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Kevin Bertalotto
Witness for the People: Guilt Phase September 7 & 9, 2004
Direct Examination by Rick Distaso DISTASO: Let me just mark, I'm going to mark a map real quick, Judge. JUDGE: Going to mark another map. 217. I'll take judicial notice of a map. What's it a map of? GERAGOS: I don't think it's a map that you can take judicial notice of. JUDGE: Is this a hand drawn map? GERAGOS: Well, there's various coordinates and distances. JUDGE: Okay. DISTASO: He'll testify. JUDGE: Okay. Then I can't take judicial notice of it. DISTASO: Investigator Bertalotto, did you as part, well, let me just ask you this. You work for the district attorney's office of Stanislaus County? BERTALOTTO: Yes, I do. DISTASO: How long have you been a investigator there? BERTALOTTO: Over three years, sir. DISTASO: And how long have you been a sworn peace officer in California? BERTALOTTO: Since 1977. DISTASO: The, as part of the investigation into this particular case, were you asked to go and research waterways in the Stanislaus County area that were reachable, or, actually, let me phrase it this way. That were near Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: Yes. DISTASO: And that was the home at 523 Covena? BERTALOTTO: Yes. DISTASO: Let me show you a map of People's 217. Do you recognize what's depicted on the map, those particular waterways? BERTALOTTO: Yes, I do. DISTASO: And are those the waterways that you drove out to and measured the distance from Mr. Peterson's home to each of those individual locations? BERTALOTTO: Yes, I did. DISTASO: Did you go from his home to the boat launching facilities at each of those locations? BERTALOTTO: Yes, I did. DISTASO: Let me just put this up on the screen. And how is it that you measured, how is it that you measured the distance? Did you BERTALOTTO: Well DISTASO: Yeah, go ahead. BERTALOTTO: I just used the tripometer in my assigned work car, so obviously it's an approximation, but that's the way I did it. DISTASO: And let's just kind of go through them, go through them, starting on the left-hand side. From, Mr. Peterson's home to the Mossdale launching or crossing launch ramp, where is that located? BERTALOTTO: That's on Highway 120 where it merges into Highway 205 where it crosses the San Joaquin River, there's, excuse me, a launch access there. DISTASO: Okay. And there's somewhere you can launch a boat? BERTALOTTO: Yes. DISTASO: And how far in miles just from your car driving out there was it? BERTALOTTO: 26.4. DISTASO: And if you go up, going up to the top of the map there, how far from Mr. Peterson's home to the Woodward Reservoir launch ramp? BERTALOTTO: 23.7. DISTASO: And let's go straight, straight east. Straight east from Mr. Peterson's home, if you were to drive down Highway 132, can you come to a place called the Fox Grove fishing access to the Tuolumne River? BERTALOTTO: Yes, it's off Albers Road. DISTASO: Does that have a boat launching ramp there? BERTALOTTO: Yes, it does. DISTASO: How far was that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: 9.8 miles. DISTASO: Is there another location at Turlock Lake in that area of Stanislaus County? BERTALOTTO: Yes, sir, there is. DISTASO: How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: 23.7 miles. Same distance. DISTASO: And again, looking straight above that, the Modesto Reservoir, that's another lake there in Stanislaus County? BERTALOTTO: Yes. DISTASO: Does that have a boat launching area there? BERTALOTTO: Yes, it does. DISTASO: How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: 19.2 miles. DISTASO: Going down fairly far south, in Merced County, is there another lake, Yosemite Lake, a small lake? BERTALOTTO: Yes, there's a small lake there. DISTASO: Does that have a boat launch? BERTALOTTO: Yes, it does. DISTASO: How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: 58 miles. DISTASO: And keep, keep going east there. It looks like Lake McSwain is another location? BERTALOTTO: Yes. DISTASO: How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: To the boat launch there is 49.7. DISTASO: And going up to Lake McClure, that's another lake right across the county line; is that right? BERTALOTTO: It's in Merced County. DISTASO: Okay. How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home to the boat launch ramp at that facility? BERTALOTTO: At Barrett's Cove, which is the nearest one on that lake, is 45.4. DISTASO: And Don Pedro Reservoir, another lake in the area, how far was it to the closest boat launch ramp? BERTALOTTO: Yeah, that was Blue Oak. That was the closest. DISTASO: Says on there 37.2; is that correct? BERTALOTTO: That's correct. DISTASO: Okay. And Lake Tulloch, which is right across the Tuolumne County line from Stanislaus County to the north, if I can read that right it looks like it says 37.1 miles? BERTALOTTO: Yes. That's to the south shore launch ramp. And it was 47.2 to the north shore launch ramp. DISTASO: There's two launch ramps at that particular – BERTALOTTO: Yes. They're accessed off different roads. DISTASO: And the last one that's on the map there is Tuttletown Reservoir, New Melones. How far is that from Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: I believe it was 58.8 miles. DISTASO: And is that every single possible place you could go fishing – BERTALOTTO: No. DISTASO: in Stanislaus County? BERTALOTTO: No. DISTASO: Or the surrounding counties? BERTALOTTO: No. DISTASO: Okay. Is this a sample of the boat launch ramps and facilities that are available near Mr. Peterson's home? BERTALOTTO: It's pretty, pretty much just a random sampling of east, slightly north, slightly south, popular fishing areas for people in the Modesto area, Stanislaus County. DISTASO: Nothing further, your Honor. JUDGE: Mr. Geragos. GERAGOS: I just received the locations with the mileage on it, and I would like to reserve cross for tomorrow morning on him. JUDGE: He can't be here tomorrow morning, right? DISTASO: Right. He's, it's actually 37039. It's right here. GERAGOS: Not on the map, not the way that it's plotted out. DISTASO: Here's, the only issue I have with that, I have I don't have any problem reserving cross, but Investigator Bertalotto's grandmother died. He has a funeral tomorrow. If we can put him off to another date, that would be fine. JUDGE: Thursday morning. DISTASO: That's fine. GERAGOS: Whatever date he wants is fine. JUDGE: Thursday morning, can you come back? BERTALOTTO: Yeah, I'll be here. JUDGE: Thursday morning at 9:00 o'clock for cross-examination. Okay. We'll excuse you for the time being. BERTALOTTO: Thanks. JUDGE: Order you back Thursday.
September 9, 2004 Cross Examination by Pat Harris HARRIS: Good morning, Mr. Bertalotto. BERTALOTTO: Good morning. HARRIS: How are you? Last week when you were testifying, I think your testimony dealt with the areas around Stanislaus County and surrounding areas that, potential fishing holes, fishing areas; is that correct? BERTALOTTO: Yes. Particularly launch ramps where you could launch a boat. HARRIS: All right. And you had personally gone out and taken a look, actually you had driven from Covena, my understanding you drove actually from Covena to these locations to the boat ramps try to see how many miles it would be to those? BERTALOTTO: Yeah, approximately, using the odometer in my car. I'm not going to say that it was precisely calibrated. It was an approximation. HARRIS: Close enough. Okay. Now, these lakes, these particular lakes that you are doing, these are all within the fairly close general vicinity of Modesto, right? BERTALOTTO: I think the furthest one that I drove to was 58 miles. HARRIS: Okay. You are obviously aware that on the day of Miss Peterson's disappearance, that Mr. Peterson's alibi was that he was at the Berkeley Marina, correct? BERTALOTTO: I'm aware of that. HARRIS: And so your purpose was to kind of show that these places were actually closer than the Berkeley Marina. BERTALOTTO: Yes. HARRIS: Are you a fisherman yourself? Do you fish? BERTALOTTO: Fly fish a bit. HARRIS: Are you aware there is a difference between freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing? BERTALOTTO: I am aware of – HARRIS: That there are definitely people who prefer one or the other? BERTALOTTO: I'm sure that there are people that prefer. HARRIS: Some people fish in saltwater, some people prefer to fish in freshwater; is that fair? DISTASO: Objection, your Honor. Relevance. Calls for speculation. JUDGE: I don't think it's irrelevant. Overruled. I think he can answer that. BERTALOTTO: Probably. HARRIS: You have had a chance since this investigation started, you are an investigator for the District Attorney's office, right? BERTALOTTO: That's correct. HARRIS: You have had a chance, I assume, to look at different pieces of the evidence involved in this case? BERTALOTTO: I have seen some. HARRIS: Are you aware that there is a receipt from Big 5 Sporting Goods? BERTALOTTO: I have heard of it. I haven't seen it. I haven't examined it. HARRIS: Okay. I'll identify it for the record. This is a receipt purchase from Big 5 Sporting Goods, on, I believe it's 12, is it 19? JUDGE: What's the – HARRIS: It's evidence number 73. JUDGE: People's Number 73. Okay. BERTALOTTO: 12-20. HARRIS: 12-20. Are you familiar with the receipt? BERTALOTTO: Like I said, I have never seen it before. HARRIS: Were you aware that when he purchased a fishing rod on 12-20, he purchased a saltwater fishing rod? BERTALOTTO: I'm not aware of that, sir. HARRIS: Now, the places you talk about that you went to the different locations, you drove specifically from his house, right? BERTALOTTO: I didn't drive a single trip from his house to every lake. I drove from his house to a particular intersection, and measured the mileage to that intersection. Then drove from that intersection to various lakes and added the mileage up. Yeah, that measurement was from his house to those locations. HARRIS: Okay. Now, you have, you are aware that there has been testimony in this case about other, from other people about fishing? DISTASO: Objection, your Honor. Goes beyond the scope of direct. HARRIS: Let, I'll tie it together. I'll make the a little clear. JUDGE: All right. HARRIS: You are aware, for example, that there is an expert that testified in this business, Angelo Cuanang, a fishing expert? BERTALOTTO: I'm familiar with him. I wasn't present for his testimony. HARRIS: Would it surprise you to know that he drove from South San Francisco, he testified that he drove from South San Francisco up to Lake Turlock – BERTALOTTO: Tulloch. HARRIS: Tulloch. I'm sorry I never get that right. To Lake Tulloch? DISTASO: I'm going to object that it surprises him. JUDGE: Sustained. Sustained. HARRIS: You are aware that Lake Tulloch is well over, you have got 86 miles up here for distance from Scott Peterson's house to the Berkeley Marina, correct? BERTALOTTO: That's what's on the diagram. I didn't drive that. HARRIS: Okay. And you have driven from, grab the pointer real quick. You have driven from Covena to the Berkeley Marina, correct? BERTALOTTO: I have done that. HARRIS: And you have driven from Covena up to Lake Tulloch, right? BERTALOTTO: I have done that. HARRIS: And the distance here from, you show from Covena to Lake Tulloch is 47.2 miles, correct? BERTALOTTO: Correct. HARRIS: And the distance from here from Covena to Berkeley is 86.2, correct? BERTALOTTO: Approximately, yes. HARRIS: And you are aware that South San Francisco is below the Berkeley Marina? BERTALOTTO: It's on the other than side of The Bay, yeah. HARRIS: It's even further distance from there to Covena? BERTALOTTO: Yes. HARRIS: You are also aware that on the day of the 24th, Mr. Grantski had gone fishing; is that correct? DISTASO: Objection, your Honor. That is beyond the scope of direct. JUDGE: It's beyond the scope. HARRIS: The distance Mr. Grantski went to go fishing that day is relevant. JUDGE: No, I don't think so. Where Mr. Grantski went fishing I don't think is relevant. The issue is, the issue is how far these other alternative places to go fishing are from the Covena residence. I'm going to sustain the objection. HARRIS: The different areas around here, the different places you went, these are the different lakes? These are all freshwater lakes? BERTALOTTO: They are. HARRIS: There aren't any saltwater lakes in the area, right? BERTALOTTO: No. HARRIS: So if you want to go to a salt water, to go saltwater fishing, the Berkeley Marina and The Bay would be the closest saltwater area, correct? BERTALOTTO: Yeah probably. HARRIS: And, in fact, have you ever gone saltwater fishing? BERTALOTTO: A few times. HARRIS: You have gone? BERTALOTTO: Un-hun. HARRIS: Did you drive over to The Bay to go saltwater fishing? BERTALOTTO: No. HARRIS: You have gone saltwater fishing other places? BERTALOTTO: Yes, sir. HARRIS: So just because the lakes were closest, that didn't necessarily mean to choose your fishing spot you chose to go further than the closest possible place to go fishing, correct? DISTASO: Objection, your Honor. Relevance as to what the investigator did. JUDGE: Sustained. HARRIS: The specific lakes that you are talking about here that are in the area, which is the largest one? BERTALOTTO: The Don Pedro probably has the largest shoreline. But, you know, there is a lot of arms, and so forth. You can see the distance around that lake is probably – HARRIS: This is Don Pedro? BERTALOTTO: Yeah. I think it's about a hundred eighty miles when it's up at spillway level. HARRIS: How many boat launch ramps does that have? BERTALOTTO: Blue Oak, Flaming Meadow, Moccasin. That's all. HARRIS: There is three that you can launch from? BERTALOTTO: Yes. HARRIS: Fairly large lake? BERTALOTTO: Un-hun. HARRIS: On that lake is a marina? BERTALOTTO: Yes, sir. HARRIS: How large is the marina? BERTALOTTO: Four docks. Probably berths around 200 boats there. HARRIS: This is, this would be the largest area lake close to Modesto? BERTALOTTO: Well, talking about shoreline. I don't know, you know, acre feet and so forth. I don't know how much area. HARRIS: Don Pedro, Don Pedro and Lake Tulloch? JUDGE: Tulloch. HARRIS: Got it. HARRIS: Tulloch were both places that were searched in the effort to find Miss Peterson, correct? BERTALOTTO: I'm not certain of that. I wasn't involved in the search aspect of the investigation. HARRIS: Okay. Are you familiar with the depths of these lakes at all? BERTALOTTO: I know Don Pedro is over 600 feet deep in the main channel by the dam. That's the only one I know about. HARRIS: In fact, Don Pedro is deeper, itself, is deeper than The Bay, the bay area, specifically around the Berkeley Marina? BERTALOTTO: I don't know how deep The Bay is. I understand it's pretty deep out by the bridge. HARRIS: But it's not anywhere near 600 feet deep? BERTALOTTO: I don't know that, sir. HARRIS: The places that we're dealing with, most of these lakes around here that you are dealing with, specifically the, point you to a couple. The lakes here, the Reservoir Launch Ramp, which is the closest, I believe. 19.2. I'm sorry. There is actually one from Fox Grove Fishing Access. Did you recall the mileage? BERTALOTTO: Tuolumne River, Fox Grove Fishing Access. HARRIS: That's about 9.5 miles? BERTALOTTO: Uh-huh. HARRIS: The one we are dealing with the Reservoir Launch Ramp is about 19.2? BERTALOTTO: Yes, sir. HARRIS: Is that right? Okay. And there is one, if I'm right, this is Turlock, right? BERTALOTTO: That is Turlock. That's actually HARRIS: That's about 23.7? BERTALOTTO: Yes, sir. HARRIS: Do any of those lakes that are the closest to Modesto, do any of those lakes have marinas? BERTALOTTO: No. They have launch ramps. I think Modesto Reservoir might have a little bait shop and store near the launch ramp. As far as a marina per se, I don't think so. HARRIS: Okay. Any of those lakes, any of the lakes that I just pointed out have hotels near them, large hotels near them? BERTALOTTO: Talking about all the lakes, or just those three? HARRIS: Just the ones I pointed out. BERTALOTTO: No. HARRIS: Any of them have large, let's say about four mile jogging and walking areas for dogs? BERTALOTTO: I don't know about that. HARRIS: They are fairly remote, are they not? BERTALOTTO: They are rural. They are in the country. HARRIS: And they are not anywhere nearly as crowded as the Berkeley Marina. You have been to the Berkeley Marina, correct? BERTALOTTO: I have been there. HARRIS: None of these places are anywhere nearly as crowded as the Berkeley Marina, are they? BERTALOTTO: They are pretty crowded with fishermen, so forth. Depends on the time of the year. I mean the traffic backs up to those launch ramps for a long time during the summer with watercraft, and skiers, and so forth. HARRIS: Would that be similar on December 24th? BERTALOTTO: I doubt it. HARRIS: None of them have, for example, about 400, 500 berths, boat berths to keep a boat at, do they? BERTALOTTO: Not at those lakes, no. HARRIS: And you have been to the Berkeley Marina. You have, you, are you aware of the traffic driving around, just the people driving around, none of them have near the traffic, I'm talking about car traffic, around, do they? BERTALOTTO: Well, I have been over there where, it was pretty isolated. I mean there is very few trailers in the parking lot, and very few people. Just depends on the time of the year, what people are fishing for, and so forth. HARRIS: Okay. That's all I have. JUDGE: Any redirect? DISTASO: No, your Honor. JUDGE: All right, Inspector Bertalotto, thank you. |