Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveNicholas Barros - Direct
261 linesJUDGE CANNONE: And the next witness is who? Who's the next witness? Just tell me the name, because I need to know whether we need to go to sidebar first. Response inaudible — witness name not captured Thank you.
COURT CLERK: Raise your right hand. [Oath — largely inaudible] ...the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you? NEW WITNESS: I do. [unintelligible]
JUDGE CANNONE: Good afternoon. All right, Mr. Jackson, you are all set.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you, your honor. Good afternoon, sir. How are you?
MR. BARROS: Good afternoon, sir.
MR. JACKSON: Could you please state your full name? Spell your last name for the jurors, please.
MR. BARROS: Nicholas Barros. B-A-R-R-O-S.
MR. JACKSON: And where do you currently work?
MR. BARROS: The town of Dighton. Dighton Police Department.
MR. JACKSON: How long have you worked for the Dighton Police Department, sir?
MR. BARROS: Since 2011.
MR. JACKSON: And what's your position there currently?
MR. BARROS: Currently, I am a sergeant.
MR. JACKSON: What's your duty assignment as a sergeant? What do you do?
MR. BARROS: I supervise the 4 to midnight shift.
MR. JACKSON: We'll get to that in a little bit more detail in just a second. Couple of more foundational questions. How long have you been a police officer altogether?
MR. BARROS: Since 2011, so going 14 years.
MR. JACKSON: And what education and training and background do you have that qualifies you to do your duties as a sergeant, a supervisor at the Dighton Police Department?
MR. BARROS: I completed the police academy. I hold a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. I've been to many trainings as a police officer and as a supervisor.
MR. JACKSON: When did you get your bachelor's degree?
MR. BARROS: 2012.
MR. JACKSON: Is the Dighton Police Department an autonomous police department for the city? In other words, is it a branch of, say, for instance, Massachusetts State Police, or is it an autonomous department?
MR. BARROS: It's on its own.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. It's not in any way connected to the Canton Police Department, I presume.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Is it in any way connected to the Massachusetts State Police Department?
MR. BARROS: It is not.
MR. JACKSON: As a supervisor, are part of your duties to oversee subordinate officers in their daily fare, whatever that may be?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Does that include anything having to do with crime scene investigation to an extent? Witness interviews?
MR. BARROS: No, that would be the detective bureau.
MR. JACKSON: What about working in and coordinating with detectives? To an extent, collection of evidence or working with detectives as they collect evidence?
MR. BARROS: They would collect evidence, maintaining crime scene protocols, things of that nature.
MR. JACKSON: All right. As a sergeant with the Dighton Police Department, are you a trained observer?
MR. BARROS: I am.
MR. JACKSON: Would you consider all of your subordinates, the patrol officers, day-to-day officers, are they also trained observers?
MR. BARROS: They are.
MR. JACKSON: Is that part of policing?
MR. BARROS: It is.
MR. JACKSON: Describe that a little bit for the jurors so we understand.
MR. BARROS: In the police academy, we're told to watch everything. It's heads on a swivel. We are always looking because we don't know what the unknown is.
MR. JACKSON: When you say you don't know, is it true that you don't necessarily know what might become relevant later that may be needed in court?
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: I want to draw your attention to January of 2022, a few years ago. January 29th, 2022. Did you — you personally — did you have any personal relationship with the Canton Police Department?
MR. BARROS: I did not.
MR. JACKSON: Did you have any personal relationship with a trooper from the Massachusetts State Police named Michael Proctor?
MR. BARROS: I did not.
MR. JACKSON: Do you have any relationship with a person by the name of Brian Higgins, an ATF agent?
MR. BARROS: I did not.
MR. JACKSON: Do you have any relationship with a Boston police officer known as Brian Albert?
MR. BARROS: I do not.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know any of the witnesses or individuals involved in an ongoing investigation related to the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe?
MR. BARROS: I did not.
MR. JACKSON: On January 29th, 2022, did you receive some sort of a call to respond to a particular location? I don't want the address of the location. We'll get to that in a second. Did you receive some sort of a call in the afternoon?
MR. BARROS: I did.
MR. JACKSON: Describe that for the jurors, please.
MR. BARROS: Around 2:30 in the afternoon, I received a call from the troopers assigned to the Norfolk County DA's office in regards to a vehicle that was at a residence in the town of Dighton.
MR. JACKSON: What were you asked to do? Why did you get that call?
MR. BARROS: The troopers said that they were coming into my jurisdiction and, as a courtesy, they wanted me to respond with them.
MR. JACKSON: Is that sort of normal protocol? If you go into somebody else's jurisdiction, you let them know.
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: So that was not necessarily unusual.
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: About what time did you receive that first call?
MR. BARROS: The first call was around 2:30 in the afternoon.
MR. JACKSON: Were — are logs kept of those kinds of things? If you get a call, you respond to a location.
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: At some point after you received that first call, did you receive any other call specifying a time of arrival for the MSP troopers? Anything like that?
MR. BARROS: I did.
MR. JACKSON: Describe that for us.
MR. BARROS: I got a second call around 3:00 p.m. from Trooper Michael Proctor stating that he was about 10 minutes away from the address in Dighton.
MR. JACKSON: At the point that you spoke with Michael Proctor, had you ever spoken to him in your professional or personal capacity ever before?
MR. BARROS: Never.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know the name? Did you know who he was?
MR. BARROS: I did not.
MR. JACKSON: Complete stranger.
MR. BARROS: Complete stranger.
MR. JACKSON: What time did you actually arrive at the residence?
MR. BARROS: I arrived at the residence. I believe it was 3:27 p.m.
MR. JACKSON: Sergeant Barros, I don't want the address. Cameras are rolling. Did you respond specifically to a residence in the city of Dighton?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you at that time know who lived at that residence, who resided there?
MR. BARROS: I did.
MR. JACKSON: How did you know that?
MR. BARROS: Earlier in the shift — when I came on at 8:00 a.m., the midnight shift, the outgoing shift — had told me that a resident of Dighton at that address had called looking for a ride to Brockton Hospital.
MR. JACKSON: Who did you know at that time, or who did you believe at that time, to live at the address that you are now responding to?
MR. BARROS: William Read.
MR. JACKSON: That was Read, R-E-A-D.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Did you know anything about his daughter at that time, or did you just know the name William Read?
MR. BARROS: I just knew William Read, the name.
MR. JACKSON: At the time that Michael Proctor called you, did he say anything about what his intentions were once he arrived at the location?
MR. BARROS: Yes. His intention was to retrieve a vehicle that he said was involved in a homicide.
MR. JACKSON: Did he specifically say to you at 3:00-ish in the afternoon he intended to seize the vehicle?
MR. BARROS: I believe the first phone call — that was his intention, meaning all the way back to 2:30. 2:30 is when he first called me and said that they were coming to Dighton to retrieve a vehicle that occurred at a homicide in Canton.
MR. JACKSON: And you understood that to mean what? Retrieve a vehicle. Seize. Thank you. What was your role once you arrived at the scene at the Read household?
MR. BARROS: My role was — Trooper Michael Proctor asked me to facilitate a tow, to tow that vehicle.
MR. JACKSON: Was that a private tow company?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And when you say "facilitated tow," what does that mean?
MR. BARROS: He asked who we used for towing vehicles, and during that period of time it was Diamond Towing.
MR. JACKSON: Did Diamond Towing ultimately show up, a representative of that tow company, with a tow truck?
MR. BARROS: They did.
MR. JACKSON: A flatbed?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Who was with Trooper Proctor when you arrived at the scene?
MR. BARROS: Sergeant Bukhenik.
MR. JACKSON: Had you ever met Sergeant Bukhenik before?
MR. BARROS: Never.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know him?
MR. BARROS: Nope.
MR. JACKSON: Do you know him professionally or personally?
MR. BARROS: Never.
MR. JACKSON: Had you ever spoken to him?
MR. BARROS: Never.
MR. JACKSON: I'm so sorry. It's getting late in the day and I'm going too fast. Sorry. My fault. Let's start that just a little bit slower. Did you know him?
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: Had you ever spoken to him before?
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: Had you ever heard his name before?
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: No relationship whatsoever?
MR. BARROS: None.
MR. JACKSON: Same with Trooper Proctor.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Once you arrived at the residence, did you have an opportunity to see the vehicle that was the focus of Trooper Proctor and Sergeant Bukhenik's attention?
MR. BARROS: Yes. Once I arrived and I parked my cruiser at the end of the driveway, I observed a black Lexus SUV in the driveway.
MR. JACKSON: What were you driving?
MR. BARROS: I was driving a Ford F-150 police cruiser.
MR. JACKSON: A police cruiser. That's a Ford F-150.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: They have those?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Cool. Were you in full uniform?
MR. BARROS: Full uniform.
MR. JACKSON: Gun, badge, the whole works?
MR. BARROS: The whole works.
MR. JACKSON: Did you ever go inside the house briefly? What was the circumstance of going inside the house?
MR. BARROS: I went inside to let the troopers know that the tow truck operator was there, and I also went in to ask how we were going to get the tow truck into the driveway because there was about a foot of snow.
MR. JACKSON: Okay, that sort of answers my next question. Did you see whether or not Trooper Proctor and Sergeant Bukhenik actually did go inside the residence?
MR. BARROS: Yes, they did.
MR. JACKSON: For the bulk of the time that they were in the residence, where were you?
MR. BARROS: Outside the residence.
MR. JACKSON: Were you with the black SUV?
MR. BARROS: I was in the garage, speaking to the defendant's mother.
MR. JACKSON: The defendant's mom?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Janet?
MR. BARROS: Okay.
MR. JACKSON: Yes. Where was the SUV at this point?
MR. BARROS: In the driveway.
MR. JACKSON: Did you have an opportunity to see the SUV?
MR. BARROS: I did.
MR. JACKSON: Did you walk all the way around it?
MR. BARROS: Not all the way around.
MR. JACKSON: Did you see the rear end of it?
MR. BARROS: I did.
MR. JACKSON: Did you make note of the rear end of it?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: How long would you say you were at the location in a position to observe the rear end of that SUV? 2 minutes, 20 minutes, something in between, longer?
MR. BARROS: I would say longer. Not the entire time that I was there, but a good amount of time. More than a glance.
MR. JACKSON: Yes. This is the afternoon of January 29th, 2022.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Before the vehicle had been seized formally by Trooper Proctor and Sergeant Bukhenik.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Did you observe anything of note about the rear end of that black SUV?
MR. BARROS: Yes. I noted in a report that there was damage to the tail light.
MR. JACKSON: Can you describe for the jurors — what? By the way, which tail light are we talking about?
MR. BARROS: The right rear tail light.
MR. JACKSON: Can Can you describe for the jurors what you noted in terms of the damage to the right rear tail light?
MR. BARROS: I noted in the report that there was right rear damage to that tail light.
MR. JACKSON: When you say damage, have you ever described that damage previously?
MR. BARROS: I have.
MR. JACKSON: Can you tell us what that description is?
MR. BARROS: There was — it was damaged. The tail light was damaged, but there was a crack missing, but it was not completely damaged.
MR. JACKSON: When you say there was a crack, do you mean there was a piece missing?
MR. BARROS: A piece was missing.
MR. JACKSON: Can you describe for the jurors kind of what that piece looked like? How big it was? How small? The shape, as you call it?
MR. BARROS: The piece was about maybe this big — is that maybe the size of a dollar bill? Maybe 6 inches.
MR. JACKSON: 6 inches. And how wide?
MR. BARROS: Maybe that wide. Maybe three inches. Two inches. Somewhere in there.
MR. JACKSON: I want to show you a photo, your honor. With the court's permission, I would like to show Exhibit 13. It's been previously marked. Do you see what's depicted in this photograph?
MR. BARROS: I do.
MR. JACKSON: What does that appear to be? Just generally.
MR. BARROS: The right rear tail light of — what?
MR. JACKSON: The Lexus SUV.
MR. BARROS: Is that consistent with the black Lexus SUV that you saw at the Read residence? That was the black Lexus. That was not the tail light the day I was there.
MR. JACKSON: Can you do me a favor, Mr. Woll? With the court's permission, could we zoom in on the right rear tail light, please? Okay. Do you see the condition of that tail light as it's depicted in this photo?
MR. BARROS: I do.
MR. JACKSON: Sergeant Barros, is this the condition of the right rear tail light when you showed up at the Read residence at around 3:15 in the afternoon on January 29th, 2022?
MR. BARROS: Absolutely not.
MR. JACKSON: What's different about this photo, sir?
MR. BARROS: That tail light is completely smashed out.
MR. JACKSON: Does it appear that there are additional pieces of tail light that are removed from this tail light condition than when you saw it at the Read residence?
JUDGE CANNONE: Objection. Sustained. Ask it differently, Mr. Jackson.
MR. JACKSON: Of course. Describe specifically — other than the fact that it's different — describe in detail for the jurors what is different about this tail light as it's photographed here.
MR. BARROS: That middle section was intact when I was there. Towards that right side where that large chunk is, that's what was missing.
MR. JACKSON: I'm going to hand you a green laser pointer if you can. There's two displays — one monitor directly in front of you and one to your right. If you could use the one to your right, it's a little easier on the jurors. Describe what's different about that tail light. Can you — can you see that? So, this area was intact. This is what I saw was missing here. May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: If the entire tail light had been broken out as it's depicted in this photograph, would you have made note of that?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Do you believe you would remember if the tail light — well, let me ask it a different way. The piece that you saw missing but not completely damaged — is the reason that you use the phrase "not completely damaged" to highlight the fact that there was still more tail light attached to the vehicle than is depicted in this photo? We can take this down. As you sit here and recall back to your observations — and you observe this over the course of how long would you say? How many minutes?
MR. BARROS: Probably 20 minutes or so.
MR. JACKSON: You actually wrote a report about this, correct?
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: And you documented your observations, correct?
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: In your documented observations, did you use the phrase "cracked but not completely damaged"?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: You've testified previously.
MR. BARROS: I have — about a year ago. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you use the phrase "cracked but not completely damaged"?
JUDGE CANNONE: Objection sustained. Mr. Jackson.
MR. JACKSON: Ultimately, was the black Lexus SUV towed and cleared from the scene?
MR. BARROS: It was.
MR. JACKSON: Is it your responsibility or part of your responsibility to log the time that things like this happen? Like for instance, the SUV is taken away, when you clear from the scene?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: What time was that, when you cleared the scene?
MR. BARROS: I believe it was 4:17 p.m.
MR. JACKSON: Suffice it to say, that SUV was not seized at a later time. Correct?
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Was not seized at 5:30 p.m.?
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: I'd like to show you another exhibit if I could. This is Exhibit 105. Do you recognize this scene generally?
MR. BARROS: I do.
MR. JACKSON: What do you recognize it as being?
MR. BARROS: This is the Read residence.
MR. JACKSON: Do you see some vehicles in that still shot on the video?
MR. BARROS: I do.
MR. JACKSON: Describe what you see.
MR. BARROS: That tow truck is Diamond — Diamond Towing. And that other vehicle that's at the rear of that tow truck is the Lexus SUV.
MR. JACKSON: If we could, with the court's permission, zoom in — it's high on the screen.
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: What's that?
MR. BARROS: The vehicles are high on the screen as we're looking at it.
MR. JACKSON: Could we zoom in to the top left portion of the screen? Okay. Can we play this video?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you, your honor. Can you see what's depicted in the still image of that video right now?
MR. BARROS: I can.
MR. JACKSON: I ask you if you'll turn to your right. Concentrate on this area — this area here. Do you see what's depicted in that still image?
MR. BARROS: I do.
MR. JACKSON: Does that appear to be a tail light?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Does it look clear? Does it look like it's shining red?
MR. BARROS: Looks clear.
MR. JACKSON: The portion that is intact, does that appear to be brighter red?
MR. BARROS: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: And in the photograph that I just showed you a second ago, is that red portion there?
MR. BARROS: Can you rephrase that?
MR. JACKSON: Sure. Sure. Let's go back. You see the red?
MR. BARROS: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: All right. Is that the condition of the tail light as you saw it on January 29th, around 3:15 or 3:30 when you got to the location?
MR. BARROS: It was.
MR. JACKSON: Let's go back to the other exhibit, please. Exhibit 13. Can we zoom in, please? Can you see that this entire area is now missing?
MR. BARROS: I can.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. Ask it differently.
MR. JACKSON: Sure. The area that I'm circling here — do you see any red lens in that area?
MR. BARROS: No.
MR. JACKSON: Is this photograph consistent with the condition of the tail light as you saw it on January 29th, 2022, at just after 3:00?
MR. BARROS: Absolutely not.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you. Lights, please. Thank you, Mr. Woll. Thank you.