6.Ryan Fitzpatrick — Direct/Cross/Redirect
412 linesMS. KAWASS: No. This is Mr. Fitzpatrick, Judge.
JUDGE WHEELER: Oh. I'm sorry. Mr. Fitzpatrick. Come up, please. Good morning.
JASON NEWLIN: Good morning, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: Before you have a seat, we're going to swear you in. Please respond to the clerk.
whereupon, RYAN FITZPATRICK, was called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you. Please have a seat.
I need you to scoot up into that microphone and talk loudly into that. Okay. Thank you.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. KAWASS:
MS. KAWASS: Good morning, Mr. Fitzpatrick. How are you?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Good. How are you?
MS. KAWASS: I'm doing well. Can you please introduce yourself to the jury and spell your name for the court reporter?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: My name is Ryan Fitzpatrick, R-Y-A-N, F-I-T-Z-P-A-T-R-I-C-K.
MS. KAWASS: And what do you do for a living?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I run a medical facility in Hypoluxo, Florida.
MS. KAWASS: Do you know someone by the name of Charles Adelson?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: How do you know him?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I've known Charlie for many years. He was a former friend of mine and a former business partner of mine.
MS. KAWASS: And how long ago do you think -- and you can approximate -- how long have you known him, 2012, ‘11?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Fifteen years.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And when did you -- if you remember, when did you first meet?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Prior to moving to South Florida, just through mutual friends.
MS. KAWASS: And from that time on, you guys were really close, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: So you know his family as well?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Have you spent a considerable amount of time with his family?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am, I have.
MS. KAWASS: So you know his mother Donna?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Harvey?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And his sister wendi?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Do you know his brother Robert?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am, I do not.
MS. KAWASS: Have you ever met him?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: when you were ever around the Adelson family, did they talk about him a lot?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And how close would you describe Charlie Adelson to his mother Donna?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: very close.
MS. KAWASS: Like talk on the phone every day?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Multiple times a day?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Probably, yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And how close is he to his sister wendi?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, very close.
MS. KAWASS: was he protective of her?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Did you ever meet wendi?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Do you remember how many times you were hanging out around her?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Multiple occasions.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. But the majority of the time that you knew her, was she living in Tallahassee?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am. well, no. She had come to South Florida at that point for the majority of the time. But I had known who she was when she was in Tallahassee.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. So the majority of the time that you spent with her is after she relocated back to Miami after the death of her ex-husband?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: After the murder of her ex-husband?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Did she ever talk to you about her divorce?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Did Charlie ever talk to you about her divorce?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Maybe occasionally, in passing. Nothing that I recollect of significance at all.
MS. KAWASS: was there a type of tone or demeanor to him whenever he was referencing the divorce or Dan Markel?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: After the murder, yes.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Before the murder, did --
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am. No.
MS. KAWASS: After the murder, what was your -- how did Charles express his feelings towards Dan Markel? Did he -- one way or the other. If he didn't, he didn't. If he did, he did. Let us know.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Can you rephrase it?
MS. KAWASS: Let me make it easy. Did he ever talk badly about Dan Markel?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Nobody talked good about Dan.
MS. KAWASS: Nobody talked to you about Dan?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Not in that family.
MS. KAWASS: Oh. Okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Nobody talked good about Dan, I said.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. So that's what I was going to get to. How did you -- because you had been around them, how did you get their -- what was their feeling towards Dan Markel?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Obviously, it was insignificant to me at the time. But, you know, you could tell it wasn't something -- someone that they were fond of.
MS. KAWASS: Now, how would you describe -- well, would you describe Charlie Adelson as the marrying kind?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: He was never my type, no.
(Laughter. )
MS. KAWASS: Okay. I appreciate that, Mr. Fitzpatrick.
All right. So, but Charlie wasn't a one-woman kind of girl[sic], was he, when you guys were friends?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And you kind of laughed when you said that?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: He would have different girls all the time?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Could you even keep track of them?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: were some of the girls, the ones you've seen, they overlap with each other, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I imagine they did, yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And, as far as you knew, all these women didn't know about each other, if you know?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I don't -- I don't think so, no, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And you remember when he started dating Katherine, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Vaguely, yes, ma'am. Because I would hear her name, Katie, Kat, you know.
MS. KAWASS: That's how Charles would refer to her?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And your understanding of their relationship, was this just one of the girls that Charles was seeing?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: To be honest, I really didn't pay a lot of attention to girls that he saw.
MS. KAWASS: Understandably.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It was just kind of like, okay, whatever.
MS. KAWASS: Just because it's another one and another one and another one?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: You don't want to invest too much time in someone you're probably not going to know for too long?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: All right. Now, would you describe Charlie as being someone who likes to be the center of attention?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I guess you could describe him as that, yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Can you describe for the jury, as a friend, how much he talks?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: When doesn't he talk?
MS. KAWASS: I couldn't have said it better.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Right.
MS. KAWASS: So -- and isn't it true that part of the reason you don't speak to him is because you got sick of listening to him talk?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It became overwhelming, yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And it's because he always puts himself at the center -- it's always him, his problems, what's going on in his life, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And is it an accurate description to say that he would repeat the same thing a hundred different times, a hundred different ways to prove his point?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: All right. And has he ever, when he's trying to prove a point to you, presented different scenarios to try to prove his point?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And sometimes do you just agree with him because you give up?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: You just want him to shut up, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: All right. Now, have you seen him use this technique to manipulate others?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: To myself. I mean, I've experienced it.
MS. KAWASS: Do you feel that that's what he tries to do with words, is that he's a manipulator?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, I never thought of it as like that until later in our relationship. But you could say that, yes.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And you'd also describe him as being very, very smart, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Brilliant, yes.
MS. KAWASS: Brilliant is the word you've used. Can he read a situation very quickly and just react?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: The wheels are always turning when it comes to him, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Now, were you best friends with him in July of 2014?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: we were close friends.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. I'll say close friends.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: we got closer as time went on.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And then you had said earlier, just so we have a time frame for the jury, that you eventually have a falling out?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And do you remember what year that was?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, the COVID year that we -- I imagine it was 2018.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Perfect.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: June of 2018 or something around that time.
MS. KAWASS: All right. And I know it's an approximation, but the year has helped.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: So going back to around the time that Dan Markel was murdered, because that is July 2014. And you said you guys were close friends, right? There's a bunch of you guys, right? That hung out?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: who was the group, basically? You, there's Clint Stevenson, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: There's Darren Pike?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: There's -- am I leaving anyone out? Charles?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Anyone else that is a close friend of that group?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, it was a large group of friends.
MS. KAWASS: Oh, okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Of guys, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And whenever you guys -- I mean, when this happened, that was a pretty big deal, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes. Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Someone that he knew, a family member, former family member, had been murdered?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: That just doesn't happen every day, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Not in my family.
MS. KAWASS: Now, when he was around you guys, did he ever say anything like, Oh, my God, you would not believe what happened to wendi's husband?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Never.
MS. KAWASS: Never said, did you guys hear this about Dan Markel?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: You never heard him express that, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Did he, as far as you know, go up to Tallahassee to be with his sister when he was murdered?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Do you know if he's ever been to Tallahassee?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Did you find that strange, that he just never spoke about the circumstances surrounding wendi's ex-husband's murder?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I think it was so hard to fathom that it was a reality, I guess --
MS. KAWASS: Okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: -- that I really didn't -- it was just never brought up, sO it was almost like it wasn't real.
MS. KAWASS: Oh, okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Even though, obviously, it is.
MS. KAWASS: And that's close to home as it relates to Charles Adelson. This is his sister's ex-husband?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: The father of her two sons, his nephews, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Have you ever met them?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Now, isn't it true that when you were friends with Charlie one of the ways that you would use to communicate with him and he communicated with you is by the use of whatsApp?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am, that's correct.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. Now, and he would use the whatsApp to make phone calls to you on the phone, that's how you guys would talk, voice calls on the whatsApp, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And you knew that back then -- I mean, Charlie even would talk to you a couple times a day, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: All right. So your records had whatsApp -- you don't know if whatsApp would be reflected on call-detail records, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: well, the thought was that it was encrypted Communication.
MS. KAWASS: would you describe Charles Adelson as a paranoid person in that way?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Like has all these cameras around his house?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. And always thinking that, like, you know -- he's always very cautious when he's talking on the phone?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: And this was even before Dan Markel was murdered, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I can't recall. TI don't even think wWhatsApp was out back then.
MS. KAWASS: It was.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yeah.
MS. KAWASS: But you don't -- that's just the nature of who he was kind of? That he's always kind of suspicious of everyone?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: All right. Now, you remember meeting Katherine?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: In passing. But, no, I don't know Katherine personally at all.
MS. KAWASS: No. And the one time you had met, you had seen her at his house?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I believe so, yes, ma'am. I mean, it's been so long.
MS. KAWASS: You do remember, though, Charles telling you that Sigfredo Garcia, the mother [sic] of her kids, had confronted him before, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. You also remember him telling you something about a confrontation that involved Katie?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Objection to leading.
JUDGE WHEELER: Just continue with your question. It's overruled.
MS. KAWASS: Okay. I'll just go to the next one because he just answered, Judge.
BY MR. DECOSTE:
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. Now, with that said, do you know if Charles knew about the existence of Sigfredo Garcia?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Has Charles Adelson ever made payments to you in cash?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: How did he package his money?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Stapled.
MR. DECOSTE: Describe for the jury how. Bills and where the staple would be.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Usually he would separate a thousand dollars at a time. Ten one-hundreds equals a thousand dollars and he would staple that.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And he'd just what, staple, like, stacks of hundreds, but it's one hundred -- ten one-hundred-dollar bills?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: For a thousand, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: And he's paid you that way before?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Did you find that strange?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yeah. I mean, yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: And, I mean, that was an odd way to have money. You've never seen anyone ever done that with money before, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Now, in your estimation, ten stacks of the thousands, it would be the same as if it were ten one-dollar bills, right? Because a one-dollar bill anda one-hundred-dollar bill are the same in diameter, width and all of that, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: So if you just stack ten of them together, it's pretty thin, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: And then you put ten of those together, it's probably about that Cindicating) big, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Probably, yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Not like a brick of cocaine?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Right.
MR. DECOSTE: Now, to your knowledge, did Charlie use drugs? Like, have you ever seen him do drugs in front of you?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes.
MR. DECOSTE: Marijuana?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Do you know if he was using steroids? Only if you know.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I know he was.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Now, around the time that Katherine was arrested, all right, that was in October of 2016, did his behave -- did you notice a change in his behavior?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Describe for the jury what that change was.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Frantic behavior, nervousness, paranoia, restlessness.
MR. DECOSTE: Did you guys, as a group, ever even confront or just ask him, or this was just a topic that was off limits when it came to Dan Markel and how he died?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Did we confront him as --
MR. DECOSTE: Like, you know, just in passing or talking, because this was kind of a known thing. Did you ever say, hey, did your family ever get any information about what happened to Dan Markel?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It was never really relating to Dan. It was just relating to the case.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And would he ever talk about the case with you guys or just not?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Just that, you know, he was innocent. He's got nothing to worry about. This is nonsense, or other expletive terms about it.
MR. DECOSTE: Do you remember him ever saying something in reference to, you know, you can get away with murder, you just have to keep your mouth shut?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: He's not one to keep his mouth shut, is he?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Now, around the time that -- oh, no, I asked you that already.
Now, at some point you said you had a falling out with Charles Adelson, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: Has he, since the time of 2016, has all of his close male friendships kind of fallen apart?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. Is he still friends with Darren Pike? As far as -- if you know.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I mean, I think they still communicate -- well, not anymore. But, I think they were still in communication. I don't necessarily know at whose benefit that was.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. But Clint Stevenson and some of the others, not close anymore?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I don't believe they speak to him anymore as well.
MR. DECOSTE: Now, with regards to you, what happened that caused your falling out?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: well, it was kind of a labored relationship just because all he did was complain, talk about himself, talk about this scenario as well. It just got old. TI mean, it would be four times a day, repetitive. Calling me at noon in the middle of the day -- 45-minute phone calls in the middle of the day. It just got frustrating.
And then we had a business together whereas we had a difference of opinions on how to go. And because of this trial at hand or potential trial at hand, he kind of freaked out and pulled the rug out from under me. And I continued to placate the friendship in order to close out our books and do the right thing. And, you know, he kind of crossed me a little bit. And has since opened up litigation against me.
MR. DECOSTE: Against you, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: And, now, even though you've been friends with him for years, you did not hear from the police until after the pandemic, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: All right. So your name is all over his iCloud, but they didn't contact you until 2020?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: And this was after he had begun his lawsuit against you?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: So they probably knew you weren't on good terms?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: And it was a phone call that they reached out to you, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Do you remember who it was that you spoke to on the phone?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Mr. Newlin and someone from the FBI.
MR. DECOSTE: Agent Sanford sound familiar?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I don't know. He was special, special agent.
MR. DECOSTE: Special agent. All right. And you told them, specifically, about the money, right? How you had seen him package it that way before?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: They asked me about the money and I concurred with their --
MR. DECOSTE: Oh. So they specifically asked you about that?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It kind of led into it. And then, yeah, because I figured they already knew the answer, so tell the truth.
MR. DECOSTE: And then when they called you, they specifically directed your attention to, hey, we know you're friends with Charlie, do you have any information about the murder of Dan Markel? Is that --
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Basically, yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And you told them more or less everything that you've told this jury today, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Absolutely, yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And that's a lot of relevant information that you have against Charlie, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Unfortunately, yes.
MR. DECOSTE: You're not here under a State subpoena, are you?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. who is -- which side brought you here to testify in court?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Katherine's side.
MR. DECOSTE: All right. And I want to talk to you about one other thing. Do you know Charlie's -- had a Lexus --
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: -- at some point in time, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Harvey's. It was in Harvey's name.
MR. DECOSTE: Harvey's -- it was Harvey's Lexus, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Right.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And then it ends up -- well, the records show that Katherine paid for it. Okay. Have you ever bought a car from Charles Adelson or do you guys --
RYAN FITZPATRICK: He bought one from a friend that I -- I sold a Range Rover to a friend that sold it to Charlie. And then Charlie since sold it.
MR. DECOSTE: But that's something that he's done, is he'll buy cars and then he sells them. It was at a reduced rate for this Range Rover, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Very.
MR. DECOSTE: Very. How much was it sold for?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I think it was bought from me for 17 and I think I sold -- 8500 or something like that.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And Range Rovers are a pretty high-priced car. Do you know what year it was?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: 2007. But it only had like 35,000 miles on it. I had no problems with it. But as soon as I sold it, they did.
MR. DECOSTE: But that's something that he normally does --
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: -- is he will take cars and sell them to his friends, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: Does he also involve himself -- he's a dentist, right? That's not his only source of income though, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: He has other business ventures and other things going on?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am. We were in business together. And then he owns, like, Class C rental properties.
MR. DECOSTE: Oh, properties that he rents out to tenants and stuff?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MR. DECOSTE: And he has a house in Fort Lauderdale, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MR. DECOSTE: Is it a mansion?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Not at all.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. In comparison to some of the other houses in South Florida, how would you describe it, moderate?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am. It was -- I don't know. It was kind of gross.
MR. DECOSTE: But he's still that guy that has a Ferrari parked in his garage, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MS. KAWASS: Your Honor, may I have a brief moment?
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes.
MS. KAWASS: I have no further questions, Judge. Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: Cross-examination.
CROSS- EXAMINATION BY MS. DUGAN:
MS. DUGAN: what was your understanding of how Katherine Magbanua came to own the Lexus?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It was sold to her for a reduced rate. I don't know the price or what the terms were.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. You were given a deposition in this case, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. I'm going to turn your attention to page 55, lines 18 through 21.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, I said he gave it to her. Gave it to her ata reduced rate. I don't know what a reduced rate is. You know?
MS. DUGAN: Okay.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: It could have been 50 bucks or something.
MS. DUGAN: So you, obviously, don't have any personal knowledge of their bank accounts? You didn't see any check or cash exchange?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. You said in your deposition that you thought that he may have given it to her, and he may have given it to her at a reduced rate?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Possible, yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: All right. So I want to talk about this confrontation. This confrontation that you're talking about, this is what Charlie Adelson told you, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And he told you that Garcia confronted he and Katherine Magbanua when they were together, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And this confrontation occurred during the day?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: From my understanding, yes.
MS. DUGAN: when he and -- I need to say who. when Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua were planning to go jet skiing that day?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: From my understanding, yes, ma‘am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And Charlie Adelson had his jet skis with him, that's what they were planning to go do?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: From what I understood from what Charlie said, yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And that's when Garcia confronted them, tried to run them off the road?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Made a scene?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: From my understanding of what I was told, yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: And Katherine Magbanua was there?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: From my understanding from what I was told, yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Right. You weren't there?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: This is just what Charlie is telling you?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Yes, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And you said that he didn't tell you about any other confrontation that he ever had with Garcia besides that jet ski incident?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: No, ma'am.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And you don't have any knowledge of any communication between Charlie and Garcia, besides him saying that, hey, he confronted me when we were taking the jet skis out?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. That's all. Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: Redirect.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. KAWASS:
MS. KAWASS: Mr. Fitzpatrick, you describe Charles Adelson as brilliant, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Correct.
MS. KAWASS: He wouldn't be the type of person to plan a homicide on a regular phone that could be tracked, right?
RYAN FITZPATRICK: I hope not.
MS. KAWASS: Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Thank you, sir. You're free to go.
RYAN FITZPATRICK: Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: Defense may call its next witness.
MR. DECOSTE: Your Honor, understanding it's early for lunch, I believe that now would be the time to take the break.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay. All right. We're going to break a little bit early today. But we will give you until one o'clock. So you're going to get some extra time. And we're going to be mindful of the time today. So please, no conversations, no looking at the internet, no discussions with any friends or family members. And we'll see everybody back at one o'clock to continue. Okay. Thank you.
(Jury exits.)
JUDGE WHEELER: Jury is out of the courtroom. The door is closed. Please be seated.
So, Mr. DeCoste, I take it that you will not be calling Steven Downing?
MR. DECOSTE: Correct, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay.
MR. DECOSTE: Your Honor -- and I'm not going to elaborate on -- I have some serious concerns based on that conversation. Not against the government. But the change. So we're not calling Mr. Downing. We are done with all of the other witnesses. we are not calling our expert, John Sawiki.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay.
MR. DECOSTE: I do have a -- there were some exhibits and the government wanted to look at everything again. So I saw it best to wait so that we could have that. There are a series of text messages that -- now, these are all messages we've already spoken about during the trial. The defense would like to move them in. we're not entering them for the truth of the matter. And I can articulate why we're not entering them for the truth of the matter.
And then my understanding is the government has their demonstrative that has gone in. And if theirs has gone in, we would like to move ours as well, so...
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. well, it's not going to the jury anyways if it's a demonstrative. You can put it in as a demonstrative, but it won't be going back to the jury.
MR. DECOSTE: Okay. And we have it as a demonstrative right now. It's already been entered. I just didn't know if the government had theirs in. I can check it with the messages. what I can do is --
JUDGE WHEELER: I don't think that -- well, let's ask. Is the picture with all the faces on it that you used, Ms. Cappleman, that's just a demonstrative, correct?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. So that's not going back to the jury.
MR. DECOSTE: we have these series of messages. Now, we've already laid the foundation. They've been authenticated. I just want to, in fairness to the government, have the discussion with them. I can explain how it's not for the truth of the matter. It's to -- and I can articulate it if it's --
JUDGE WHEELER: why didn't we go ahead and enter them into evidence when we're going through the particular witnesses?
MR. DECOSTE: Because it was my choice at the time trying to move through the witnesses, knowing that we've already laid the foundation. All of these have already been discussed and witnesses have discussed it. we just haven't moved it.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Ms. Cappleman, do you want to take a look at these?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: How many are there?
MR. DECOSTE: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven sets. we've discussed all of them though.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. The State will take a look at those. Okay. So now our issue is how we're going to proceed this afternoon. And whether or not Ms. Magbanua will be testifying.
All right. So, Ms. Kawass, I know that you've been having discussion with Ms. Magbanua. Has a decision been reached as to whether or not Ms. Magbanua will be testifying? And I'm going to inquire of her after, but you can tell me right now, Ms. Kawass.