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, 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 immediately sustains an objection to the question as to form and directs that a glass exhibit be entered into evidence. Gallagher is then dismissed.

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. and agreed that a person 30 feet from an object could see it only with all other things being equal; he said he would not expect a broadcast meteorologist to call visibility below 1.5 miles good. On temperature, Gilman offered an uncalculated estimate that it may have felt like zero to 10 below zero at the lowest temperature and highest wind gusts, saying he was guessing.

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.

On redirect, Hank Brennan asked Kevin O'Hara about who entered the SERT search grid, the absence of Proctor and Bukhenik, the person who briefly came outside 34 Fairview, the team's offer to return, and search limits caused by snow, grass, darkness, and concern about later plowing. O'Hara said he did not see anyone place an item on or physically enter the grid; said the person outside did not interfere with or impede the search; and said he did not see Proctor or Bukhenik at Fairview while he was there. He testified that the team warned Tully it might not have found all the evidence, offered to return, focused most of its work on the street, and stopped when snow over grass could not be cleared adequately. Brennan also displayed photographs of recovered pieces. O'Hara identified one item as photographed where it was found touching the ground and described the searched area at arrival as fresh, undisturbed snow.

On recross, Jackson asked O'Hara to compare the team's search with a 40-piece premise. O'Hara agreed the team found six or seven pieces and a shoe in a concentrated area, but said he did not know the overall number later located. He confirmed the team did not find a black baseball cap and that the snow shown in the photographs had been moved by the team. Jackson then asked whether Tully had told him the vehicle had been secured at Canton PD by 5:35 p.m.; O'Hara said Tully had not said that and that O'Hara did not know when the vehicle arrived. O'Hara said Tully told him he lacked a photograph sometime after the first piece was found, after 5:45 p.m.