Bill Brannon — Direct/Cross
107 linesJUDGE WHEELER: All right. Let's put Ms. Rodriguez back on the stand and complete her cross-examination at this point. Mr. DeCoste, are you prepared for that?
MR. DECOSTE: Actually, Your Honor, we're going to waive cross on Ms. Rodriguez.
MR. DECOSTE: The counsel and I had some conversations. We figured out another way.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay. Thank you. All right. So we've completed the testimony of Ms. Rodriguez?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, thank you. Has Ms. Rodriguez been informed of that?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, state may call its next witness.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The state calls Officer Bill Brannon. Bill Brannon, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: Officer, if you come up to the stand, before you have a seat, we're going to swear you in, please.
BILL BRANNON: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, clerk's over here.
COURT CLERK: Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
BILL BRANNON: I do.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, thank you. Please have a seat.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Permission to reposition the podium, Your Honor?
JUDGE WHEELER: Sure.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Sir, please introduce yourself and spell your name.
BILL BRANNON: Officer Brannon, B-R-A-N-N-O-N, ID number 510, with the Tallahassee Police Department.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long have you been with TPD?
BILL BRANNON: I've been with TPD for about 23 years now, and I was with FSUPD for a couple of years prior to that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right, I want to ask you about July 18th of 2014.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you working that day?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What were your duties back then?
BILL BRANNON: Patrol.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And were you assigned to a crime scene that day?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What were you assigned to do?
BILL BRANNON: I responded to Trescott Drive. I think it originally went out as a medical issue. Arrived on scene and we discovered it was a shooting incident.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And what was your role there at the scene initially?
BILL BRANNON: Initially, sorry —
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm trying to gain up. Let me ask you a better question. Was part of your duty there to hold the crime scene?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What does it mean, "hold the crime scene"?
BILL BRANNON: Ensuring that nobody comes in or out that's not supposed to be there or anything like that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And at what point were you positioned?
BILL BRANNON: Once I got down on the scene and I was put on the perimeter, I was on the north end.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And is that on Trescott?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How far away from the residence of Dan Markel was the crime scene tape? Was there crime scene tape up over the street?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And how far away from the residence was that tape located?
BILL BRANNON: Approximately three or four houses.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And is that where you were positioned?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And during the time that you were there holding the perimeter, is that when law enforcement was continuing to work at the scene?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So there were several law enforcement vehicles present?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you know how many?
BILL BRANNON: Guesstimating, maybe about four or five marked patrol cars. One of the crime scene vans, I'm pretty sure, was there — that's also marked police. Uh, another, I'm guessing, three or so unmarked units for the investigators.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And would those vehicles have been in the driveway of the residence — the Markel residence — or something else?
BILL BRANNON: Uh, well, all around right there in front of the residence.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, including in the driveway?
BILL BRANNON: There may have been. I can't remember.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And these were marked vehicles?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And during the time that you were holding the crime scene perimeter, what time of day was this?
BILL BRANNON: Uh, around noon.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did cars pull up and have to turn around because they couldn't pass through the crime scene?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was it your job to make sure that no cars passed through the crime scene?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And as part of your job, would you have contact with the people that would come up and just let them know that — basically don't tell them anything about what's going on, but tell them they've got to turn around and go the other way?
BILL BRANNON: I don't remember having to speak with anybody specifically.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, but you were just making sure they didn't come through?
BILL BRANNON: Yeah, I was parked there next to the crime scene tape, my lights on my vehicle, blocking the road.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: So when cars approached the roadblock, they just on their own turned around and went back the way they had come?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And did one of those cars in particular stand out to you?
BILL BRANNON: Yes, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what vehicle was that?
BILL BRANNON: It was a later 2000s model Honda Odyssey van.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Why did that vehicle stand out to you?
BILL BRANNON: I had obtained information that the ex-wife drove a vehicle like that.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Were you able to see the occupant of the vehicle clearly?
BILL BRANNON: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Were you able to tell how many occupants there were in the vehicle?
BILL BRANNON: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Were you able to tell whether it was a man or a woman?
BILL BRANNON: I thought it was possibly a woman because I thought I remember seeing longer hair, but I couldn't say conclusively.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. You didn't have any contact with the driver?
BILL BRANNON: No, ma'am.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: What did the driver of this Honda Odyssey do when the driver approached the roadblock?
BILL BRANNON: Just immediately did a three-point turn and left.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And as you approach the roadblock, if you're one of these drivers — the way they would come up to the roadblock — would you be able to see that the law enforcement activity was occurring at the Markel residence?
BILL BRANNON: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And the person driving the — I'm going to show you State's Exhibit 18.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: It looks like the vehicle. Is it similar or consistent with the vehicle you saw earlier?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Exhibit 18, it is.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, you may.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The driver of this vehicle, or the vehicle consistent with this — did they ask you any questions about what was going on at the Markel residence?
BILL BRANNON: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And was there anything unusual about the way this particular vehicle turned around?
BILL BRANNON: Just seemed a little more quicker than the other ones.
BILL BRANNON: Most of the vehicles, when they pull up, you'd see them kind of pausing for a second.
BILL BRANNON: I don't know if they were like formulating a new plan because suddenly they can't go the way they want to go.
BILL BRANNON: Usually it just seemed to me to be a hesitation. This one caught my attention a little bit more, also because when it pulled up, I mean, it just automatically did a three-point turn and headed on.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No further questions.
JUDGE WHEELER: Cross-examination?
MR. DECOSTE: No, thank you, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, we can excuse the officer?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Thank you, officer. You're free to go.
BILL BRANNON: Thank you, sir.