CO - Nathaniel Tallman, 25, Lafayette, 21 Jan 2014

[Rayemonde]

Sept 23Rd:

Mendez's attorney Nancy Salomone played a phone interview from March in which Britton referenced his plea deal, saying he could sit in prison for four or five years and "be a puppet" to prosecutors before leaving on parole...

Transcripts were also read in which Britton told his wife that prosecutors were "desperate."

Also Tuesday, Ortiz's attorney, Matt Connell, continued his effort to poke holes in Britton's credibility. Connell tallied a total of about 140 untrue statements that Britton made after Tallman's death.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...l-tallman-murder-trial-set-resume-today-after

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 24th - juror questions are put to Britton:

Many of the jury questions centered around that night, including several questions about where Britton's wife and animals were during the shooting, which Britton had previously described as "very loud."...

As for his decision later to dump Tallman's body in Wyoming, Britton said he didn't really know why he did that...


Finally, one juror asked Britton if he murdered Tallman, to which he replied, "No, I did not."

Jurors also asked Britton several times about the story he gave police March 14, 2014, that Ortiz and Mendez pulled up to his property with Tallman's body. Specifically, the jurors asked why Britton felt that story — which he has since recanted — was "better" for him than telling the truth.

"It was just a lie," Britton said. "I can't justify it. I don't know how to answer that."

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...n-murder-trial-resumes-jury-questions-russell

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 25th:

On Thursday, detectives testified about evidence corroborating the version of events described by the prosecution's primary witness in the Nathaniel Tallman murder trial...

The detective said police were able to track a black Cadillac — driven by the brother-in-law Britton testified to meeting the day of the shooting — to Mendez's mother's house. Inside, police recovered black gloves as well as documents, including pawn slips from days before Tallman's death, that had Mendez's name on them.

A receipt from Jan. 21, 2014, at a Safeway in Federal Heights led Karlstrum to pull surveillance footage from the store that shows a man in a blue hoodie and black gloves talking on a phone at the same time that phone records show Mendez was making a call...

Defense attorneys pointed out that the seized Cadillac was registered to Mendez's brother, but Karlstrum said he had an alibi for when the car appeared on surveillance.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...urder-trial-continues-today-officer-testimony

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 26th:

Mendez's brother Angel and his mother, Rachel Olguin, testified that the black Cadillac was a family car registered to Mendez's older brother Jose, and that multiple people drove it.

But prosecutors played a tape in which Olguin told a detective in 2014 that Mendez was "picky" about who else drove the car.

"He doesn't like to let nobody drive the car," Olguin said in the interview...

Most of the afternoon testimony centered around Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Kevin Torres, who testified to processing evidence from the barn where Tallman was allegedly shot, along with Britton's van, Ortiz's truck and the seized Cadillac.

Torres testified that he found what appeared to be blood in Britton's van and black gloves in both the black Cadillac and Ortiz's truck. He also testified that there was no blood found at the barn, but he did say that a mixture of muriatic acid and water — which Britton testified he dumped on the blood — could have made the blood hard to detect with chemical tests.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...urder-trial-continue-more-detective-testimony

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 29th:

In another development Monday morning, Bakke ruled that defense attorneys will not be able to infer that one of the prosecution's witnesses in the case, Luke Sharpnack, should be considered an alternate suspect...

Sharpnack — who was a high school friend of Tallman's and worked for Britton on tiling jobs — took the stand earlier in the trial and testified that he was the one who introduced the two men.

But Sharpnack — who admitted to not being cooperative with law enforcement at points in the investigation — appeared to be very nervous during testimony, to the degree that one juror asked him if he was involved in the murder.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...trial-resumes-more-testimony-from-prosecution

:what:

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 29th:

[DNA analyst Rosalind] Ekx also said she tested gloves found in Ortiz's truck and a car prosecutors claim Mendez was driving and found their DNA in them. But she also said there was a mix of DNA in the gloves, and that she cannot say for certain the men were the only ones or the last ones to wear them...

Shortly before the noon lunch break, CBI gunshot reside analyst Carol Crowe took the stand and said gloves recovered from the cars did test positive for particles characteristic of gunshot residue, meaning they could have been in the vacinity of a firearm or could have come into contact with something that was.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...man-murder-trial-continues-forensic-testimony

 

[Rayemonde]

Sept 30th:

The wife of Russell Britton, the prosecution's primary witness to the death of Nathaniel Tallman, said she did not see or hear anything the night of the shooting but that her husband appeared shaken that night....

[DNA analyst Rosalind Ekx said] swabs taken from the steering wheel and gearshift of Tallman's car — which was recovered in Boulder about a month after he was shot — came back with Tallman's DNA and that of a person Ekx said could not be identified. But she did say the partial profile was not a match to Britton, Ortiz or Mendez.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...-ask-questions-wife-russell-britton-testifies

 

[Rayemonde]

October 1St:

Lafayette police Detective Scott Robinson — the lead investigator — testified to initial difficulty in looking into Tallman's disappearance. Robinson said because Tallman had been dealing drugs, friends were reluctant to talk to police for fear they would face prosecution...

When Tallman's body was found in Wyoming that March, police arrested Britton, whose van was found to have Tallman's blood in it.

"We felt, 'OK, we have to pull the trigger and confront him with this information,'" Robinson said...

Defense experts hinted that some of Robinson's interview tactics were "suggestive," and that his statements gave Britton the idea of pinning the shooting on someone who had found out about the drug dealing.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...lman-trial-resumes-today-testimony-from-cheri

 

[Rayemonde]

October 2nd, last prosecution witness. Defence will not call any witnesses:

[Cellphone data analyst] Hodgson also noted a lot of activity between Ortiz and Mendez on Jan. 21, 2014, except for a four-hour window from 4 to about 8 p.m. in which the phones logged no activity.

Hodgson also noted activity between the numbers associated with Ortiz, Mendez and Britton at about 3 p.m., around the time when Britton said he met with Mendez to confirm his drug deal with Tallman was still on for 7 p.m.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...aring-end-case-nathaniel-tallman-murder-trial

 

[Rayemonde]

October 7th - verdict:

Daniel Ortiz, 38, and Moises Mendez, 26, were both acquitted Tuesday of felony first-degree murder and robbery, bringing a sudden end to a murder case that started with Tallman's disappearance Jan. 21, 2014.

Both defendants — who have been in custody since early 2014 — exchanged long hugs with their attorneys as Boulder District Judge Ingrid Bakke read the "not guilty" verdicts and announced the cases against them would be dismissed...

Garnett said at this point there is no change in Britton's status or plea deal, and he stands by the decision to put him on the stand. Britton was the prosecution's primary witness...

In attacking the prosecution's case, Connell pointed out that no guns, cash or marijuana was ever found in connection with Ortiz or Mendez, but all of those things were found on Britton's property. He also pointed out that Tallman's blood was found in Britton's van and on his gloves.

"Rusty Britton literally has Nate Tallman's blood on his hands," Connell said, as he put up a photo of the blood in the van and a photo of Britton. "That is where the murder happened. ... This is the guy who did it."

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...ments-nathaniel-tallman-murder-trial-set-this

 

[Rayemonde]

From what I've read, that was absolutely the right verdict, and the ridiculous plea deal with Britton will let a dangerous pathological liar back on the streets far too soon

 

[margarita25]

October 7th - verdict:



http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...ments-nathaniel-tallman-murder-trial-set-this

Whaaaat?! OMG they were acquitted???!!!!!!

Going back to read, sorry, just waking up and having my coffee.