Collision Course (A Josh Williams Novel)

by Joe Broadmeadow

  Chris retook her position in the witness box. As she sat, the juror she remembered leaned over to the juror next to him. A moment later, they both nodded toward Chris. Not sure if that is a good thing, but I better tell Hawk about this. Might be useful.

  "Good morning Lieutenant Hamlin."

  "Good morning sir"

  "Now, Lieutenant, I'd like to have you recall the moments just prior to encountering Mr. Machado. You heard a radio broadcast, is that correct?'

  "Well, we heard several but the one I believe you're referring was reporting a robbery with a shooting at the Cumberland Farms on Taunton Avenue."

  "Yes, my apologies, we will confine this to the radio traffic and your actions regarding the incident at the Cumberland Farms. Do you recall what information was broadcast?"

  "Yes I do. The dispatcher reported multiple calls for a robbery and shooting at the Cumberland Farms, Taunton Avenue. She broadcast a description of a suspect seen leaving the store, cautioning he was armed with a sawed-off shotgun."

  "Lieutenant, help me understand, what significance is there to multiple calls?"

  Chris smiled a moment, and then continued. "There is a distinct correlation between the number of calls, particularly for a critical incident as this, and the likelihood of it being true."

  "I see, so in this instance, the dispatcher reporting multiple calls made the incident more likely to be true, not another false call?"

  "Yes. I believed this call to be a real one."

  "And did the dispatcher provide a description of the suspect?"

  "Yes, the suspect was described as a black male, wearing a blue-hooded sweatshirt armed with a sawed-off-shotgun. Last seen running from the store to the Six Corners area."

  "I see. And where were you as this information was being sent out?"

  "Sergeant Williams turned onto Grove Avenue. As we came to the intersection of John Street, we spotted a person matching the description of the suspect."

  "How close a match, Lieutenant?"

  "There was no doubt in my mind this was the suspect."

  "So, you've spotted the suspect what do you do?"

  "Josh was already out of the car, the suspect turned away, running toward Saint Domenicks. I radioed into dispatch our location and the pursuit, and then went after Josh and the suspect."

  "If I may Lieutenant, go back a bit. When you saw the suspect, he fit the physical description correct?"

  "He fit it perfectly."

  "Did you see a weapon; I believe it was reported to be a sawed-off shotgun?"

  "No, I did not see a weapon, but such a weapon, a sawed-off, is easily concealed."

  "Easily, how easy can it be?"

  "Objection, calls for a conclusion,” Collucci said.

  "A conclusion by this seasoned police officer which, if I recall, you yourself made much of her vast experience."

  "Overruled," Rodericks made the extra effort to look at the jury, “the witness will answer the question."

  "Perhaps it would be helpful to explain what a sawed-off shotgun is, for those of the jury that may be unfamiliar with such weapons, Lieutenant?"

  Collucci started to stand, Fleming grabbed his arm, "Christ Robert, she's got thirty-three years on the job, not to drag up the ghosts of Viet Nam again, she's pretty well qualified to describe a sawed-off....."

  Collucci glared at Fleming, then back at Chris. "Fine, fucking fine," he muttered.

  Hawk saw a better road to follow.

  “A sawed-off shotgun is essentially one that has been altered, typically by shortening the barrel, sawing it off, thus the name. There are federal firearm standards that proscribe the legal length of a barrel. A shotgun is a devastating weapon, a sawed-off is even worse since it is easily concealed.

  "So Lieutenant, let me understand, the suspect fit the description, acted in a manner consistent with, in your experience, someone trying to avoid contact with the police, yet you did not see a weapon, but you acted as if he did, Why?"

  "It is how cops do their job every day; expect the worse, hope for the best. Mr. Bennett, cops all over this country survive to go home by that philosophy." Chris turned to look at the jury.

  "And the fact that the dispatcher reported the subject armed with a sawed-off shotgun, did that do anything to contribute to your decision to consider him armed?"

  "Yes," looking directly at the friendly juror, "he held his right hand under his sweatshirt, there was an awkwardness to his running, and I believed he carried a weapon concealed on his person. It was consistent behavior for someone hiding a sawed-off shotgun."

  "Couldn't his behavior have been consistent with something else?" Hawk trusted the instincts of the Lieutenant to follow his lead.

  "In a dynamic situation such as this, police officers are trained to do everything they can to apprehend the person with minimal force, while protecting themselves, the public, and the suspect as far as humanly possible. Their training teaches them to look at the totality of the circumstances as a guide to their actions. In this instance, there are several elements which, taken as a whole, lead to a reasonable conclusion that this was the suspect in a robbery and shooting.”

  "Could you be more specific?"

  "Certainly, the suspect fit the physical description broadcast by the dispatcher obtained from multiple witnesses, he ran from the police in spite of our clearly identifying ourselves and ordering him to stop, he held one arm concealed beneath his sweatshirt consistent with someone trying to hide an object, and a sawed-off shotgun could easily be concealed in such a manner. Taking all of that into consideration any officer would believe this to be a dangerous individual and act accordingly."

  It was apparent to all the jury was warming to Chris.

  "Now, Lieutenant, let me take you to the scene at the church. Josh radioed he was going in the front door after the suspect, correct?"

  "Yes, that is correct."

  "As a seasoned officer, did anything about his decision to enter the church in this manner seem inappropriate or against normal police procedures?"

  "Not at all, as I described earlier, this was a dynamic, dangerous situation. There is never one way to handle such matters. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to wait for additional manpower, in others, such as this one, the risk to innocent people that may have been inside the church, outweighed the choice to wait. It was common knowledge that the church welcomed parishioners inside during the day. Father Swanson himself was often in the church as well. Sergeant Williams’s decision to enter was reasonable when balanced against that risk."

  "Lieutenant, how long have you worked with Sergeant Williams?"

  I first worked with Sergeant Williams when he was a rookie patrol officer assigned the midnight to eight shift. I was his direct supervisor. Over the course of time, Sergeant Williams and I worked together many times. Now he is my assistant commander of the Special Investigations Unit. I selected him personally for that position."

  "And why was that Lieutenant?"

  "Because he is one of the most conscientious, dedicated, honest, determined, and caring officers I have ever worked with. I trust him with my Special Investigations Unit, which was my idea from the beginning, and I have trusted him many times with my life, and would not hesitate to do so again."

  Hawk watched the jury as they took in her testimony. The damage done by Collucci forgotten.

  "Now Lieutenant, turning your attention to the church, you testified that you heard the shots fired and then entered the church, is that correct?"

  "Yes, as I was making my way in the side entrance, I heard the shots and went into the church."

  "And as you entered the church, you saw Sergeant Williams, what was he doing?"

  "He was performing CPR on Mr. Machado."

  "And what did you do?"

  "I came over, bent down to assist, and then recognized that Mr. Machado was beyond saving."

  "Were you surprised to see Sergeant Williams doing CPR?"

  "Actually, I was relieve
d. Until I entered the church I didn't know if anyone was shot, I was afraid it may have been Sergeant Williams, so I was relieved."

  "Once you saw Sergeant Williams was okay, were you surprised he was performing CPR?"

  "Not at all, it's what I would have expected from Sergeant Williams."

  "Were you surprised Sergeant Williams was doing CPR on a black man?"

  "Objection, asked and answered," Collucci argued.

  "Your honor, this is a different question than the previous one, race goes to the very heart of this matter. I think it reasonable that Lieutenant Hamlin, through her long association with Sergeant Williams, can answer the question. And it is relevant to one of the very elements of the charge against Sergeant Williams."

  "Overruled, you may answer the question, Lieutenant." Rodericks reluctantly ruled.

  "I was not surprised at all. Sergeant Williams has never exhibited any racist attitude since I have known him. He'd perform CPR on anyone that needed it, regardless of the color of their skin"

  Collucci began to rise, then thought better of it. This Judge was not going to help him at all. He would find another way.

  "I have nothing further your honor." Retaking his seat, patting Josh on the back, Hawk smiled at the jury.

  Rodericks asked to have the jury taken to lunch.

  Once the jury was out of the courtroom, Rodericks could not resist one last shot at Chris. "Lieutenant Hamlin, in my twenty years on the bench I have never been more offended by such evasive, self-serving, insincere testimony by a police officer. I will be contacting the Department of the Attorney General to look into this matter on the state level, and should they find anything unlawful I will have the Justice Department review this testimony as well."

  Chris knew better but could not help herself, "Your Honor, I never lie, not in any courtroom or out in the real world. Frankly, I am offended you would make such a statement from the bench. I would welcome any inquiry from anyone into anything I have ever done as a police officer. If such an inquiry takes place, and the results come back that I did nothing unlawful, I would hope you'd be as quick to apologize." Standing slowly she walked toward the defense table, put her hand on Josh's shoulder as she passed by, and walked out of the courtroom.

  Rodericks was glaring, but unable to respond before the door closed behind her.

  Hawk smiled, noticed Rodericks looking at him, shrugged his shoulders, and continued organizing his notes.

  Rodericks motioned for the US Marshall to come to the bench, handed him a note, and sent him from the courtroom.

  Chapter 64: I Have a Complaint

  Rodericks came into the courtroom after lunch, loudly dropping his files onto the desk he said, "Gentlemen, please approach the bench, now!"

  Hawk looked over at Collucci, and then followed him to the bench.

  "I have been informed that Lieutenant Hamlin has filed a notice of complaint with the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court," looking at Hawk, "were you aware of any of this Mr. Bennett?"

  "No sir, your honor. I know she was upset about your comments from the bench but if she told me of her intentions I would have discouraged her from such a course." Hawk answered.

  "Well, if her intention was to intimidate me it failed. This trial will go on. I would suggest, Mr. Bennett, that it would be better for all concerned, particularly the defendant, if Hamlin did not appear in the courtroom for the remainder of the trial."

  Collucci could not help smiling at this little turn of events. Hamlin may have unintentionally turned the Judge to the government's side.

  "Well, your Honor, I can convey that message but I don't see how I can force her to comply. She's a rather determined individual."

  "And so are you Mr. Bennett, do your best to keep her from my court." Rodericks replied, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

  When Hawk returned to his seat he leaned over to Josh, "Our friend Chris decided to light a fire under the Judge."

  Josh looked confused.

  "She filed a complaint with the Circuit Court," taking in Josh's smile, "I am glad you find this amusing, this Judge is not a fan of ours. This isn't going to help."

  "You know what, fuck him," Josh answered. “The prick deserves it for what he said about her. I'm glad she did it."

  "Well, we'll see how glad you are when you're up there and he gets a shot at you. This isn't going to make it any easier."

  Collucci interrupted their conversation announcing, "The government calls Cheryan Pincince."

  The young woman entered the courtroom. She looked around nervously. The clerk motioned for her to come to the front of the courtroom. As she stood there taking the oath, she kept glancing over at Josh. Settling into the witness stand, she appeared terrified.

  Collucci walked to stand near her. "Now, Miss, would you please state your name and occupation for the record?"

  Cheryan glanced around and in a barely audible voice said, "My name is Cheryan."

  The clerk interrupted and asked her to speak louder.

  Rodericks looked over at her, "Young lady, there is nothing to be nervous about. Please speak loud enough so we can hear your answers. If you do not understand the question just ask them to clarify it for you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, sir," she replied gaining a little confidence and relaxing.

  "My name is Cheryan Pincince. I am eighteen years old. I am unemployed. I decided working at a convenience store is not for me. I am enrolled in a Certified Nursing Assistant program."

  "Thank you," Collucci said, "you are doing fine. Now I am going to ask you some questions about the incident at your former place of employment. Just answer as best you can, and like the Judge said, if you do not understand the question let me know and I will try to help you. Okay?"

  Cheryan nodded, and then quickly said, "Yes, I understand."

  Collucci could see the jury was taken by this young woman. He was going to make some major points with her.

  "Now Ms. Pincince, were you working at the Cumberland Farms, Taunton Avenue on March 15th of this year?"

  "Yes, I was"

  "How long have you been working there?"

  "I got there around 9 AM."

  "Ah, I mean, how long have you been employed there?"

  "Oh. About a year. I started right after my Sixteenth birthday."

  After Collucci took her through the preliminaries, he asked "Now on that day, did anything unusual happen?"

  "You mean beside Mr. Subedar and CK being shot?"

  Bits of laughter in the court until Rodericks' glare calmed the noise.

  "I will ask this another way, please describe when you first realized something was wrong?"

  Fleming shook her head at this performance. She thought. How does a person like this become the US Attorney? He cannot even do a decent job of questioning his own witness. Maybe it was time to consider a change.

  "Well, like I told the officers, I thought it was weird that CK was there. He and I never work at the same time."

  The response caught Collucci off-guard, "Okay, go on."

  "Then Mr. Subedar told me if anything went on I was to just hide behind the counter. That was really weird." She looked nervously at the jury then put her head down.

  Collucci was frustrated. "Okay, Ms. Pincince, let me try it this way. When did you first see Ventraglia and Machado enter the store?"

  "Well, first I saw Machado, I didn't know his name then," She began to answer, "I found out later they call him JoJo, but anyway he was wearing a blue hoodie and he was standing at the end of the parking lot looking up and down the street. He looked back at me and then started walking toward the store. That's when Ven…Ventrag…"

  "Ventraglia?" Collucci offered.

  "Yes. Ventraglia came in and yelled something. Mr. Subedar was at the end of one of the counters and he started yelling. I heard a shot and I dove down. I heard a real loud noise and then I heard CK yelling. Right after that, I heard another loud noise. I think it was the shotgun. Then the guy JoJo was on
top of me," Pincince started to sob, "he, he told me he wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

  Collucci nodded as he watched the jury, "Okay, now take your time. What did Machado, ah JoJo, do?"

  "Well, he got up and I heard him and Ventraglia saying something about getting the money. That's when Ventraglia saw me. He started to point the gun at me," pausing to take a breath, "JoJo told him to stop but he said 'the bitch is a witness'. Sorry, but that's what he said," looking up at the Judge.

  "That's fine, you just continue along. Don't worry about the words." Rodericks said.

  "JoJo was arguing. Telling him not to do it. JoJo grabbed the shotgun and hit Ventraglia. He went down to his knees. He came back up yelling and I saw JoJo karate kick him in the head. I think it knocked him out."

  "Okay, then what happened?"

  "JoJo came over and told me to run." She replied.

  "And what did you do?"

  "I ran, faster than I could even imagine." Bringing more laughter to the court.

  "Did you see JoJo after that?"

  "No, I just ran and called 911 on my cell phone. I wasn't even thinking straight. I ran up the street and then around the back of the store. I don't know why. As I was going by the store, a car came flying at me. I stopped; the car turned, jumped the curb, and hit a pole. The driver fell out and I realized it was Ventraglia. He was lying on the ground. I lost it. I ran over and started kicking him. I know I shouldn't have," shaking her head, sobbing, "but he tried to kill me. The cops got there and pulled me away."

  "No need to apologize, Ms. Pincince. I think we all might have reacted the same way," smiling at the jury.

  Fleming sat in her seat thinking, no, you would not. You don't have the balls. You would have shit your pants.

  "I have no further questions, your Honor."

  "Mr. Bennett, would it be a problem if we took a 20 minute recess to let the witness compose herself?" Rodericks asked.

  "Not at all your Honor, not at all."

  "Very well, 20 minute recess," banging the gavel. Pincince almost jumped out of her seat at the noise. Fleming came over and took the young girl to a conference room. Collucci ignored the gesture and continued writing notes.