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Ronald Schweitzer
Witness for the People: Guilt Phase September 29, 2004
Direct Examination by Rich Distaso DISTASO: I think it's Deputy Schweitzer; is that correct? SCHWEITZER: That's correct. DISTASO: Sir, where are you employed? SCHWEITZER: San Diego County. San Diego County Sheriff's Office. DISTASO: And, just briefly, what are your duties there? SCHWEITZER: Currently I'm assigned to the safe task force. It's A task force comprised of the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, the San Diego Police department, and department of the safe task force. DISTASO: And as part of your duties of that task force, were you assigned to a DOJ surveillance team on April 16th of 2000 and 3? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. DISTASO: And was that involved in the surveillance of the defendant in this case, Mr. Scott Peterson? SCHWEITZER: Yes. DISTASO: And just for the record, do you recognize Mr. Peterson as he sits over here at the table? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. DISTASO: When you saw him -- did you see him on the 16th? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. DISTASO: And what days were you involved in the surveillance during that week in April? SCHWEITZER: Just on the 16th. DISTASO: What time did you start? SCHWEITZER: Started approximately 10:00 o'clock in the morning. DISTASO: And were you in an unmarked car? SCHWEITZER: Yes. DISTASO: And let's just -- just kind of take us through what happened on that particular day. 10:00 o'clock you started; where were you? SCHWEITZER: I was in the area known as Point Loma at 11:00 o'clock, or roughly 11:00 o'clock. I switched positions with a special agent from DOJ, which basically I had the point, as we call it, keeping an eye on the residence. Shortly after that I took that position, I saw Mr. Peterson get in a blue vehicle. DISTASO: Okay. Let me stop you. Did Mr. Peterson look like he does here today in court? SCHWEITZER: No, sir. DISTASO: What was different about him? SCHWEITZER: He had a goatee and his hair was, I would say, sort of spiked, and it looked like it had been bleached. DISTASO: Okay. And what happened next? SCHWEITZER: He left in the blue vehicle, stopped alongside of my vehicle, asked me what agency I was with, state or federal, and I says I don't what you're talking about. DISTASO: Okay. Let me stop you here. The -- do you know exactly -- he said what agency are you with, and -- SCHWEITZER: He said state and local. DISTASO: I'm sorry, yeah, that's what I was getting at. SCHWEITZER: Okay. He said state and local. DISTASO: In every station the rule's a little different. So he said what agency are you with, correct? SCHWEITZER: Correct. DISTASO: And then he said what else at the end of that? SCHWEITZER: He asked state or local. DISTASO: Okay. And what did you say? SCHWEITZER: I says I don't know what you're talking about. DISTASO: Okay. And what did he say to you? SCHWEITZER: He shook his head, said "Right," and drove forward just a little bit and appeared to write down my license number. DISTASO: Okay. Did he say anything to you about you following him that morning? SCHWEITZER: Yes, he did. DISTASO: What did he say about that? SCHWEITZER: He said he saw me following him all morning long. DISTASO: After that particular incident, were you involved in surveillance the rest of the day? SCHWEITZER: Until about 4:00 o'clock. DISTASO: Okay. And did you and other agents follow Mr. Peterson throughout the day? SCHWEITZER: Yes. DISTASO: Did you have any other personal interaction with Mr. Peterson on the 16th? SCHWEITZER: No, sir. DISTASO: Nothing further, your Honor.
Cross Examination by Mark Geragos GERAGOS: Good afternoon. You were in an unmarked car? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: Okay. And specifically one of the -- I'm showing you D 6 W 5 and D 6 W 4. One of these cars? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: Okay. Just point to which one. SCHWEITZER: (Pointing) GERAGOS: Okay. I'm not going to read the license number; but it was a white Pontiac, correct? SCHWEITZER: Correct. GERAGOS: You were following him on April 16th? SCHWEITZER: Correct. GERAGOS: Okay. And he appeared to write down the license number -- the license number he's written down is the license number of the car you were in? SCHWEITZER: That is correct. GERAGOS: Okay. And you were driving a white Pontiac? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: Okay. And you wrote -- did you write this report? Or did somebody else write it -- type it for you? SCHWEITZER: Special Agent Ramos wrote the report. GERAGOS: Okay. Special Agent Ramos is on your team. Sonia Ramos? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: The quote you put is "What agency are you with"? SCHWEITZER: That's what he asked me, yes. GERAGOS: "Are you state or local"? SCHWEITZER: Yes. GERAGOS: Did he say are you in state or local? SCHWEITZER: No, sir. GERAGOS: Did you say out of state or local? SCHWEITZER: No. GERAGOS: When you said at first, when you were talking to Mr. Distaso, you said, I think, state or federal? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: That was a mistake? SCHWEITZER: That was my error. GERAGOS: Okay. And specifically the car that you were driving was designed to not look like a police car; is that correct? SCHWEITZER: Well, it was a stock Pontiac. GERAGOS: Okay. And it wasn't Marked in any way, was it? SCHWEITZER: No, sir. GERAGOS: When he drove up to you did you make any movement in your car? SCHWEITZER: No, I -- when he drove up I was reaching over to get, I don't know, a map book or piece of paper or something. GERAGOS: Okay. So if somebody -- somebody didn't know that that's what you were reaching for, it could look like you were ducking down, correct? SCHWEITZER: Possibly. GERAGOS: Okay. And when he drove up, that's what you happened to be doing at that moment, reaching over for a map book or something? SCHWEITZER: I believe when he pulled up I was already seated upright in the seat. GERAGOS: Okay. But you had just kind of -- SCHWEITZER: Correct. GERAGOS: reached -- reached down and then came back up? SCHWEITZER: Correct. GERAGOS: Okay. And when he pulled up next to you, were you parked? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: And he told you specifically that he had seen you following him all morning? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: Okay. And then you saw what you thought was him writing down the license number in such a way that - - that you could tell what he was doing, correct? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: That was put in the report, correct? SCHWEITZER: Yes. GERAGOS: Okay. Did you talk to Agent Ramos about what happened? SCHWEITZER: Yes, I did. GERAGOS: Okay. She tell you that Peterson thought that you guys were press? SCHWEITZER: No, she did not. GERAGOS: She never told you that? SCHWEITZER: No, sir. No. GERAGOS: Okay. Did you tell her what you -- what had happened with you? SCHWEITZER: Yes, sir. GERAGOS: Okay. Thank you. I have no further questions. |