diameter — not the 40+ additional pieces later recovered. Jackson established that O'Hara did not find a black baseball cap and that the photographs shown to the jury depicted snow the team had already disturbed. He concluded by eliciting that Lt. Tully told O'Hara the vehicle was still en route at approximately 5:50 p.m., when in fact it had been secured at Canton PD — a mile and a half away — since 5:35 p.m. Judge Cannone then dismissed the witness and released the jury early, noting the trial was ahead of schedule.