Investigator in Laci Peterson slaying says more calls were recorded

Tri-cityhearld.com ^ | June 18, 2003 | BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press

[runningbear]

Investigator in Laci Peterson slaying says more calls were recorded

Investigator in Laci Peterson slaying says more calls were recorded

Copyright © 2003 AP Online
This story was published Wednesday, June 18th, 2003

By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - An investigator who wiretapped Scott Peterson's phones said in court papers filed Wednesday that he recently discovered 176 calls that were recorded without his knowledge.

The computer-recorded calls could present a new hurdle for prosecutors as they fight defense claims of prosecutorial misconduct over other taped conversations.

Prosecutors asked Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to review the newly discovered calls and decide whether police could listen to them for potential evidence in the case against Peterson, who is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.

Steven Jacobson, an investigator for the prosecution, said the calls were discovered Friday by an expert from the software company that designed the wiretap system. The two men listened to about 10 seconds of one recording to confirm that it was of an actual conversation, but did not listen to the others, he said.

"We heard a person in a Southern drawl talking to Scott Peterson in what appeared to be a business-related call," Jacobson wrote in an affidavit.

Jacobson said he had never heard that call before, and added that he was familiar with 3,858 phone calls police logged on the fertilizer salesman's home and cellular phones.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted in the killings of his wife and unborn son. He was arrested after their remains washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.

Defense lawyer Mark Geragos has asked that prosecutors be dismissed or the wiretaps tossed out because investigators listened to parts of conversations between Peterson and one of his lawyers. The eavesdropping violated attorney-client privilege, he said.

Prosecutors have said officers mistakenly listened to snippets of two of 69 conversations between Peterson and the lawyer, and one conversation with a private investigator.

Girolami has scheduled a June 26 hearing on the wiretap and other matters.

Both sides are barred by a gag order from commenting on the case. >{?

Meanwhile, the defense appealed a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case, saying their release would ignite a "media firestorm of misinformation." ......

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Peterson defense tries to stop a `firestorm of misinformation'

Posted on Wed, Jun. 18, 2003

Peterson defense tries to stop a `firestorm of misinformation'

By the Mercury News

Saying that it will will ignite a ``media firestorm of misinformation,'' Scott Peterson's attorneys are going to appeal a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case of his slain wife and unborn son.

Defense lawyer Mark Geragos filed his appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Fresno to keep eight search warrants from being made public next month.

Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled last week in Stanislaus County Superior Court that the documents, which are expected to contain evidence and police theories in the case, should be unsealed July 8 after a previous appellate ruling expires.

That order, however, is now on hold as the court considers the appeal. Prosecutors and lawyers for California newspapers and broadcasters, who argued to release the documents, have a week to file responses.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested after the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.

Police used the search warrants to seize the fertilizer salesman's truck, boat and trailer, along with scores of items from the couple's home as they tried to solve the disappearance.

Geragos said in court papers that he wants Beauchesne's decision reversed and wants him removed from the case.

If the warrants are unsealed, Geragos said a ``media firestorm of misinformation will result'' and ``rumors and gossip will be rehashed immediately, incessantly and without recourse to Mr. Peterson receiving a fair trial.''

Geragos said prosecutors told him they want Beauchesne removed from the case, but prosecutors refused to comment, saying they would file their own court papers.

Beauchesne said there was no reason to keep the papers, which are usually made public 11 days after a search warrant has been served, secret because Peterson had been arrested. He also said the defense had not shown him evidence ......

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Peterson's lawyer files appeal to keep search warrants sealed

Article Last Updated: Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 4:18:41 AM PST

Peterson's lawyer files appeal to keep search warrants sealed

By FROM WIRE REPORTS

MODESTO -- Scott Peterson's defense is appealing a judge's order to unseal search warrants in the case of his slain wife and unborn son, saying they will ignite a "media firestorm of misinformation."

Defense lawyer Mark Geragos filed his appeal Tuesday at the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno to keep eight search warrants from being made public next month.

Judge Roger Beauchesne ruled Thursday in Stanislaus County Superior Court that the documents, which are expected to contain evidence and police theories in the case, should be unsealed July 8 after a previous appellate ruling expires.

That order, however, is now on hold as the court considers the appeal. Prosecutors and lawyers for California newspapers and broadcasters, who argued to release the documents, have a week to file responses.

Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested after the remains of Laci Peterson and her unborn son washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.

Police used the search warrants to seize the fertilizer salesman's truck, boat and trailer, along with scores of items from the couple's home as they tried to solve the disappearance.

Geragos said in court papers that he wants Beauchesne's decision reversed and wants him removed from the case.

If the warrants are unsealed, Geragos said a "media firestorm of misinformation will result" and "rumors and gossip will be rehashed immediately, incessantly and without recourse to Mr. Peterson receiving a fair trial."

Geragos said prosecutors told him they want Beauchesne removed from the case, but prosecutors refused to comment, saying they would file their own court papers.

Beauchesne said there was no reason to keep the papers, which .....

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Why Laci’s baby, Connor, is not an ‘it’

Commentary from the Savage Nation ;o)

Why Laci’s baby, Connor, is not an ‘it’

COMMENTARY
by Michael Savage

May 3 — “In my mind, I keep hearing Laci say to me, mom, please find me and Connor and bring us home. I am scared, and please don’t leave us out here all alone. I want to come home. Please don’t stop looking for us.” —Sharon Rocha

SHARON ROCHA said it for all of us. This is a woman whose heart is broken. But you notice she said for Connor and Laci? This is a woman who understands that a fetus at eight months is a person.

There’s a soul in there. And the ghouls in the abortion racket ought to be ashamed of themselves, particularly those of you who practice so-called late-term abortion, which is nothing more than infanticide.

Do we have the full screen of the Morris County NOW President, Mavra Stark, who said that there’s something about this that bothers me a little bit? Was it born or was it unborn? If it was unborn, she said, then I can’t see charging Peterson with a double murder.

Well, lady, let me tell you something, you need to get a life, and you need to get reeducated. If you think this is an “it,: I would invite you to watch that tape that I just played of the heartbroken grandparents over and over again. You will know it’s not an it, and maybe it will enlighten you to the fact that human life is precious, every human life is precious.

Should Laci’s unborn baby be called “it?” Absolutely not. Should Scott be tried for double homicide? Absolutely. Should the unborn be permitted to be ripped out of a womb and their skulls broken open and their brains sucked out in a procedure called late-born abortion? It was outlawed by Congress, if you remember, when Clinton was president. Both the House and the Senate said no to this gruesome, barbaric procedure.

Bill Clinton vetoed it. He catered to the abortion lobby. When this issue comes up again, I want you to make certain that your representative— I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican— you have got to do the right thing for humanity, just say no to late-term abortion. Is there anything we can agree upon, or does everything have to be agenda driven? How about something being ‘human driven’? How about putting human rights ahead of agenda? Is that ever going to happen in America?

[MaggieMay]

Goodmorning Runningbear,Sandylapper,Jackie-O,All.

From what I can gather ATT software has a defect which allowed it to record without notifiying agents who are doing the monitoring. These 176 calls were captured in "audio buffers". The poblem is without the agents knowing about these calls then the agents are not doing the full task ordered by the court. This problem was found, when Keven Clements of Lincon,Nev.,discovered the new recordings Friday while helping investigators with some technical problems. These recordings are stored on two compact discs and are locked away.

[MaggieMay]

I meant to include you in my post.(smiling)

[Canadian Outrage]

Well why would it be Prosecutorial misconduct if the Prosecutors and their Investigators didn't KNOW it was happening? Sounds more like a technical glitch that can't be blamed on anyone, to me. It certainly seems there was no deliberate ANYTHING. btw Is Geragos looking to have everybody but himself thrown off the case? LOL He looks just plain stoopid desperate.

[MaggieMay]

I am getting this information from Modbee.com. "Pertinent, nonpertinent, and privileged information might be containted,"DA Brazelton wrote in a request form the court. Judges who issue secret warrants lay out guidelines agents must follow....when they intercept "privilieged" calls between subject and his attorney, they must "mininize"or turn OFF the recordings. "Failure to mininize can be a fatal defect",said Perini, who is preparing unrelated litigation on wiretaps techology. In other words,a judge can throw out parts or all of the evidence.

[runningbear]

I think that someone did the math, and it comes out if not sleeping, a call every ten mins....

[texasbluebell]

Just listening to the radio, there was something that made me think of SP. The news story was about a woman whose husband had poisoned her ice cream with vicodan.

The woman tasted the bitterness in the ice cream and called 911, so she was saved. And the husband was arrested, and his motive was apparently that she wanted him to do the chores and he didn't want to.

And I wish those (for example on the courttv forum) who say that an affair or being in debt are no reasons to kill someone could read things like that.

Ha! Murder can be done for the most insignificant reason.

[texasbluebell]

Just found a link on FR to that story, though the article doesn't say he meant to kill her, unlike the account from the radio a while ago.

Man Accused Of Drugging Wife To Stop Her Nagging

[Velveeta]

National Enquirer article courtesy of RIckamorti from Purgatory forum:

LACI'S MURDER: IT WAS MISTAKEN IDENTITY

BY: David Thompson, Lynn Allison, and Dawna Kaufman

pictures: One of a prison yard and a sheild with Aryan Nations Symbol

synopsis

Laci's brutal murder was a tragic case of mistaken identity, according to the latest theory of her husbands defense team.

While prosecutors insist that the pregnant 27 year old teacher was killed by her husband Scott Peterson, the defense is now speculating she was really an unintended victim caught up in a vendetta by white supremacists against the family of another California man named Scott Peterson.

That theory has outraged Laci's loved ones. "It looks like Scott's attorneys are really clutching at straws," Laci's devoted dad Dennis Rocha tells Globe. "Its totally outrageous."

But sources close to the defense team fighting to save 30-year old Scott from a lethal injection say a worker at a California prison overheard a furious argument between two inmate members of the Ayran Nations- one of whom coincidentally has a cousin named Scott Peterson.

According to the prison employee, one of the inmates told the other, "I'm going to deal with you- and your family isn't going to be safe either."

A source close to the defense team calls the prison employee a "very credible" witness.

"He says the inmate was telling the cousin of the other Scott Peterson that he knew people on the outside who could get to him and his family," explains the source. "That was before Laci disappeared and the prison employee didn't pay much attention to it.

"But after the news broke, the prisoners were watching TV and the employee says he heard the one inmate tell the other, "See, we got you. We got her."

The inmate who was threatened had a girlfriend staying with his cousin Scott, so now defense investigators are striving to make the connection.

"The thugs on the outside may have staked out the wrong house and unwittingly mistook Laci for the inmate's girlfriend, the source explains. "These are the kind of people who act first and ask questions later, so Laci wouldn't have stood a chance."

Former FBI agent Ted Gunderson notes that hitmen sometimes do murder the wrong person.

"It can be something as simple as someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time or having a similar name," Gunderson said. "The Ayran Nation has tentacles inside and outside the prison system and their killers are frequently hopped up on drugs, which doesn't make for careful assassins."

Globe recently detailed a case in which two Houston women named Mary Morris were killed in their cars just days apart.

"There's a strong belief that the assassin got the wrong one in that case, then found the one he originally meant to kill and killed her too," says Gunderson.

And Mark Hamm, a criminolgy professor at Indiana State University, tells Globe that bloodthirsty white supremacy groups are growing"by leaps and bounds" behind bars.

"We believe that 10 percent of the prison population is affiliated with racist, hate gangs like the Aryan Nations" says Hamm. "They are extremely violent group of people capable of plotting a vendetta against anyone they consider they enemy."

Scott's attorneys have also theorized that Laci, who went missing from home Dec.23, was killed by a member of a twisted satanic cult. But Laci's family members are not buying either of those scenatios.

"They're going to any lengths possible so the finger isn't pointed at Scott," says Rocha. "The whole idea of an Aryan Nations vendetta is totally ridiculous."

[Velveeta]

OOOPS!!!
Globe Article NOT Enquirer...sorry about that

[Canadian Outrage]

GOD HELP US!! Are we gonna be peppered with bullsh-t like this???? This is beyond ludicrous.

[uvular]

On a related subject, have you heard anything lately about Bruce Koklich? 1st trial, where he was accused of killing his wife, was a hung jury. Prosecution said at the time they intended to try him again. Any news about a new trial date, and any news of what this guy has been up to lately-did he go back to his real estate business?

[Sandylapper]

What a convoluted mess! I don't mean just the NE story; I'm talking about the "just found" 176 taped messages, as well. Oh, well, we can all just wait for the pre-trial!

[Velveeta]

Wait. Soon we'll hear about the little green men who may have taken her.

[Velveeta]

The pretrial should be somethin'.

[BossLady]

Check out post #28. LMBO!!!!

[Sandylapper]

What I don't understand is if everybody on the defense team is gagged, when/who leaked this new story to NE?

[Canadian Outrage]

Well at least that 176 tapes was a technical glitch. Geragos will try to make something out of it but it hasn't been listened to by either side yet. How's he gonna say that was Prosecutor misconduct when the Prosecutor didn't know about the calls??? He'll try tho. Have you noticed that he (Geragos) jumps from one thing to the next to site "grave misconduct". P-U-K-E!! This last theory about mistaken identity/Arayan's takes the cake.

[Canadian Outrage]

Yeah THAT too - the leak I mean!!! ****GROAN*****

[Canadian Outrage]

Usually Uvie, if the Prosecution gets a hung jury, you can COUNT ON IT that they will re-try the case. eg. Menendez brothers.

[runningbear]

>>"While prosecutors insist that the pregnant 27 year old teacher was killed by her husband Scott Peterson, the defense is now speculating she was really an unintended victim caught up in a vendetta by white supremacists against the family of another California man named Scott Peterson">>

Yeah, right Geragos, after that Peterson can't stand to be equated as THAT scott peterson.... lol...

Thanks Velveeta for posting it... ;o)