3.James Geiger — Direct/Cross
197 linesJUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.
State, you may call your first witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: State calls James Geiger.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Geiger, please raise your right hand.
(Oath administered)
JUDGE EVERETT: You may take your seat. Please speak loudly and clearly. You can adjust the microphone if you need to.
whereupon, JAMES GEIGER called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Good morning, Mr. Geiger.
JAMES GEIGER: Good morning.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Please spell your name for the court reporter.
JAMES GEIGER: First name James, J-a-m-e-s. Middle initial W. Last name Geiger, G-e-i-g-e-r.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Mr. Geiger, do you live here in Tallahassee?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes, I do?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Where do you live?
JAMES GEIGER: I live on Trescott Drive in Tallahassee.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long have you been living on Trescott Drive?
JAMES GEIGER: I think it's about 45 years now.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, without objection, I'll move into evidence State's l.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 1 is admitted.
(State's Exhibit 1 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Permission to publish by way of the laptop?
JUDGE EVERETT: You may.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Did you used to have a neighbor by the name of Dan Markel?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: when was that?
JAMES GEIGER: well -- restate the question.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: When did Mr. Markel live next door to you?
JAMES GEIGER: Oh, well, it was -- he died nine years ago, and he had been there about five years before that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And where in relation to your home did Mr. Markel live?
JAMES GEIGER: He was my next-door neighbor.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So if we're looking at this photograph right here, which one is your home?
JAMES GEIGER: The one on the right is my home. The one on the left was Danny's.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So that driveway there with the vehicle in the driveway, is that -- would that have been Mr. Markel‘s driveway?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes, it would.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Can you tell us about something that occurred back on July 18th of 2014?
JAMES GEIGER: On that morning, my wife and I were sitting in our living room, which looks out over Trescott Drive here, and we were working with an iPad on a couch. And we heard a noise, a loud bang. We weren't sure what it was. And I quickly got up to see what might have caused that noise.
And there had been at the time some burglaries in the area, and I was concerned that perhaps that had been a burglary attempt. And so as I approached -- we have a large window looking out on the street. And as I got to the window, I looked to the left and to the right because I wasn't sure where the noise came from. But on my right, as I looked out, I saw a car quickly back up out of the driveway and then head towards Betton Road very rapidly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Let me interrupt you for just a moment.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, if there's no objection, I'd like to introduce State's 2 and 3 at this time.
JUDGE EVERETT: Defense?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 2 and 3 are admitted at this time.
(State's Exhibit 2 & 3 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish 2, please?
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. So is this the view you had from your window looking out toward Mr. Markel's drive?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes. That's correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And you say you saw a vehicle backing up out of his driveway?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What type of vehicle was it?
JAMES GEIGER: Well, it -- I caught it out of the corner of my eye, so it was not -- I didn't look at it real hard, but it looked like a Prius to me. Looked like a silver or white-colored Prius.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Anything about the way it backed out? Did it do that normally or something else?
JAMES GEIGER: It just went very quickly, and that's what caught my attention.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And which way did it go after it backed out of the drive there?
JAMES GEIGER: As it backed out of the driveway, it headed to the right which was towards Betton Road.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Were you able to see the occupants of the vehicle?
JAMES GEIGER: No, I couldn't see inside.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you do anything to further investigate the situation?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Could we publish 3, please?
JAMES GEIGER: well, as I said, I had -- I was concerned that -- we had heard that there had been some burglaries in the area, and so I thought that I would walk next door to see if that might have been what happened. And as I approached Danny's house, I noticed that the garage door was up and his car was in the garage and it was running.
And so I stopped and -- almost as I got to the garage, and I thought, well, so much for a burglary. If he's getting ready to leave, it wasn't anything like that, and so there must not be a problem. And I turned around and went back to my house at that point.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. What about once you got back inside the house? Did you do anything else?
JAMES GEIGER: Yeah. I -- as I got back in, I kind of stood right at this window, and why I'm not sure, but I just thought I would stand there for a minute or two and wait for him to go ahead and back out and leave. And after maybe three or four or five minutes, he hadn't backed out yet.
And I said to my wife, I said, "Something seems wrong to me. I don't know what it is. Danny hasn't left yet. I think I'm gonna walk back over there and check things out." And so that's what I did was to walk back over again.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what happened when you got over there?
JAMES GEIGER: well, as I got back over, the garage door was still up. The car was still in the garage. It was still running. And I thought perhaps, then, that maybe he was on a phone and was simply staying there while he had his phone conversation. But, again, I just wasn't quite sure, and I said to myself, Well, I'm gonna walk on into the garage and make sure everything's okay. And --
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Mr. Geiger --
JAMES GEIGER: -- that's what I did.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: -- in the five years or so that you'd lived next door to Mr. Markel, had you ever had an occasion to go over there and check on him before?
JAMES GEIGER: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So he probably sat in his driveway talking on the phone before right?
JAMES GEIGER: He may have. I don't know. He was in the garage this time. I wouldn't have known if he was there or not.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. But for whatever reason, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up this time?
JAMES GEIGER: I don't know that they stood up, but it was just something that said I need to check it out.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So what happened when you got over there?
JAMES GEIGER: well, I -- as I said, I decided I would walk on into the garage. I felt a little awkward doing that, but I walked on in, and I looked at the driver's side window, and it was busted out. And I -- at that point I recalled stepping on glass. And as I looked in, then I could see a man's head, and it -- bloody and was looking through -- part of the glass was still there from the driver's side window, and a part of it was blown out. And I looked inside, and I saw a head. It was bloody, and it was moving back and forth slowly.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Mm-hmm. And was it Mr. Markel inside the car?
JAMES GEIGER: Yeah. And I said, "Danny what happened?" And there was no response, just that slow moving back and forth. And I hollered out again, "Danny, Danny, what happened?" And it was still nothing.
And at that point I knew he needed help and I had to call 911. And so I reached into my pocket, which is where I normally keep my cell phone, and it wasn't there. And then I recalled that while I was sitting on the couch I had taken it out and sat it down there.
So I quickly ran back to the house -- it's not very far away as you can see -- and got my phone and then called 911.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you know anything about Dan Markel? Did he have a family living there with him?
JAMES GEIGER: Yeah. He and his wife had just been married when they moved into that home, and they were there, and then a couple of years later they had a child and then another child. And they -- they had some difficulties, and they divorced or I guess were in the process of being divorced. And she had moved out, and so Dan stayed there. Frankly, we didn't see him a whole lot.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. But he was living there and had the boys sometimes?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. At the time that this happened?
JAMES GEIGER: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Were the children there with him when he was injured in this way?
JAMES GEIGER: Not that I'm aware of.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So you didn't see the children there?
JAMES GEIGER: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So you go back and get your phone and call 911; is that right?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. Have you had an opportunity to review the 911 call in this case previously?
JAMES GEIGER: I have.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And is that your voice on the call that we played previously?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Judge, at this time, I ask to introduce State's Exhibit 81 -- I'm sorry -- 82 and ask for permission to publish.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 82 is admitted. You may publish.
(State's Exhibit 82 received in evidence.)
(Audio recording published in open court. This transcript should not be considered a verbatim record of these proceedings due to inaudibles and inability to distinguish between speakers. It should be noted that the best evidence of the actual content of the audio recording is the audio recording itself.)
(Audio begins:)
AUDIO RECORDING: 911. What's your emergency?
JAMES GEIGER: It's right next door at my house which is 2122 Trescott Drive.
AUDIO RECORDING: Can you repeat that for verification?
JAMES GEIGER: 2122 Trescott Drive.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. And the phone number you're calling from?
JAMES GEIGER: I'm calling from (850)212-4623.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. Tell me exactly what happened.
JAMES GEIGER: We heard a loud bang, and a car pulled away from next door. I came over and looked in. The garage door was up, and I thought the gentleman was backing out. And I went back to my house, but he never backed out. And I came back over, and his win- -- his driver's side window is shattered, and he's spattered. He can't answer. He's inside. I don't know if somebody tried to shoot him or if he shoot himself or what. I don't know.
AUDIO RECORDING: That happened at this location?
JAMES GEIGER: Correct. Right next door. I gave you mine. I don't know his address. It's next door.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right.
JAMES GEIGER: Didn't (indiscernible) He's still alive. He's moving.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. What's -- what's he -- what's going on with him?
JAMES GEIGER: I don't know. The driver's side window is all bashed in. He's inside. The car is running, and he's got blood all over his head. He's not responding to me. That number, by the way, is 2-1-1-6. 2116.
AUDIO RECORDING: What's your name, sir?
JAMES GEIGER: My name is Jim Geiger, G-e-i-g-e-r.
(Audio playback stopped.)
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Mr. Geiger, you said that the man that you saw in the vehicle was unresponsive to you.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: With -- if there's no objection, I would like to introduce State's Exhibit 5 at this time.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 5 is admitted in it.
(State's Exhibit 5 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE EVERETT: You may.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is this Mr. Markel, your neighbor?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And when you say he was not responsive, was he able to say any words to you?
JAMES GEIGER: I didn't hear any words at all.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. What sounds did you hear coming from him?
JAMES GEIGER: I didn't hear any sound. I just saw his head slowly rolling back and forth.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. He wasn't moaning at all or --
JAMES GEIGER: Not that I heard.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. All right.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I introduce State's Exhibit 6 and 7 at this time, Your Honor?
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 6 and 7 are admitted.
(State's Exhibit 6 & 7 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Publish 6, please.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So is this looking up Mr. Markel's driveway?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And State's 7, please.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is this how Mr. -- with the exception of the doors being opened in this photo, is this how Mr. Markel's vehicle appeared to you when you approached on that day?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm gonna approach with State's Exhibit 4. Mr. Geiger, have you had an opportunity to see that image before?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Is that your signature there on the image? It's here. Initials I should say.
JAMES GEIGER: Oh, yes, it is.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay. And is that indicating that the vehicle pictured in this exhibit is consistent with the vehicle you observed in Mr. Markel's driveway that day?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes, that's true.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Permission to publish -- introduce and publish State's 4, please?
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 4 is admitted.
(State's Exhibit 4 received in evidence.)
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And I believe you said on the recording, though, that the car was running; is that true?
JAMES GEIGER: That's true,
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you touch the victim or the car?
JAMES GEIGER: No, I didn't.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Did you move anything inside the garage?
JAMES GEIGER: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Can you estimate how much time passed between the time you heard the loud bang and the time that you called 911?
JAMES GEIGER: I would say between five and ten minutes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to show you State's Exhibit 81. Is State’s Exhibit 81 a fair and accurate map, an aerial map, of your residence and the scene where this occurred?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, I'd ask to move into evidence State's 81.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: No objection.
JUDGE EVERETT: State's 81 is admitted.
(State's Exhibit 81 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE EVERETT: You may.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So if you're coming in off of Thomasville Road there, the yellow line, how would you get to Mr. Markel's residence from Thomasville Road?
JAMES GEIGER: Well, he could do it more than one way. One is to go on the yellow road there, which is Thomasville Road, down to pretty close where that green mark is, which is Betton Road. You would take a left, come up to Trescott Drive, and then go back.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay.
JAMES GEIGER: That would be one way to do it.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JAMES GEIGER: Another way would be to exit off of Thomasville Road on Cline and then come across to Trescott Drive, and in that case you'd be turning right.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And on that one we've got to go up a little bit; right?
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yeah. So maybe Armistead to Cline --
JAMES GEIGER: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: -- to Trescott. Okay.
Thank you, sir. No further questions?
JUDGE EVERETT: Cross examination?
MR. RASHBAUM: No questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Geiger, you may stand down, sir.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May Mr. Geiger be released, Your Honor?
JUDGE EVERETT: He is.
Does the Defense intend to call Mr. Geiger at any point?
MR. RASHBAUM: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Geiger, you are released. Have a good day.
(Witness excused)