William R. Hudlow

 

Preliminary Hearing

November 14, 2003

 

HARRIS:  Sir, can you tell us what your full name is and spell your last name for the record?

HUDLOW:  William R. Hudlow, H-U-D-L-O-W.

HARRIS:  And how are you employed?

HUDLOW:  I'm a senior criminalist with the California Department of Justice.

HARRIS:  And how long have you been employed there?

HUDLOW:  I've been with the Department of Justice for a total of approximately six and a half years.

HARRIS:  I want to direct your attention to July 4th of 2003 and ask you if you were involved when a request was made to submit some evidence to the FBI laboratory back in the East Coast?

HUDLOW:  I do recall that.  I believe that was June 4th.  If I could refer to my notes.

HARRIS:  Did you write a report or make some type of notations?

HUDLOW:  Yes, I did.

HARRIS:  If you'd look at your report.

HUDLOW:  That's correct, on June 4th, I did prepare some samples for transfer to the FBI laboratory.

HARRIS:  I want to focus specifically on a particular item that was identified as a 144

HUDLOW:  Did you obtain that particular item from your -- from a secure location at the Department of Justice?

HUDLOW:  That's correct.

HARRIS:  And was it packaged and in a sealed condition when you obtained it?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it was.

HARRIS:  Did you give it to anyone in particular?

HUDLOW:  After repackaging that item, I did actually transfer it to Special Agent Terry Scott of the FBI.

HARRIS:  All right.  So you took the item from the secure location, repackaged it.  Did you take the -- what the contents were out of it?

HUDLOW:  No, I did not.

HARRIS:  So when you say you repackage it, can you explain to the Court what you did?

HUDLOW:  I actually took the -- it was a coin envelope, a small tape-sealed envelope.  I documented the type of envelope and the labeling as well as the seal.  I then placed it into a larger envelope and tape sealed that, documenting on the exterior the item number as well as the contents, and then placed that in my freezer until it was ready for transfer to the special agent.

HARRIS:  So this repackaged 144A that you repackaged, did you ultimately give that to someone from the FBI?

HUDLOW:  Yes, Special Agent Terry Scott.

HARRIS:  I'd like to show you what has been previously been admitted as 33 and 36.  Do you recognize these photographs?

HUDLOW:  Yes, I do.

HARRIS:  And how is it that you recognize these particular items?

HUDLOW:  The photograph to the left, item 36, is the tape-sealed coin envelope, which contained 144A, that I then packaged into the larger envelope, as indicated in People's 35.  That was a transfer envelope.

HARRIS:  And on this particular -- starting with 36, the smaller --

JUDGE:  Before you go too far with those numbers, those are internal numbers, right, those are not the court's numbers?

HARRIS:  The 36?

JUDGE:  Okay.  I'm in sync.

HARRIS:  All right.  Let's go back.  People's 36 there, that particular smaller envelope, does that have your initials on there?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does.  On the bottom of the front is my initials as well as the date.

HARRIS:  And does it have your agency's case number?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does, just above that.

HARRIS:  And then towards the top of that in the middle of that package, does it have writing that indicates Q1?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does.

HARRIS:  Looking at People's Number 35, is this the larger envelope that you placed People's Number 36 into?

HUDLOW:  That's correct.

HARRIS:  And do you recognize this particular envelope?

HUDLOW:  Yes, I do.

HARRIS:  Does it have your initials on it?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does.

HARRIS:  And does that also have Q1 written on it?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does.

HARRIS:  Does it also have your case number and the item number of 144A?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it does.

HARRIS:  When you gave that to the FBI agent, was that agent Terry Scott?

HUDLOW:  That's correct.

HARRIS:  And when you gave it to him, was it in a sealed condition?

HUDLOW:  Yes, it was.

HARRIS:  People have no other questions.

JUDGE:  Mr. Geragos?

GERAGOS:  I don't have any questions.

JUDGE:  You may step down.