| Tracking devices malfunctioned February 12. 2004 Satellite tracking devices police covertly placed on Scott Peterson's vehicles malfunctioned at least four times, a fact a defense attorney used Wednesday to grill a prosecution expert. Peter Loomis, an engineer with Trimble Navigation, admitted that the tracking devices malfunctioned at times. But Loomis didn't back down from his opinion that data show that Peterson took trips to the Berkeley Marina and to Fresno. Wednesday's hearing was the first leg of legal wrangling over whether global positioning system evidence is reliable enough for use in California courts. Such evidence never has been admitted in a criminal trial in the state. Peterson's defense attorney Mark Geragos of Los Angeles wants vehicle-tracking evidence barred from the trial. Under his questioning, Loomis acknowledged that data police gathered from Peterson's vehicles: -Show separate components in the device simultaneously recording no motion and that the car was going 24 mph. -Recorded his vehicles traveling at speeds of 225 mph and 489 mph. -Show gaps of six minutes, five minutes and a few seconds while traveling respectively in Modesto, Fresno and the Bay Area. -Indicate the devices didn't function from Jan. 3 to Jan. 21, 2003, in a vehicle designated "Rover" - likely Laci Peterson's Land Rover. "It's baffling to me," Loomis said at one point. He confirmed that prosecutors had not shared all data with him. Loomis also said he has no experience testing GPS devices on vehicles. He said he has no qualms about the data showing Peterson's trips to the marina and to Fresno, but added when pressed, "As a commercial producer, I would hate to be selling devices with failure rates." Prosecutor Rick Distaso characterized the glitches as few and insignificant. During Wednesday's hearing, lawyers didn't discuss Peterson's reasons for the trips. However, Peterson has told detectives he launched his boat from the Berkeley Marina and fished alone in San Francisco Bay the day his wife disappeared. The bodies of mother and son were recovered along the shoreline four months later, about two miles from where he said he fished. The Fresno trip might have had something to do with Amber Frey, the Fresno massage therapist Peterson had an affair with shortly before Laci Peterson disappeared. It remained unclear Wednesday why prosecutors wanted the GPS evidence admitted, particularly after a police detective testified at Peterson's preliminary hearing that officers followed him to the bay three times. Ruth Jones, a professor at McGeorge School of Law and a former New York City prosecutor, said the move is risky. Forging into new legal territory with GPS devices could open another avenue for appeal, Jones said. "They have to weigh the importance of this evidence with the likelihood of raising an appellate issue," she said. "It's a difficult balancing act." Not much of a crowd at hearing Peterson, his hand on his chin, appeared contemplative for long stretches of the technical testimony. There were more than two dozen empty seats in the Redwood City courtroom for the afternoon session. Much of the discussion focused on whether the antenna that sends a signal to a satellite network was properly positioned. Loomis' company developed GPS technology that another company, Orion Electronics Ltd., used to produce tracking devices for police. Geragos repeatedly referred to a letter an Orion official sent to Modesto police. The official blamed the bad data on either a mal-positioned antenna or interference from other signals such as radar. Prosecutors want to keep secret where the tracking devices were hidden on Peterson's vehicles, arguing that that could compromise future investigations. Police placed the devices on at least three vehicles Peterson used between Jan. 3 and April 22, 2003. The judge will resume the motions hearing Tuesday with testimony from an Orion representative, followed by more questioning of Loomis. Gag order extended by judge Also Wednesday, Judge Alfred Delucchi decided to extend a gag order imposed on trial participants in June. Prosecutors filed documents opposing defense bids to sequester jurors and to have a separate jury decide if Peterson should receive the death penalty if convicted. In documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors opposed sequestration "because of the great toll it would take on jurors. ""To keep jurors away from their lives for months on end is not a wise choice," prosecutor Dave Harris wrote. Prosecutors also challenged the defense argument that jurors who are open to handing down the death penalty are too conservative to give Peterson a fair trial. Geragos made that argument in asking that a different jury decide Peterson's sentence, if necessary. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT AMBER EVIDENCE-NEWS |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| LACI & CONNER Pray For Justice |
 |
|
|