Mike Feras Almasri

Witness for the People:  Guilt Phase

June 30, 2004

Direct Examination by David Harris

HARRIS: Mr. Almasri, do most of the employees call you Mike, at your work call you Mike?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: I want to take you back, somewhat back to 2002. Did you work at a company with an another coworker by the name of Shawn Sibley?

ALMASRI: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: And at some point in time, during the summer of 2002, did you look for another job while you were working there?

ALMASRI: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: And at about June of 2002, did you see an advertisement that kind of attracted your attention?

ALMASRI: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: Could you tell us about that?

ALMASRI: It was an advertisement for Trade Corp, and they announced a sales position, which I did send my resume to.

HARRIS: That's Trade Corp USA?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: And you indicated that you sent your resume to them. Was this kind of an internet or e-mail thing that was going back and forth?

ALMASRI: Yes. It was sent by e-mail.

HARRIS: Did you talk to anybody in person?

ALMASRI: I spoke with Scott on the phone to set up an interview.

HARRIS: Let me ask you about that person you are referring to. That's Scott Peterson, the defendant in this case?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: You see him here in court?

ALMASRI: Yes, I do.

HARRIS: When you first sent the defendant your e-mail, you sent that to his e-mail address at Trade Corp?

ALMASRI: I don't recall that. I just sent it to whatever e-mail was in the advertisement.

HARRIS: So you sent your resume to him. Did he contact you by e-mail or by phone?

JUDGE: If you remember, Mr. Almasri.

ALMASRI: Okay. Actually I don't remember.

HARRIS: After whatever was exchanged, either phone call or e-mails, did you eventually set up an in-person meeting for an interview?

ALMASRI: Yes, we did.

HARRIS: Where was the interview set up for?

ALMASRI: It was set up, we met at a place called Applebee's. It was for lunch.

HARRIS: In what city?

ALMASRI: Fresno.

HARRIS: The defendant comes. Does he meet you at Applebee's in Fresno?

ALMASRI: Yes, he did.

HARRIS: He sat down and had a luncheon interview?

ALMASRI: Yes. We had lunch.

HARRIS: Did you talk with him about a job that you were looking at and personal things at that time?

ALMASRI: Actually, we basically talked about the job and what are the requirements for the job.

HARRIS: At some point in time did he tell you a little bit about Trade Corp?

ALMASRI: Yes. At the beginning he explained to me about Trade Corp and what the company does.

HARRIS: Did he talk about why Trade Corp was in Modesto?

ALMASRI: Not particularly, no.

HARRIS: Did he mention to you if he was married?

ALMASRI: Actually I found out at the end of the interview that he's married.

HARRIS: You are talking about business lunch. Keep going on. You continue to talk to him, does it become more personal?

ALMASRI: No. At the end of the interview I just noticed that he looked young, so I just asked him, you know, how was he able to get into such a position for his young age. And he indicated that he had met with the company, and he lived in Modesto, and him and his wife just bought a house.

HARRIS: In Modesto?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: Did you get the job?

ALMASRI: No.

HARRIS: At some point in time, so you are still working in that company with Shawn Sibley?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: At some point in time, moving forward to around December 6th of 2002. Was there a conversation with Shawn Sibley where Trade Corp or Scott Peterson came up?

ALMASRI: Actually it was kind of a group conversation. We were just sitting around talking about jobs, and everybody is talking about their experience, you know, trying to look for jobs. And it just came up that,

GERAGOS: Objection. Hearsay.

JUDGE: Well, this is, again, this is hearsay on hearsay again.

HARRIS: Yes.

JUDGE: Sustained.

HARRIS: At some point in time did somebody mention Scott Peterson?

ALMASRI: Yes.

HARRIS: And did you indicate to, kind of this group that you had met Scott Peterson?

ALMASRI: Yes, I did.

HARRIS: And did Miss Sibley start to ask some questions about this Scott Peterson that you had met?

ALMASRI: That question was if it's the same Scott Peterson.

GERAGOS: Objection. Hearsay.

JUDGE: Sustained.

HARRIS: Based on the conversation that was taking place, did you indicate to Shawn Sibley that the Scott Peterson you had met was married?

GERAGOS: Objection. Leading.

JUDGE: Overruled.

ALMASRI: Yes. I indicated, yes, the Scott Peterson I met is married, as far as I know.

HARRIS: People have no other questions.

JUDGE: Who is going to cross examine Mr. Almasri?

GERAGOS: No questions.

PAT HARRIS: I don't think we have any questions.

JUDGE: No questions for you. So you are lucky. You are excused.