Peterson attorney wants $15,000 back

The Modesto Bee ^ | November 19, 2003 | John Cote' and Garth Stapely

[runningbear]

Peterson attorney wants $15,000 back

Peterson attorney wants $15,000 back

By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS

Last Updated: November 19, 2003, 08:20:52 AM PST

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami plans to hear arguments on releasing two pieces of evidence Dec. 3, when Scott Peterson is to be arraigned on the double-murder charges upheld Tuesday at his preliminary hearing.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos asked prosecutors to release the $15,000 cash Peterson had with him when he was arrested and Peterson's Ford pickup, which police seized in December.

"It's an expensive task for the family to fund this," he said. "It isn't going to get any less expensive."

Prosecutor Rick Distaso opposed the move, saying both items are evidence he intends to introduce at trial.

Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold, who serves as a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said physical evidence can have more impact on jurors than photos of the items.

Geragos also indicated that he would file motions to move the trial and to ask another judge to overturn Girolami's Tuesday order because of insufficient evidence.

The change of venue motion will be filed Dec. 3, Geragos said in court.

Girolami indicated that he also plans to revisit a gag order he imposed in June that bars people connected to the case from speaking publicly about it.

Geragos, citing the gag order, refused to say outside court why he wants the trial to be held elsewhere.

Asked about Girolami's idea to bus jurors from San Joaquin County to Modesto, which was done in a previous murder trial, Geragos said people in neighboring.......

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EMBATTLED STAR HIRES 'LACI' LAWYER

EMBATTLED STAR HIRES 'LACI' LAWYER

By HOWARD BREUER

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November 20, 2003 -- Workaholic defense attorney Mark Geragos was still in Modesto handling the Scott Peterson preliminary hearing Tuesday when he agreed to defend Michael Jackson against sexual-molestation charges. Geragos insists he can easily juggle California's two highest-profile criminal cases.

"They're just two cases," Geragos told The Post as he worked a conference call with Jackson's people on another line. "There's no problem, no issue."

But longtime Geragos rival Gloria Allred, also an advocate for prosecuting Jackson, said she's worried that this move may cause delays in the Peterson trial.

"Sometimes, as in the O.J. Simpson case, attorneys demand a speedy trial and that can be very effective," Allred said.

For Geragos, Jackson is but the latest in a substantial list of high-.........

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Jacko taps top-shelf mouthpiece

Jacko taps top-shelf mouthpiece

By MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos (l.) appears with another big-name client, accused murderer Scott Peterson.

Move over, Johnnie Cochran. Mark Geragos - tapped by Michael Jackson to defend him against child molestation charges - is now the lawyer of choice for high-profile suspects.

Some say Geragos already has his hands full defending philandering fertilizer salesman Scott Peterson, who is accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son in Modesto, Calif. But with 20 years of experience and a slew of celebrity clients, the double challenge may mark the pinnacle of the slick Los Angeles lawyer's career.

The son of an Armenian-American lawyer, Geragos began to show his star power in 1998 and 1999 when he won two acquittals for Whitewater scandal figure Susan McDougal. He kept up his Clinton connection, later representing Bill Clinton's half-brother on drunken driving charges that were dropped after Roger Clinton agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

The same year, Geragos got felony charges of kidnapping and making terrorist threats thrown out against rapper Nathaniel (Nate Dogg) Hale.

He has since defended sticky-fingered actress Winona Ryder in her shoplifting trial and represented former Rep. Gary Condit.

Geragos raised eyebrows this April when he agreed to represent Scott Peterson, just days after making an appearance on "Larry King Live" as a commentator about his soon-to-be client: "It's a damning, circumstantial case. The man is a sociopath if he did this crime."

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Experts: Both Sides Will Use Amber Tapes in Peterson Case

Experts: Both Sides Will Use Amber Tapes in Peterson Case

Scott Peterson was having an affair with Amber Frey.

Bill Schechner

Legal experts say that taped phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his girlfriend Amber Frey could have big implications in Peterson's murder case.

Scott Peterson is accused of killing his wife Laci and her unborn son. During the police investigation, Frey let police record her phone conversations with Peterson for almost two months.

One of these 214 calls, a rambling 23-minute conversation, was entered in evidence Tuesday. It includes evasions, denials, and pleas for patience from Peterson as Frey tries to get him to explain himself and events. Criminal lawyer Michele Hagan says it is damaging to his case.

"It goes to the motive," she said.

In the call Frey tells Peterson his stories don't add up.........

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Missing 10 minutes could decide Peterson case

Missing 10 minutes could decide Peterson case Modesto Bee

MODESTO - The case against accused double-murderer Scott Peterson could come down to roughly 10 minutes.

That's the space of time from when someone used Peterson's cell phone in or near his home the morning of Dec. 24 until a neighbor said she found the Petersons' dog standing in the road, its leash dangling from its collar.

If the 10:08 a.m. call indicates the time Peterson left his home, his alibi appears to hang on his pregnant wife mopping the floor, leaving to take the dog for a walk and being abducted during that 10-minute stretch.

Neighbor Karen Servas testified that she found the Petersons' golden retriever standing in the street at 10:18 a.m. She deduced that time after checking a time-stamped receipt and clocking how long it took her to retrace her route to the store.

Peterson told police he left home at about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24 to go fishing in San Francisco Bay, stopping at a warehouse he used in his work as a fertilizer salesman to get his boat and to check his e-mail, Detective Al Brocchini testified during Peterson's preliminary hearing.

Peterson said when he left, his wife was preparing to mop and planning to run errands before walking their golden retriever, McKenzie, Brocchini said.

Prosecutors contend Peterson murdered his wife and unborn son either late Dec. 23 or early Dec. 24. He could receive the death penalty if convicted on both murder counts.

The bodies were found in April along the bay's eastern shore, less than two miles from the spot where Peterson said he went fishing.

The 10:08 a.m. call from Peterson's cell phone to his voicemail appeared to show the caller driving westward from the Petersons' Covena Avenue home because it switched to a different cell phone tower, district attorney investigator Steve Jacobson testified.

Peterson's Emerald Avenue warehouse is northwest of his home.

"Does it appear that he's driving from the house and that, while making the phone call, that the cell phone site switches?" defense attorney Mark Geragos asked.

"That would be my understanding," Jacobson said.

Cell phone tower data cannot pinpoint a location, Jacobson acknowledged; it can only indicate that the call came from within the area it covered.

The cell tower serving the Petersons' home has a radius .......

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[MEG33]

I think he has been retained by Jackson since the first of the year.I have heard Thriller knew this boy might present a problem.Just my TV watching info.

[cyncooper]

The rambling 23 minute call was after Laci's disappearance when Amber knew he was Laci Peterson's husband, I'm pretty sure. He says stuff like he knows Laci is alive and in Modesto.

[cyncooper]

"Evidence" is a lame excuse for the cops to keep the money. One stack of bills is like any other stack of bills. Other reports indicate this cash is the proceeds of Scott selling his golf club membership. This is like confiscating someone's paycheck.

"Evidence" is a lame excuse? Only if it isn't evidence, which in this case it is.

Evidence that he was planning to flee, when considered in context of the vehicle he was in, how he acquired the vehicle, the ID he had, his hair, etc, etc.

If he's acquitted (cough) he'll get the money back. If it really is his.

[cyncooper]

Didn't he realize they could track him through his cell phone!!!!

Yup. Similar testimony was given in the Westerfield case, tracking his rambling all over the place during a weekend "camping trip".

[Mare]

Many thanks once again for keeping us posted.

Do you know if anyone has made a timeline from all the reports (other than the DA, that is -- I don't think they will share theirs with us)?

I have all this info floating around my head, sometimes forget some small thingy already established, and thought it would be interesting to see it all together, like they do on TV shows. (haha)

Has anyone seen anything like that? Sometimes media websites do that sort of thing.

[Howlin]

I have heard what Lee does/did, but right this moment I cannot remember. But they are not independently wealthy.

And when this is done, not only they, but their children, too, will all be broke and in debt for the foreseeable future.

All for Snotty.

[runningbear]

Well depends... depends on siezure and probability of show flight risks. Also, sure they could return the funds, after they check the serials, and photograph the loot! (which I am sure they have already done!) :o)

[runningbear]

ROFL.. yes he does.. He loves himself so much he wants filming rights! ;o)

[runningbear]

check this index for the history of the Petersons:

FindLaci2003

[pettifogger]

The rambling 23 minute call was after Laci's disappearance when Amber knew he was Laci Peterson's husband

Thanks. I haven't followed that closely.

[Carolinamom]

Thanks....according to the site, the Petersons "own San Diego Crating & Packing, a Poway shipping company."

[Republicus2001]

Wait, I though Garegos was doing this pro bono - isn't that true?

[Republicus2001]

he also told the woman his wife was dead MONTHS before they found her body

[pinz-n-needlez]

Don't forget the camping gear, and the conversation he had with the sales person, saying he was going to be roughing it in Mexico for a few months.

From my memory of a news article last winter/spring.

Pinz

[cyncooper]

Rough chronology of Peterson's lies about his marital status:

He meets Amber and represents himself as single.

Amber gets wind that he's married and confronts him in early December and he admits he was married but had "lost" his wife and this would be his first Christmas without her.

Sometime after Laci's disappearance (and Amber had contacted the tip phone number 12/30, so she realized by then) she confronts Scott with the fact that his wife hadn't been dead after all and he admits to that, but claims he didn't kill her and in fact she's alive in Modesto.

[pinz-n-needlez]

I'm pretty sure there is such a timeline at websleuths. I'll see if I can find that thread.

Pinz

[cyncooper]

Exactly-----I got tired of typing so inserted my "etc". LOL

Thanks for adding the details.

[pinz-n-needlez]

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?s=5e9a6311bee4d2780000b93f242a94f7&threadid=2016

This is the thread I've found interesting, where the loss of the blue tarp on the bay is mentioned.

I'm making an assumption here that it is acceptable to post links like this. Someone let me know if I'm crossing a line, please.

Pinz

[pinz-n-needlez]

:-)

I find it interesting that his glib tongue that he has used all of his life to get him out of messes of his own making may end up getting him a fatal injection.

Oh well, that will be more humane that what he did to Laci and his own son.

Pinz

[CheneyChick]

No kidding...