Perri O'Shaughnessy - Presumption Of Death

“They told the Carmel police that the defendant had gone up to Robles Ridge the night before-”

“The night of the fire?”

“Yes. Carrying a backpack with equipment, accompanied by another young man named Danny Cervantes. Based on that, we were working on the theory that the burn victim was either Willis Whitefeather or Danny Cervantes. Also that these two gentlemen had perpetrated the arson fire on the ridge.”

“What did you do next?”

“Well, we advised Mr. Whitefeather’s mother that we needed her assistance in viewing the body, but she couldn’t fly in right away. It took another day to get ahold of Mr. Cervantes’s uncle here and he was the one who made the final ID, but as of the day after the fire, we didn’t know which one of them might still be alive. Neither of them had local dentists and we would eventually have been looking for those records at Lake Tahoe, where both of them were originally from.”

“While you were waiting for a family member to make this ID, what, if any, other avenues of investigation did you pursue?”

“We started calling every hospital and clinic in Monterey County. The CVPD was continuing to search the fire area, so I was assisting by trying to determine if the other individual involved in the fire might have also been burned and needed medical help.”

“And did you locate anyone in this way?”

“No. I then made the assumption that the one who survived might have been able to flee the jurisdiction and I put out a request to surrounding counties up to Santa Clara County for information as to hospital and clinic admissions.”

“Object to the characterization implied by the use of the word flee, Your Honor. Lack of foundation,” Nina said.

Salas looked up, displeased. “You’ll have your chance to cross-examine. There’s no jury here, Counsel. I can separate the wheat from the chaff. Overruled.”

“And did this inquiry bear any fruit?”

“Almost right away. I got a call on Thursday evening from the Las Flores Medical Clinic in San Juan Bautista, about fifty miles from the fire site. The admissions clerk advised that Willis Whitefeather had checked in there on the morning after the fire and had just checked out. Apparently he had fled the county and was hiding there. I had her fax me the admissions form-”

Nina’s finger moved to her copy of that form, signed in Wish’s crabbed hand-

“And he had given an emergency name and number of his employer, Paul van Wagoner Investigations. I determined Mr. van Wagoner’s home address-”

Paul whispered, “Ask him how he did that!”

“Shhh!”

“-and my partner and I proceeded immediately to the address in Carmel Knolls, with a CVPD car for backup. I knocked at the door.

“The door was answered by this lady here, Ms. Reilly. She would not let us enter and she returned a minute later with Mr. van Wagoner. They were putting us off, and I became suspicious.”

“Then what happened?”

“I continued to ask if Mr. Whitefeather was in there and finally he came to the door. He was wearing a towel and I saw burns on his arms and legs. He said he would cooperate and had nothing to hide and agreed to come to the station to meet Detective Crockett. Ms. Reilly insisted on coming along and showed me a State Bar card and said she was his lawyer, so I said okay. Mr. Whitefeather was taken to the station with Ms. Reilly following in her vehicle.”

“What happened then?”

“Detective Crockett interviewed the defendant. Then I was called in to place the defendant in custody pursuant to Detective Crockett’s arrest. By then it was almost midnight. I then took the defendant to the jail facility, where he was booked.”

“Thank you. Nothing further.”

“Your witness,” Salas said.

“Good morning, Deputy Grace.” Nina spoke from her place at the table.

“Good morning.” The deputy crossed his legs, maybe to show she didn’t unnerve him at all.

“You were trying to determine the identity of this burn victim found on the ridge?”

“Correct.”

And you assumed it must be Mr. Whitefeather or Mr. Cervantes?”

“Correct.”

“What made you assume it had to be one or the other?”

“Because we had the report that the two of them went up the ridge that night.”

“And so you were also assuming no one else did?”

“Not necessarily. We just had this report on these two.”

“So it’s possible one or more other people were up there?”

“There’s no evidence of that.”

“But it’s possible?”

“Sure.”

“Now, you also assumed Mr. Whitefeather and Mr. Cervantes set the fires, is that correct?”

“That was our working theory. We had a witness report on a previous fire that two men were involved.”

“Did you consider that someone else might have set the fire, and these two young men were trying to catch him?”

“No. We didn’t have any evidence of a third party, as I have stated.”

“Other than a report from some other incident that there might be two men, what evidence do you have that these men set the fire on the ridge?”

“The witness report in the second fire reported that one of the suspects was dropped off on Siesta Court in Carmel Valley Village, which is where Mr. Cervantes lived, which in my mind linked him to at least the second fire. Mr. Cervantes died in the third fire. So he was present. He went with Mr. Whitefeather. I have read Detective Crockett’s report and I am aware that the defendant admitted he was there. Bottom line, it was late at night on a deserted mountain and an arson fire was in progress and the defendant was there. He exhibited burns consistent with flame burns, as if he’d been caught in a wildfire.”

“Any other evidence?”

“Detective Crockett’s interview-”

Jaime intervened. “Your Honor, since Detective Crockett is the next witness, it would be better for him to testify directly regarding additional evidence developed by the Arson Investigation Unit.”

“Counsel?” Salas said.

“Sounds fine to me,” Nina said. “Oh, by the way, Deputy, when you came to Mr. van Wagoner’s door, did you have an arrest warrant?”

“No, ma’am. We only wanted to question-”

“Was I obligated in some way to allow you inside the home?”

“Not legally, ma’am, no.”

“And did Mr. Whitefeather in any way attempt to resist or flee?”

“No, ma’am.”

“And was he in any way uncooperative?”

“No, ma’am. You were the one who was uncooperative. You advised him not to say anything.” Nina heard a ripple of laughter behind her.

“How did you get Mr. van Wagoner’s home address?”

“We have it on file.”

“Now, you said that you got a call from the Las Flores Clinic that Mr. Whitefeather had been hiding there?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You assumed he was fleeing police?”

“It was my working theory.”

“How do you know he was hiding?”

“Well, there were plenty of places to get medical treatment closer than fifty miles away.”

“Is the Las Flores Clinic a private clinic?”

“No, ma’am, it’s part of the San Benito County system.”

“Did Mr. Whitefeather use an assumed name?”

“No. He used his real name.”

“Did he use a fake emergency name and number?”

“No, since it led us to him.”

“Did he have genuine injuries?”

“It appeared he did.”

“Is there any indication he stayed unnecessarily long at the clinic?”

“Not that I know of.”

“And as soon as he was discharged, he returned to the county?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is that the usual behavior of a fleeing felon?”

“Objection,” Jaime said. “Calls for a conclusion. Calls for an opinion. Speculation.”