7.Daren Schwartz — Direct/Cross
194 lineswhereupon, DAREN SCHWARTZ was called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
JUDGE HANKINSON: Have a seat. Slide up to the microphone, please, sir.
MS. NORRIS: May I inquire?
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. NORRIS:
MS. NORRIS: Good afternoon.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Good afternoon.
MS. NORRIS: Can you introduce yourself to the jury, and spell your first and your last name?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. My name is Daren Schwartz, D-A-R-E-N, Schwartz is S-C-H-W-A-R-T-Z.
MS. NORRIS: And where are you employed?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I own a rental car company.
MS. NORRIS: what's the name of the rental car company?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: It's called Save Gas II, Inc., and it used to have a d/b/a called Hybrid Auto Rentals.
MS. NORRIS: where is that located?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: In Miami, Florida. North Miami, Florida.
MS. NORRIS: Say that again.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: North Miami, Florida.
MS. NORRIS: And have you owned -- how long have you owned that rental company?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: It's been about 12 years now.
MS. NORRIS: Did you own it -- so did you own it back in June and July 2014?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: what types of vehicle do you have that you rent out?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Back then or now?
MS. NORRIS: Back then. Excuse me.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: All hybrid vehicles.
MS. NORRIS: And approximately how many hybrids did you have back in July of 2014?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Approximately 20.
MS. NORRIS: Are any of the vehicles that you rented at your company, do they have SunPass transponders on them?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: They all do.
MS. NORRIS: And what are SunPass transponders basically?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: It's a small sticker, a square sticker that I install in the inside of the windshield of the vehicle.
MS. NORRIS: Does each transponder that you have for your rental cars come with, like, a unique identification number?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: And are you the one who actually affixes each transponder to each vehicle?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: Once you affix one of them to a certain vehicle, is it transferable? Like, you can just pull it off and stick it on a different car?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: No. Typically when you pull it off, it's destroyed.
MS. NORRIS: And where do you place these on your rental cars?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: On the inside of the windshield behind the rearview mirror.
MS. NORRIS: So in the center area?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: Do you keep track of which transponders you're affixing to which vehicle over time?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: And say, for example, you put a transponder on one particular vehicle, you would note that that unique identifying number on the transponder goes to the vehicle with a certain VIN number, certain tag number?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. I register it with SunPass, and then I also have an internal list in my office.
MS. NORRIS: If a customer comes to your rental place and they want to rent a car and they end up going on toll roads, do you just foot the bill, or does the customer have to pay once they return the car? How does that work?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: No. Upon return, we pull up that SunPass on that car and settle up then.
MS. NORRIS: Do you remember back in July 2014 approximately how many, like, Toyota Priuses you had?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Approximately ten.
MS. NORRIS: Do you remember how many of them were greenish or silver?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Two.
MS. NORRIS: The two that you did have at that time, were there any differences between those two Toyota Priuses?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. The primary difference was one had after-market wheels -- or after-market rims.
MS. NORRIS: Did your company rent one of those Toyota Priuses to a Luis Rivera back in July of 2014?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: And is there a contract that documents that rental agreement between your company and Mr. Rivera?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: May I approach, Your Honor?
JUDGE HANKINSON: You may.
BY MS. NORRIS:
MS. NORRIS: I'm showing you what's already in evidence as State's Exhibit 82.
Is that the rental agreement between Save Gas, that you previously mentioned was Hybrid, and Luis Rivera?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: And the certificate of authenticity on the back, you filled that out yourself?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: I have just a couple questions about this contract.
Let me first ask you: was the Toyota Prius that was rented to Mr. Rivera, was this the one with the after-market rims or without the after-market rims?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: without.
MS. NORRIS: So they were just the normal, standard wheels on a car?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Correct, stocked from the factory.
MS. NORRIS: Does this contract -- let me push it up a little bit. Here we go. Oh, no, wrong direction up here. There we go.
Does this contract indicate that there were tolls that were owed upon return of the vehicle?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: I also want to ask you about this word "brother" with a phone number next to it at the top of the agreement. Do you recognize that handwriting?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: How do you recognize it?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: That's my handwriting.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. And did you fill out this contract?
MS. NORRIS: Okay. But you wrote the one indication, the (786) 372-5986 number?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: Do you recall why you wrote that on the agreement?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yeah. As the owner of the company, I try to get any contact information for anyone that's renting the car or anyone that might be with the person renting the car so that I have contact info.
MS. NORRIS: So you have an alternative way to get in touch with the renter?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: Do you have independent recollection of why you wrote “brother"™ on this one?
MS. NORRIS: But it could have been someone with the person renting the vehicle, such as Luis Rivera?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes, most likely.
MS. NORRIS: we talked about the Prius that was rented in this particular contract not having after-market rims. It had the standard manufacturer's rims on it. Do you remember if it had any replacement parts on it?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. I remember this car had a black passenger side mirror.
MS. NORRIS: why did it have that?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I'm sure at some rental, it got wrecked.
MS. NORRIS: Does that happen a lot?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: And do you keep on stock replacement parts when a vehicle comes back damaged?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I have some parts on stock. If not, there's after-market parts that are readily available.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. And do you -- if you were replacing a side mirror, what color are those replacement ones? You may have said but --
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Black.
MS. NORRIS: Black. Do you always paint them to match the remaining body of the car?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Highly unlikely that I'd paint them.
MS. NORRIS: what about tow clips? To your -- do either of these vehicles, meaning the Prius, the Toyota Priuses, did either of them have tow clips on the car?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I mean, the Prius has a tow clip on the front bumper, and very common they fall off.
MS. NORRIS: what is a tow clip? I just need to know.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: It's a little clip that comes off the front bumper so you can hook a metal rod onto it so the tow truck can pull the vehicle up on the flatbed.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. And they have covers over them?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: They do have a little square cover.
MS. NORRIS: And those covers are the things that fall off a lot of the time?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: what about GPS trackers? Do any of your cars have GPS monitoring on them?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes, they all do.
MS. NORRIS: Do you use a certain company to monitor the vehicles’ locations via the global --
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: -- positioning system?
And which company is that?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Spireon.
MS. NORRIS: Do you know how frequently the GPS trackers track the location of the rental cars?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. It automatically tracks itself once a day.
MS. NORRIS: Like, once every 24 hours or 25 hours?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Every 24 hours.
MS. NORRIS: Okay.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Give or take.
MS. NORRIS: Your Honor, at this time, I'd offer into evidence what I've marked for identification as State's Exhibit 91. These are the business records from Spireon for the GPS information with an attached certificate of authenticity.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Any objection?
MR. ZANGENEH: None from Mr. Garcia.
MR. DECOSTE: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE HANKINSON: It'll be admitted.
(State's Exhibit No. 91 received in evidence.)
BY MS. NORRIS:
MS. NORRIS: when this -- when this Prius was returned to your company back in July of 2014 -- or actually, do you remember what day it was returned?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I can look at the contract and tell you. It's probably on the bottom of the contract.
MS. NORRIS: Can you see it there?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. what day was it returned?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: It would be July 21st, the bottom right.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. And when the vehicle was returned, did you notice any damage to it?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I did not notice any damage.
MS. NORRIS: Tell the jury about when a vehicle is returned. Do you thoroughly clean the vehicle from top to bottom and examine it in great detail?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Being a small company, I do not thoroughly clean the vehicles.
MS. NORRIS: Do you -- strike that.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Unless they're destroyed. I would notice that. But otherwise, they come in the way they go out.
MS. NORRIS: So your turn-around process is minimal as far as cleaning or --
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: -- repairing anything?
Do you still own that Prius?
MS. NORRIS: what did you do with it?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I sold it.
MS. NORRIS: To whom?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I don't recall who I sold it to.
MS. NORRIS: Do you recall about when you sold it?
MS. NORRIS: Do you know the defendant in this case, Sigfredo Garcia?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I've met him before.
MS. NORRIS: Okay. And that's through him renting vehicles at your company?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I don't recall if Sigfredo ever rented a vehicle, but just being there and a gentleman that used to work for me, they were friendly.
MS. NORRIS: And maybe hanging out near the business?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: At some point once TPD began the investigation in this murder case, did they reach out to you and ask for information about that unique identifying SunPass transponder that was on this Toyota Prius?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes. I had two different visits. The first visit, I think the gentleman asked me for information.
MS. NORRIS: And did you provide all the information that you had for this particular Prius, the tag, the VIN, the SunPass transponder number, all of that information over to the investigators?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MS. NORRIS: All right. Thank you. I have no further questions.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Cross?
CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. ZANGENEH:
MR. ZANGENEH: Good afternoon, Mr. Schwartz.
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Good afternoon.
MR. ZANGENEH: Do you recall -- or were you working that day that the Prius was rented?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I believe I was there that day. That's why my handwriting would be on the application.
MR. ZANGENEH: And you indicated that you were the one that wrote "brother™ and the phone number at the top portion of the contract; is that correct?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: That's my handwriting, yes.
MR. ZANGENEH: And is it your -- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. You said that was your handwriting?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes, sir.
MR. ZANGENEH: And it's your -- is it your testimony that Sigfredo Garcia entered the car rental area with Luis Rivera?
MR. ZANGENEH: Luis Rivera went in by himself?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes, as far as I know.
MR. ZANGENEH: Did you know who Luis Rivera was from the past?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I don't know if I had any previous interactions with him.
MR. ZANGENEH: Did you know who he was?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: I rented a vehicle to him, so I met him at that time.
MR. ZANGENEH: Prior to that, had you met him before?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Not as far as I know.
MR. ZANGENEH: And he entered your establishment and provided identification to rent this vehicle from you?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: Yes.
MR. ZANGENEH: And would be it safe to say that since Sigfredo Garcia wasn't in the business with you, you took the information from Luis Rivera, then drafted that note?
DAREN SCHWARTZ: That's correct.
MR. ZANGENEH: No further questions.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Magbanua?
MR. DECOSTE: One brief second, Your Honor.
No questions, Your Honor. Thank you.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Redirect?
MS. NORRIS: No questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Any juror have a question of this witness?
All right. You can step down.
Do we need to keep him any further?
MS. NORRIS: No, sir.
MR. ZANGENEH: No, Judge.
JUDGE HANKINSON: You need him?
MR. DECOSTE: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE HANKINSON: You're excused. Thank you for being here.
Call your next witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Danibeth Richey.
JUDGE HANKINSON: Come on up here, please, ma'am.
If you would face the clerk and be sworn, please.