Jodi Arias and The Public Opinion True Crime Train-wreck and Reinvestigation

Phoenix, AZ--The Name Jodi Arias provokes a lot of emotion from TV court watchers and alike. Unfortunately the TV only covers the trial and not the evidentiary issues of evidence and its admissibility that was hashed out away from the cameras at pre-trial hearings. Often the rulings judges make are destined to become the basis for new trials in that the jury should have heard relevant evidence excluded by the judge.

I have found that many women in particular hate Arias and want to actually kill her themselves. More men seem to be sympathetic but I'm sorry but it's difficult for me to gauge innocence or guilt based on what's shown on TV or even to a trial jury.

On it's face the killing of Travis Alexander seems to be at best justifiable and at worse a lesser degree of murder or even manslaughter. I cannot see this as a death penalty case.  By conventional standards the fatal injuries themselves seem to show incredible anger and passion. None of us were there and we can't know for sure. I also refuse to rule out justifiable homicide until I can investigate this mess.  The redundant stabbing seems to me to be an act of wild passion or a really fierce fight.

The trial was a shameful,media driven farce.  TV pundits were presiding over the case rather than Judge Sherry Stephens. The Prosecutor, Juan Martinez was a wannabe celebrity basking in the footlights of the courtroom that was transformed into a theater.  Ive seen this before and it was a disgraceful example of American justice.

The interest in this sad case was off the charts and people without apparent lives took up sides and verbally battled like gladiators.  The high emotion and bizarre behavior by court watchers cheering for a death penalty sentence was particularly sickening at least to me.

Many of my blog visitors want me to reinvestigate this.  I do believe that a new defense investigation may well be worthwhile.  What I find shocking and sad is the hateful court watchers that can't stand that idea.  I ask, what if new evidence is found that discredits the conviction?  Is that somehow a bad thing?

I don't know if funds will be raised by Arias' supporters.  I have to ask is it anybody's business if the case get's reinvestigated and new evidence is found but the court's?

Reinvestigation of the Arias case will take exhaustive work and I'd expect to have to deal with many hostile and angry people.  I have no emotional reaction to this mess.  If I investigate the chips will fall where they may.  Either evidence will be found or not. Is looking for evidence to get to the truth somehow a bad thing?

If funds are not raised believe me I won't feel deprived because I'd expect this case to be more challenging and difficult than most. I have agreed to take it on only if retained to do so and that would obligate me to do what I do best, criminal defense investigation. 

The Fifth Estate Film will be in Theaters October 18th

 Carice van Houten and Laura Linney

Los Angeles, CA—THE FIFTH ESTATE is a Dreamworks film based on real events and deeds of blogger Julian Assange and the Wikileaks organization.  They are responsible for mass Internet release of data, videos and sensitive government cables.  The deception and intrigue by various governments is as bad as it gets.  Today Assange is a wanted man in many nations right now.  He’s a hero to many and a traitor to many more. 

One thing for sure Assange has exposed massive corruption that continues because the apathetic public does not seem to care.  We will have to wait and see whay kind of light be shown on Assange and his cohorts by the authors of this film

I must say I’m absolutely thrilled to see Carice van Houten and another favorite actress Laura Linney staring in this production.   It was filmed in Berlin along with several locations in Belgium.  I have met Linney at a SAG function and I'm looking forward to meeting van Houten.  

This is the Dreamworks created storyline:

The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world's most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society-and what are the costs of exposing them?

This film was the talk of the recent Toronto International Film Festival.

The Stars of this film:

  

             Benedict Cumberbatc--Julian Assange

             Daniel Brühl--Daniel Domscheit-Berg

             Carice van Houten--Birgitta Jónsdóttir

             Alicia Vikande--Anke

             Stanley Tucci            --James Boswell

             Laura Linney            --Sarah Shaw

            Anthony Mackie--Sam Coulson

Can Jodi Arias be Helped Through a New Defense Investigation?

Phoenix, AZ—A jury convicted Jodi Arias of Capital Murder.   She now faces sentencing and her lawyers are frantically trying to save her life. 

I have gotten several requests from sincere readers to reinvestigate the Arias case.  None of them have come with the necessary retainer to allow me to help out.  

The case is somewhat problematic since Arias had changed her story to police and juries rarely will forgive what they believe to be lies, especially by the accused.   I can tell you that many innocent defendants fib to police all the time out of absolute desperation.  It is more about fear and the instinct for survival that anything else.  

I know that the trial was beyond troubling because the jury was bombarded with outrageous outside influences from the massive media circus.  Her trial was a lot of things but fair was not one of them.  Members of the Mormon community pulled out all the stops in efforts to influence that poor excuse for a trial.

For those that would ask why would you investigate for someone like this?  My answer is simple every American that is accused has a constitutional right to an effective defense and investigation is part of that.  The chips will fall where they may. 

Saying that,  I don’t know what the truth is about the actual innocence of Arias.  In the end her defense was self-defense.  I specialize in those kinds of cases and won 14 out of the last 14 I’ve handled for the defense.  Saying that I can’t make a promise of a particular result for Arias.

Lawyers can only do so much with what they are given in the way of evidence and witnesses.  My job is to give defense lawyers more evidence to work with.  Accordingly the defense investigation often becomes more important than the legal work by defense counsel.  Of course the lawyers have to get that evidence before the jury and sometimes that's very difficult.  

Too often the defense investigation is not done well.  Sometimes lawyers constrain the investigators too much or they are unable to suggest creative ways of gathering evidence to the investigators.  Far too many defense investigators are simply not creative and only follow suggestions of the lawyers. 

The investigator must be sharp, creative and must discuss his ideas with the lead lawyer.  The reality is that the lead lawyer is the captain of the ship.  The defense team is not a democracy but a dictatorship with the lead lawyer as a single dictator.  

Like all of us I have to pay the mortgage companies, utilities and the daily costs in a miserable economy.  There is no way for me to do this pro-bono.  The reinvestigation could easily run $50K before it’s over.

It is substantially easier to win a case at the initial trial level that to overturn an existing conviction.  However convictions are overturned all the time.  I don’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict how this will end.

A proposition

I’m willing to begin a reinvestigation this case for $20K.  That would essentially allow me to get up to speed on the facts and give me the various directions to move forward.  In it self this may somehow be enough to find the evidence that could make a difference.  I can’t possibly know until I have spent a couple of months on this case where it will go or what it will cost in the end.  If things begin to look promising we can worry about the additional costs later.    

Arias’s supporters seem both convinced and vocal.   Through our social media funds can be raised and if my minimum retainer can be met I am willing to take this case on.  Perhaps Kickstarter or some other Internet fundraising scheme may be the way to get funding.  I won’t get involved with the solicitation of funds myself.

The other side of this coin is the media  and social media has made Arias a pariah especially within the ranks of the fans of TV legal bomb thrower, Nancy Grace.   Nancy Grace however could be the biggest fundraiser as she agitates the supporters of Arias.

There is just one thing more Ms. Arias must consent to my intervention.  The ball is now in the court of Arias and her supporters.  This  game does not have to be over.

UPDATE:  I just got a reliable tip in Phoenix about the Arias case.  Apparently the defense has found a new witness and is filing a motion for a new trial so that this witness may be allowed to testify.  I don't know the details yet and of course I'm not going to look too hard until I am retained.  

The Role of A Private Investigator in a Criminal Defense Case

Image courtesy of Colleen Collins, owner Guns, Gams and Gumshoes: http://writingpis.wordpress.com/

Los Angeles, CA—A lot of people have little knowledge of what private eyes do beyond what they see on TV.  That’s often a distorted image conjured up by a screenwriter based on perceptions obtained from yet other entertainment sources. 

Private eyes do a lot of different things like cheating investigations, accident investigations, and bodyguard work.  They are often involved in efforts to prevent theft and investigate the numerous ways people take what’s not theirs.  They do lots of interviews and interrogations and often serve court orders, subpoenas and such.

I wear two investigative hats.  One is doing various investigations for lawyers and their clients usually involving litigation.  The other is producing and or reporting news stories primarily for television news or documentary filmmakers.  The better private eyes really understand government record keeping and knows where to find documents that will make or break the cases.

As for criminal defense work, it’s somewhat like the fictional investigator Paul Drake that worked with Perry Mason.  However the PI is absolutely vital when someone depends on getting a fair trial when they may lose their life or liberty because of an over-blown or phony allegation. 

I have seen countless foolhardy lawyers work without an investigator.  They lead clients to believe they are performing that function when by law they really can’t.  If a lawyer discovers anything important while investigating for his client then he becomes a witness.  Once a lawyer becomes a witness he can no loner represent his client.

Lawyers all know that good investigators are really rare.  Then there are those that simply dictate what they want and stupidly refuse a PI’s suggestions.   That’s perhaps because they never found a competent investigator before.

A criminal defense team is like a football team.  There is the lead lawyer, clerical staff and in anything serious, expert witnesses must be found, vetted and brought inside the case.  Then there is the investigator.  The lead lawyer is the running back and the PI is the quarterback. 

If the accused is lucky enough to bring the PI early he can gather information and evidence while the cops are still investigating.  Crime scene examination, searching for surveillance camera video, witnesses and physical evidence is much more effective if done quickly rather than months later. 

Cops and prosecutors usually tell their witnesses to not talk about cases or give interviews before the court tries the accused.  A competent investigator can usually get interviews despite the best efforts  made to prevent that. There is usually no law preventing witnesses from talking to anyone but prosecutors want to keep the defense attorneys in the dark but there is a larger problem. 

If the prosecution witnesses are lying their stories will crumble quickly because they can’t remember their earlier fibs.  They will make inconsistent statements.  The PI can lock in witnesses’ stories before cops and prosecutors that want to spin these tales in a better light improperly influence them.

I called the PI the quarterback because he somehow gets some evidence.  He must pass the evidence like a football to the lead lawyer so that the football can be rushed to the goal line.  If the quarterback never gets the football to pass to the running back the team will never score.

A good investigator will investigate the state’s witnesses looking for any kind of impeachment material. That includes criminal and civil court records, business license records, and psychiatric histories along with the use of prescription drugs, street drugs or alcohol.  Friends, enemies, ex-spouses and lovers usually can provide a treasure trove of impeachment material if the PI bothers to do his job.

A decent investigator brought in early enough can often derail a prosecution right in its tracks.  Evan a lawyer can’t do that! Of course the lawyer must present that crucial evidence to the prosecutor before he has obtained a Grand Jury indictment.

If a criminal case is headed for trial PI and the lawyers need to argue the merits of the evidence among themselves.  The benefit is that the evidence is tested.  If you can’t win the defense argument in the office it will be even more difficult before a jury. 

Frankly I’ve never seen a criminal case where so-called victims or government witnesses don’t lie about some aspect of the case.  Exposing lies is really what defense investigation is all about.  The sad truth is that too often cops also lie.  That happens even when it’s a fellow cop who has been accused of a crime.  In our world lies roll off people’s tongues routinely even while they are under oath!

There are those people that lie even when there is no advantage to be made.  If the could achieve the same result by telling the truth they would rather lie!  It’s a significant reality of human behavior.

Another sad truth is when prosecutors discover that their witnesses have lied in pursuit of the conviction of an innocent accused perjury prosecutions are nearly non-existent.

On the other hand if defense witnesses get’s caught in a lie there is a perjury indictment issued well before sundown.   

I’ve also seen innocent people lie or try to arrange phony alibies in desperate efforts to avoid wrongful convictions.  Once any defendant gets caught in the tiniest of lies juries are unforgiving. 

For any citizen under investigation by the police they should simply not say a word and ask for a lawyer.  Remember Martha Stewart’s debacle a few yeas ago?  Rather than ask for a lawyer she talked to the FBI.  In the end they only thing they could prosecute her on and put her in prison for was for lying to the FBI during her interview!

The last thing I will mention is cost.  Hiring a lawyer for a serious felony will financially destroy most people.  Paying for a PI in addition to the lawyer seems like a luxury but imagine what your lawyer will be up against if someone is not tossing him evidence to win the case? Too many layers only seem to care that they get their fee and then they don’t lose sleep over not having a PI. 

Below is a video that takes you to my world.  Watch the courtroom scene and you may recognize my client Danny Bonaduce who was in court over a nasty event with a transvestite.

 

On The Red Oscars Carpet or in The Combat Zone, TV Reporter Stephanie Stanton Shines

Los Angeles, CA—Chicago area native Stephanie Stanton does TV news.  I worked with this reporter in Phoenix where she covered the entire gamut of local TV news.  Whether it was covering a shooting or some fire or accident Stephanie always shined.

These days Stephanie is reporting for Al Jazeera America’s new cable news network venture.  I caught up Stephanie today in the middle of a hectic and boisterous anti-War demonstration.  With the demonstrators pushing yelling and acting up right behind her Stanton never missed a beat.  She got her interview and despite the heat and I never saw her sweat. 

I shot this somewhat wide view video below with a little GoPro camera that shows what TV viewers never see at home.  The audio from my camera got the overall noise from the demonstrators.  Imagine if you will the challenges the photographers must meet in order to give you crisp clean audio under the worst possible conditions.

Demonstrations in every city are somewhat peculiar.   In my experience as a cop and a newsman I don’t care what the cause is it’s always the same people mugging for the cameras holding signs and such.  It appears that for some people attending demonstrations is a hobby and a way to socialize.

It was fun visiting with Steph today.  She can always be found right in the middle of the heavy action! 

A New Toy For Private Eyes, filmmakers and TV News Producers--The Blade 350 QX

Blade 350 QX  Quad-Copter with a GoPro Camera Mounted 

Los Angeles, CA—As a PI, TV news producer and filmmaker I’m always looking for new, quick and effective ways of quality image and video making. 

Arial shots were always expensive because rotor or fixed wing aircraft was necessarily involved.  You got a one-time look for a lot of cash. 

Satellite imagery was available but not on the Internet.  You had to buy expensive and often incomplete stock images from NASA. 

The first game changer was Google earth that provided great images from most areas of dry land in the world.  The photo resolution was kind of so-so and the images are not regularly updated.

Now there is the latest Gee Wiz video-making device ever!   It’s the Blade 350 QX offered by B&H PHOTO 1-800-221-5743 when combined with the popular GoPro cameras is amazing .  They are those new and rather small, easy to operate Quad-Copters that are battery powered and operated by remote control.

The little drone can be driven to any location and deployed in the air within a minute.  It will fly 1000 feet high or higher than our tallest buildings and as much as a mile in any direction.  The very quiet little GoPro camera can shoot a series of high-resolution still photos or 1080p high definition video.

The GoPro can transmit video on a several second delay to an iPad or iPhone so the operator can see just what he’s captured.  Currently the devices are limited by battery to 10 minutes flying time.  However keeping several extra charged batteries on hand could extend that time.

The video can be imported and edited on all current software programs with ease.  

For tiny budget filmmakers this is a dream come true.  You can get those breathtaking aerial shots without breaking the bank. 

For TV news organizations this is an incredible tool.   The operator can simply drive near any crime, fire or accident scene and from blocks away from the dreaded yellow tape safely capture the action unobtrusively from 25 or 75 meters above. 

For the smaller TV markets with limited budgets helicopters are out of the question.  With the Quad-Copter cameras they can now do what was formerly impossible. 

For private eyes the possibilities are endless.  For search and rescue work difficult to inspect areas are a snap for this equipment.

Then there are roofers, real estate sales people and others that would benefit from the use of a Quad-Copter Camera.   The need for repetitive and dangerous ladder climbs has all but ended.

The legality of this device and its uses are under review by the FAA.  Currently there are no discernible restrictions for use by hobbyists. 

These wonderful machines will be flying off store shelves later this month.  They are being marketed by B&H PHOTO www.bhphotovideo.com  The price to obtain this machine is $469.99.

The GoPro Hero3 Black edition camera runs an additional $400.00 and they are available at www.gopro.com or thousands of retailers like Target.

I sent out a nationwide dragnet to get one of these machines for evaluation and review and can't wait to show my visitors this thing in action. Let's hope I can beat the target delivery date with some videos.  

Below are some videos that show this marvelous machine in action:

Protecting Local TV News Crews From Armed Robbery and Mayhem

Los Angeles, CA—Aside from being a licensed private investigator I’m also a freelance investigative TV news field producer.  I was drafted into TV news because of my investigative skills and advanced knowledge of courts, cops and public records.  

I’m proud to say I never failed to hose the competition on the various news stories I worked on over the years.  That’s all changed now because the shrinking budgets have greatly reduced ability news directors have to hire freelancers.  Todays local TV news is no longer competitive and it has be reduced to sending a two person crew out to cut a mediocre one minute, 30 second package or slap together a quick broadcast live shot. 

By accident I had a second role with my TV clients and that was dealing with security matters.  For example I would be assigned to deal with some of the more aggressive stalkers that pursued some of the more popular anchors and reporters.  I served lots of restraining orders on the offenders and even arrested a couple of them.   Of course this kind of function must be discreetly handled so that neither my clients nor I attract attention for others in the news business.

In the past couple of years there has been a new and dangerous problem.   Armed robberies of news crews primarily targeting expensive cameras, laptops, cellphones along with cash and jewelry are in vogue.   This has been a huge problem in Oakland California and news coverage has been significantly reduced there as a result. 

TV journalists no longer have to wait till they’re sent to a war zone to experience raw fear because it’s here now too.  Perhaps it’s the result of the economy, mass early release of prison inmates or both.  It’s only a matter of time until some reporter or photographer is killed while covering local news. 

Often there are plenty of cops around where news happens but just as the lonely shot above shows my friend, TV reporter and anchor Robert Kovacik all alone without a cop in sight. 

Incidentally Kovacik was doing a live shot one morning, covering a murder when he was actually interrupted during his standup by the actual killer!  Kovacik never missed a beat as he grabbed an exclusive interview before the suspect surrendered to the police.

In Oakland they actually hired some uniformed and armed security guards for their news crews.   However, recently a reported robbery netted not only the TV news gathering gear but also the guard’s gun! 

Guard services generally employ slow-witted and poorly trained people for even armed duty because security work is rarely financially rewarding.  A warm body with a gun and a snappy uniform is hardly more than a distraction. 

The best kind of security is invisible and of course there is safety in numbers.  What the newsrooms need are a few hybrid types like me.  Highly trained former cops that can discreetly carry a firearm as a last resort, that also really functions as a news crew member helping with equipment and news gathering.  An extra crew member can help set up and tear down the broadcast equipment reducing the time that valuable news assets are exposed to danger.

Because if my presence with news crews I have defused many sticky situations where people became angry that they were suddenly news worthy.  It is not as easy to push a photographer around or assault him or the reporter if there is a fellow crew member running interference. 

News crews must learn how to evaluate risky locations and have a viable safety plan worked out between them.  Securing cameras and high dollar equipment that is not actually in actual use is necessary. 

At night using normal TV lighting, as a way to blind potential opportunistic criminals is a great deterrent.  Robbers can often become discouraged if they are simply momentarily blinded and can’t even see what they want to steal.

Insurance may cover the cost cameras but that is always a slow process.  The emotional damage to even physically uninjured reporters can create a significant disruption to any news department.  

There are a lot of honorably retired and well-educated and trained cops that can add significant news gathering ability to newsrooms and they are allowed by law to carry firearms.  Firearms do save lives in the right hands.  A field producer/security agent must know how to use his brain more than a gun.  The absolute goal is to keep security invisible while protecting lives and property.

I’d love to get some time these days with a night side news crew covering crime stories if only they could afford me.  I’m also well qualified to audit any news department’s security program.   At the end of the day the news station owners need to provide a safe workplace for their crews with minimum risk of liability.

I’ve not seen my job description on any news department’s recruiting materials.  I think that will be changing soon.

The Incredibly Deceitful Obama Administration Wants Our Trust and Support for Yet Another War?

Washington, DC—It’s déjà vu, all over again!  Let’s see, they lied to us about that that attack on the Benghazi compound, that took the life of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others in Libya.   Absolutely knowing otherwise, they audaciously claimed the slaughter was instigated by an obscure YouTube film trailer that was somehow offensive to Muslims.

The Benghazi lies continue even though they’ve been exposed for nearly a year.  Today they call it a, “phony scandal.”  Impeachment and criminal trials are long overdue however Obama controls the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Then there is the Fast and Furious Gunrunning Scandal designed to fabricate an American Gun Control Crisis.   That fiasco needlessly took the lives of two U.S. Border Patrol Agents along with that of hundreds of Mexicans.

Next there is the targeting of Conservative political groups and individuals for special IRS intimidation, extortion and harassment. 

That was followed up with the Justice Department's undisputed seizure of Associated Press phone records.  The phone and e-mail snooping by the Obama Administration makes Nixon’s Watergate scandal tame by comparison.

The pattern of deception by the Obama Administration against the American people and our military people putting their lives on the line is despicable, deplorable and downright disgusting.  It is also a government run crime wave.

Now these same criminals are demanding we bomb Syria because they bombed their own people.  What are the real reasons our Nobel Peace Prize winning War Criminal is demanding this action? 

The impassioned, “We Must Bomb Syria” speech by the well-know American traitor John Kerry is so reminiscent of that Communist’s similar lies during the Viet Nam War.  

The Obama Administration wants to turn our young fighting men and women into war criminals just as the Third Reich did with loyal German troops. 

We must stop the Obama Administration cold along with all of the Communists and Criminals that support these bums in our government.  

Our military has the duty to arrest, try and seek punishment for the most lawless U.S. presidential administration in history.   Americans must begin to demand action while they still can. 

Our Military Leaders Must Remember the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials!

Nuremberg, Germany—When the Third Reich collapsed and surrendered in 1945 those Nazi military leaders that could be found were rounded up, jailed and tried by a special tribunal of those victorious Allied Nations. 

To a one the accused military suspects cited as a defense that they were only following orders and that had they disobeyed those orders they would have been shot or hanged.

The international precedent was established that eliminated that defense and the defendants were held to a standard the precluded Waging Aggressive War and Crimes Against Humanity.  Nearly every defendant was found guilty and most of them were hanged.

Now Barack Obama has put our military leaders at a crossroads similar to the Nazi regime.  Hitler engaged in starting war after war and Obama is doing precisely the same thing.  Our military leaders must not allow themselves to be taken down the war crimes path by our psychotic Commander and Chief.

This is not about pacifism or becoming a Contentious Objector but the duty all solders have to not follow unlawful orders. 

Our members of the military have taken an oath, not to Obama but to the U.S. Constitution.   If there s reasonable doubt that an order is lawful, members of our military have a duty to refuse such orders.

At some point the military may have a solemn and sworn duty to arrest the President and other officials in our government for war crimes and treason.  Our military needs to know that America backs them if they follow their oaths.  

Following a war criminal's orders may lead to disgrace and actual execution as s depicted n the film below:

Worldwide Defense Investigation For Military Members Accused Under UCMJ

Washington, DC—As a military veteran I’m well aware of the failings of criminal investigations conducted by company commanders, Military Police and the CID.  They do the best they can but there are serious issues with investigative training and the military’s poor use of assets to find the truth.

I’ve expanded my services to the United States military members accused of serious crimes worldwide.  Family members of accused servicemen and women need to dispatch me to the alleged crime scenes and to the military defense lawyers as quickly as possible because very often I can make a difference.   

Once there is an allegation of a crime a decision is made as to pre-trial confinement for the accused.  If it’s a serious crime the stockade or the brig is the next stop for the charged member.  An Article 32 Hearing is scheduled and this is a magic window of sorts for me as a criminal defense investigator.  If I can gather enough helpful evidence and witnesses for the defense counsel the entire case can end right there.

If this is after the Article 32 Hearing I have many months to look for evidence and witnesses to either exonerate or mitigate the matter to lesser chargers.  I have four decades of experience behind me.  

The greatest defense lawyer cannot investigate and risk becoming a witness in his own case.  That’s why we have defense investigators.  The problem is there are too often not enough funds to hire a competent defense investigator.

I’m comfortable traveling to wherever these cases are filed by the military.  I know my way around the entire European Theater as well as parts Asia.  I also speak German  I’m ready to go at a moments notice with my extensive yet compact video gear.

If the case is in a post conviction stage I deal with those too.  I enjoy finding out evidence that will right an injustice even years later.  These however are usually difficult cases because all but the most convincing proof will not help.