Deadly Dining
Chapter 36
Jodie Marshall
Goldberg’s final witness was Detective Vince Morgan of the Plano Police Department. He first asked him about his family, education, employment and training as a police officer. Then he got to the night of the robbery.
“Detective Morgan. Were you assigned the robbery that took place at the Jewelry Mart in Plano, Texas on May 7, 1997?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Would you tell us what you observed when you arrived on the scene?”
“Sure. I arrived about eleven minutes after the 9-1-1 call. There were already two patrol officers on the scene. The robber was already in the back seat of one of the patrol cars having been secured by the defendant, Bob Larson. Mr. Stein had been shot in the leg and was in the process of being transported to the local hospital.”
“Now there were surveillance tapes of the crime, is that correct?”
“Yes. The following day I viewed three different videos of the crime taken by cameras located in the store.”
“So, you saw the defendant’s intervention, including his struggle with the perp, is that correct?”
“Yes. That was on the third tape taken from the vault room.”
“Did you question Mr. Larson about his intervention?”
“Yes. He told us he came into the store to buy an engagement ring and immediately suspected something was wrong.”
“Okay. So if a citizen comes upon a crime in progress what would be the proper thing to do?”
“Call 9-1-1.”
“Call 9-1-1 immediately, right?”
“Yes.”
“But Mr. Larson didn’t do that, did he?”
“No. He said he wanted to be sure there was something wrong before he bothered the police.”
“Is that what a citizen who comes on a suspected crime scene should do—run right in and check it out?”
Detective Morgan laughed. “No. That might get you killed.”
“But Bob Larson decided to run right in, a foolish move, right?”
“Well, he wasn’t an average citizen. He was an ex-Army MP.”
“Okay. Does an ex-Army MP have any jurisdiction in Texas?”
“No.”
“So, he shouldn’t have gone into the back room to investigate what was going on, right?”
“Objection!” Jodie said. “Leading the witness.”
“Sustained,” the judge ruled.
Goldberg gave Jodie an annoyed scowl. “Let me rephrase. From your conversations with Mr. Larson and viewing of the videos, upon seeing the display area unoccupied, did the defendant venture into the back room?”
“Yes.”
“Should he have done that?”
“No.”
“And did you observe his interaction with the robber?”
“Yes.”
“And what happened?”
“He came up from behind and disarmed him.”
“Should he have done that?
“No. It was a dangerous move. When he saw what was going on he should have turned around, left the crime scene and called 9-1-1.”
“So, he didn’t act the way you would expect a reasonable person to act under the same or similar circumstances.”
“No. He did not.”
“Thank you. Pass the witness,” Goldberg said.
“Alright,” Judge Jasper said. “Ms. Marshall, your witness.”
Jodie stood up. “Detective, did you talk to the paramedics who were treating Mr. Stein?”
“Yes.”
“What was their evaluation of the injury?”
“Objection, hearsay,” Goldberg said.
“Objection sustained.”
Jodie thought a moment. “Did you write a report about your observations on that first day that you visited the crime scene?”
“Yes.”
“In your report how did you characterize Mr. Stein’s wound?”
“It was a minor flesh wound.”
“Have you ever had a flesh wound?”
“Yes. I was accidentally shot once. The wound was very similar to Mr. Stein’s wound.”
“So, does that mean the bullet didn’t penetrate into Mr. Stein’s leg and lodge there?”
“Yes. It passed through the surface of the skin and then lodged in the linoleum floor.”
“Did you retrieve the bullet?”
“Yes.”
“Now, you testified that Mr. Larson, even though he was an ex-Army MP, didn’t have jurisdiction and probably shouldn’t have tried to intervene in this situation.”
“Correct.”
“But the fact is he managed to apprehend the perp, secure him until the police came with just a minor injury to Mr. Stein.”
“Yes, he did.”
“And are you aware this was the fourth robbery in five years at this location?”
“Yes. I saw that.”
“So, weren’t you a little bit impressed with what he did?”
“Objection! Calls for an opinion.”
“Overruled,” the judge said. “He can state his opinion.”
Detective Morgan smiled. “Yeah, actually it was pretty impressive.”
Several members of the jury laughed. Goldberg shook his head and Stein just glared at the detective in disbelief. Jodie pressed on.
“Now, you testified you’ve been a detective for seven years in Plano, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“And in your training as a police officer and detective isn’t it part of your training to notice if things around you aren’t right and take immediate action, if they are not?”
“More or less, right.”
“So, let’s say you decided to quit the Plano Police Department and work for the Dallas Police Department, but decided to take a two week vacation between jobs.”
“Objection! Your Honor. This line of questioning is irrelevant.”
“No it’s not,” Jodie protested. “You’ve brought in Detective Morgan as an expert witness so I can ask him hypothetical questions.”
“Objection overruled.”
“Okay,” Morgan replied with a hint of a smile.
“Now. Let’s say while you were on vacation you went shopping for a watch in a jewelry store on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. And when you stepped into the store you saw it was deserted, looked around and came to the conclusion that it was being robbed. Would you call 9-1-1 or would you pull your gun and investigate?”
Detective Morgan thought about it a moment, scratched his head, and then sighed. “I’d probably go in, I guess.”
“Even though you weren’t technically a cop and had no jurisdiction?”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t have worried about that.”
“Because someone’s life was in danger, right?”
He nodded. “Right.”
Jodie looked at Morgan and then the jury. A man on the jury panel winked at her. She stifled a laugh.
“Now, talking to the witnesses and viewing the tapes did it appear that Mr. Larson had a gun?”
“No. He did not.”
“So, he didn’t bring anything onto the scene that was dangerous?”
“Just his martial arts skill,” Detective Morgan noted.
Everyone on the jury laughed.
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
An annoyed Goldberg took Detective Morgan on redirect and got him to state again that Larson’s actions were inappropriate but he was less than enthusiastic and the jury saw it.
Larson leaned over to Jodie and whispered. “You’re good.”
Jodie smiled. “Thank you, but we haven’t won yet.”
Stan leaned over to Larson and whispered. “Yeah, you have.”
Jodie stifled a laugh.
The courtroom became quiet as Goldberg reviewed his notes and shuffled some papers. The judge watched him patiently.
“Call your next witness,” the judge said.
Goldberg looked up. “No further witnesses, but I’d like to testify as to m
y attorney’s fees.”
For the next thirty minutes Goldberg recited what work he had done on the case, his hourly rate, his expenses and then stated that everything he had done was reasonable and necessary for the prosecution of the case.
“Ms. Marshall. Your witness.”
“No questions, Your Honor.”
There was an unwritten rule that attorneys didn’t cross examine each other on attorney’s fees unless they were way out of line. This was particularly true when both sides were trying to get the jury to award them fees, as was the case in this trial. The judge looked at the clock.
“Alright. We’ll recess until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow at which time, Ms. Marshall, you can give your opening statement.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Jodie said.
The judge excused the jury for the evening and admonished them not to talk about or discuss the case with anyone. Then she left the bench. Stan patted Jodie on the shoulder.
“Nice job. See you in the morning.”
“You’re not going to the office?” Jodie asked worriedly.
“No. You’ve got everything under control. Just keep up the good work.”
Stan nodded to Larson. “See you in the morning,” he said and left the courtroom.
Larson walked Jodie to her car and told her he felt the case was going very well. She thanked him and then drove back to the office. When she got there Maria and Paula met her at the door as they were anxious to hear how the trial was going.
“Why don’t we go to Fridays?” Paula suggested. “It’s happy hour. We can have a few drinks and you can tell us all about it.”
“Sure,” Jodie said. “But I don’t want to get drunk. I’ve got to put on my case tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry. Two drinks. That’s all. Then you can go home and relax. Maybe Carl will give you a massage.”
Jodie nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure if I ask him he’ll do that. He does give great massages.”
“Where’s Stan? He should come with us.”
“I don’t know. He said he had something to do.”
Paula rolled her eyes. “He’s probably shacking up with his blond prostitute.”
“Why do men do that?” Maria asked. “Rebekah is so nice.”
“They’ve been married a long time,” Paula said. “The excitement is gone so they go looking elsewhere to find it.”
“You think Stan and Rebekah are both cheating like Eva and Emilio?” Maria asked.
“No. Rebekah would never cheat,” Paula said. “She’s a one man woman, but Stan’s always struggled with temptation. Up until recently he’s managed to remain faithful. I don’t know what happened to make him stray now after all these years.”
Paula drove them to Fridays and they each had two drinks. Then when Paula heard that Bart was working late, they decided to have dinner. It was nearly eight when Jodie finally got home. Carl, who had expected her at six, was glad to see her. When she suggested a massage to ease her stressed-out body, he said he’d be happy to do it, but it would cost her. She said she’d gladly pay the price.
The next day Jodie felt very relaxed and confident. She was anxious to get on with the trial, but Carl insisted she take the time to eat a plate of waffles and strawberries before leaving. When she was done he reminded her he was coming to watch her.
“You have the day off?”
“I do. So, I’ll take you to the courthouse and you can concentrate on the trial instead of worrying about driving.”
“That’s great. Thank you.”
When they got to the courthouse Carl left Jodie off at the curb near the front entrance on Commerce Street and then went to park. When Jodie got out of the elevator on the 4th floor of the Dallas County Courthouse, Stan was in the hall talking to a well-dressed man who Jodie assumed was another attorney. When Stan saw her he said one last thing to the man and then came over to her.
“So, you ready to kick some ass?” Stan asked.
Jodie nodded. “I hope so.”
They walked into the courtroom and saw that Larson was already there sitting at the defense table. Goldberg and Stein were standing in front of the lectern talking and the court reporter was just setting up.
The bailiff stood. “All rise!”
The back door opened and Judge Jasper walked in holding a cup of coffee. Everyone stood up. She smiled and said, “Be seated.” After she’d rearranged her desk she looked up at Jodie. “Ms. Marshall. Are you ready?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Bailiff, bring in the jury.”
The bailiff opened the door to the jury room and the jury filed out and took their places. Jodie looked around the courtroom and noticed it was nearly half full. She wondered why interest in the trial had grown. When the jury had been seated the judge nodded to Jodie.
“Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I waited until now to give my opening statement to be sure Mr. Goldberg didn’t have any surprises up his sleeve.”
Several people laughed.
“But as I suspected he didn’t. He hasn’t provided the evidence necessary to meet his burden of proof. You remember the judge telling you that the plaintiff had the burden of proof as to his case and that the measure of proof necessary for him to win was “the preponderance of the evidence.” This is simply the greater amount of evidence or more than fifty percent. And since this is a jury trial it’s your job as jurors to determine how much weight to give each piece of evidence.
“Now you can’t actually do your job until all the evidence has been presented and the judge gives you a list of questions to answer. These will be called special issues and it will be your job to answer them based on your evaluation of the evidence presented.
“In addition to defending against the plaintiff’s claim for gross negligence the court may ask you to decide the fact issues involved in our motion for sanctions for bringing a frivolous lawsuit. The test we will be relying upon in this motion is whether the petition has no basis in fact or is not warranted by existing law or good faith argument.
“As you no doubt gleaned from my cross examination of Mr. Stein, we believe we can prove that he filed this lawsuit against Mr. Larson because he was angry with Mr. Larson for upsetting his insurance scam and/or sending his high school friend and co-conspirator to prison. We believe we can prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Stein conspired with Michael Mahoney to rob his own store so he could collect on his casualty insurance policy with Republic American Insurance Co.
“But even if you don’t believe we have proved his case is frivolous we will surely convince you that Mr. Stein was not seriously damaged by Mr. Larson’s intervention since he thwarted the robbery and prevented the loss of at least $150,000. In fact, any loss he did suffer was more than offset by the benefit he received by Mr. Larson’s termination of the robbery and apprehension of the thief.
“On behalf of myself and Bob Larson I want to thank all of you for your jury service. I have noticed that each of you have been very attentive and I am confident that when the trial is concluded that you will award nothing to Mr. Stein and perhaps even find that this entire case was at best frivolous and possibly even a fraudulent attempt to extort money from Mr. Larson. Thank you.
“Thank you, Ms. Marshall,” the judge said. “Let’s take a ten minute break and then you can call your first witness.”
The judge left the bench and Jodie looked at Larson. He was a likeable guy, she thought, and she wanted to make the jury like him too. If he came off as a reckless showboat, which wasn’t a stretch, they’d be in trouble. She had worked hard on her direct examination questions and prayed the jury would see him as she did, a man concerned for others who was willing to risk his life for someone he didn’t even know, not for fame or profit, but just because it was the right thing to do.