State rests its case in Sanchez trial

The state rested its case in deliberate homicide trial of Adam Sanchez Jr. Monday afternoon at the Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings after calling several expert witnesses and investigators.

The defense responded by moving for four of the five criminal charges the charges to be dismissed because of lack of evidence, essentially claiming the state didn’t prove its case. Presiding District Judge Dirk Sandefur denied the motions, explaining the state made a strong enough case to let the jury decide.

The state's crash expert, Barbara Watson, started the last day of testimony for the state by pointing out discrepancies between her report and that from the defense's crash expert, who has not testified yet.

Watson shared side-by-side comparisons of animations made by the defense expert and the still shots taken from video footage of the chase, explaining their inaccuracies to the jury. Watson pointed out what she found to be contradictions or mistakes, such as a conclusion that Sanchez swerved both right — toward Deputy Joe Dunn — then swerved left before hitting the deputy with his vehicle. Watson explained the screeching sounds heard in dash cam video do not match that conclusion.

However, despite a few inconsistencies in the two expert reports, Watson testified they both concluded Sanchez would have seen Dunn several seconds before striking him, and that the defendant would have had the option to swerve away and apply his brakes. Both experts concluded, according to Watson, if Sanchez had slowed down more before hitting Dunn, the force likely would not have been deadly.

Watson also drew attention to Sanchez's decision-making ability when driving at earlier points in the pursuit, as he passed some 200 vehicles. She called his driving skilled, but reckless, pointing out how he passed vehicles in no-passing zones with reduced speed limits while traveling upward of 100 miles per hour, dodged stop sticks before encountering Dunn and even "anticipating" the actions of law enforcement as they blocked his path to prevent the chase from continuing on 10th Avenue South.

Deputy Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki took the opportunity to discredit the defense’s “tunnel vision” theory through the analysis of Sanchez’s many skilled maneuvers recorded on dash cam video.

The defense began its cross-examination of Watson by poking holes in her continuing education efforts and pointing out that she has testified only as an expert for prosecutors in criminal cases.

Sanchez's lead counsel, Tom Bartleson of the Montana Office of Public Defender, called Watson's report subjective, mentioning she referenced Sanchez's "choices" 15 times in her report. Watson countered that the defendant's choices dictated what happened.

Bartleson asked Watson if she knew why Sanchez made the decision to turn toward Dunn.

"I don't know why he decided to swerve right," she answered.

Bartleson attempted to establish scenarios involving the vehicles Sanchez was maneuvering around that would block the defendant's view of Dunn. Watson addressed the jury rather than the defense attorney as she defended her position that Sanchez had a clear view of Dunn before hitting him.

The state called another expert witness, Don VanBlaricom, a former law enforcement officer who wrote the first policy for law enforcement pursuits used in the United States. He was hired to assess the pursuit of Sanchez conducted by the Montana Highway Patrol, the agency that initiated the chase.

VanBlaricom determined a reasonable standard of care was met during the pursuit, meaning an acceptable balance of risk of the chase versus public safety was achieved. The expert went on to say there was no “causative factor” to the incident, explaining that Sanchez was driving fast before he struck Dunn and he continued to drive fast afterward. This fact led VanBlaricom to conclude even if the MHP trooper had ended the pursuit, Sanchez would have continued to drive in a way the put innocent people at risk.

The Great Falls emergency room surgeon, Dr. Chad Engan, who treated Dunn when he arrived at Benefis Health System, testified that Dunn's injury was one of "nonsurvival … from the point of impact."

Engan testified his report included information that Dunn displayed "no neurologic or cardiac activity on scene," and even the most highly advanced trauma facility would not have had the means to save Dunn.

Disputed potential witness, Jessica Cox, provided practice testimony outside the presence of the jury Monday morning. As the parties worried last week, Cox mentioned Sanchez being released from jail, which could be grounds for a mistrial because references to prior "bad acts" are not allowed at trial.

"You're playing with fire, here," Sandefur told the state. "This is a big, big risk."

Cox, who said she dated Sanchez briefly, used his release from jail after striking a plea deal on a previous high-speed pursuit as a reference to the point in time when Sanchez told Cox he would "go down in a blaze of glory" before going back to jail. The alleged statement was made roughly 10 days before the pursuit, Racki explained.

But Bartleson argued Cox's testimony posed too high a risk of mistrial versus what the state would gain by putting her on the stand. Bartleson renewed the defense motion to exclude her testimony.

The state called Cox to the stand immediately after lunch. Racki received permission to use leading questions to avoid the topic of Sanchez's criminal past. He asked Cox if Sanchez made the statement regarding the defendant's intent to "keep going no matter who was behind him" on or about August 4, 2014.

Both parties met with Sandefur outside the presence of the jury to settle the preliminary jury instructions.

The defense will present its case to the jury Tuesday, which includes the crash expert mentioned Monday. The state may call rebuttal witnesses if necessary. Sandefur told the jurors they will receive the case for deliberation by Tuesday afternoon.

Andrea Fisher-Nitschke is the crime and breaking news reporter for the Great Falls Tribune. Reach her at anitschke@greatfallstribune.com. Like Facebook.com/gftrib_andrea and follow @gftrib_andrea on Twitter.