I remember the Melendez one where these two greasy brothers raw-murdered their own parents with a dusty sawed-off shotgun ... I was watching the news on that one on TV every update ... I was screaming at the TV for the judge to throw the hammer on these two! I was yelling, no joke, at the TV ... "Come on judge ... DROP THE HAMMER ON THOSE GREASE BALLS!"
Then there was the OJ one, and that one was like ..... Holy Moly mother of Pokey ... that trial like locked the nation, nay the world, DOWN for months. Everyone was talking about that trial. I remember I was in like grade 7 or grade 8 and the teacher would start the morning of the school doing 15 minutes on the OJ trial because she couldn't fight it. The students were talking about it non-stop so she had to do 15 minutes on it to lead-off class or like no one would be able to focus.
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| Society's Least-Famous Famous-Person |
Kids were in the school yard laying on theories and shit. It was a total 24-7 circus. I remember having the dumbest angle on the thing. I was telling kids that Kato Kaelin's dog did it. All of them down by the school yard would first go "Kato has a dog?" ... and I'd be like ... "yeah" ... and then I'd be like ... "....and that dog DID IT."
Now, a televised trial started yesterday that is page-turningly gripping that it may just blow these trials out of the water. Yesterday in California the trial the media has dubbed "The Electric 20" Trial has finally got underway and the precedings have been anything but a let-down so far. It's gripping ... as gripping as can be.
The Trial is officially the People of the State of California vs. Heidecker, Timothy Richard. If you're not watching it then you're so out-of-the-loop that you should label yourself a dullard or at least a laggered.
Look, it's not the 1990s anymore, we've all matured a bit. Like, I don't want to be that stupid person telling people Kato's Dog did it anymore ... I'm a adult person now. I should take these trials more seriouser, you know?
There's so much speculation and innuendo flying around the Tim Heidecker Tiral like a vast scented mist of intrigue/confusion that we should really try and separate facts from non-facts. If you missed Day One of the trial ... I'm gonna re-cap it for you ... that way before we make our opinions we can all like think about the stuff that's going down so we don't come away from it with silly joke opinions on it. This is serious-ass shit so let's try and be civil, cordial, polite, and not-dumb when we discuss this landmark Trial of the Century (i.e. one that happened from 2000 to 2017 ... we're not counting huge ones from the 1900s like OJ ... OJ was bigger than this one).
Day 1 Recap of the Tim Heidecker Trial
Let's summarize the main players in this case before we make a summation of the content of the procedings of Day 1 so everyone knows who's-who.
Judge Presiding: Szymcyzk, E.
Defendant: Heidecker, T. (Self Proclaimed "Artist")
Lead Defense Attorney: Dryer, M.
Lead Prosecutor: Rosetti, V. (District Attorney)
Assistant District Attorney: Waymon, M.
Witnesses Called to Stand to Testify on Day One: Emily Sirotky (civilian), Lisa Benzos (EMT/Para-Medic), and Jarred Jolson (no relation to Al).
Nextly, let's summarize the basic "who-what-where" of what the basis of this trial is trying to figure out....
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| Defendant (L) w/ his Attorney (R) |
Out of those 157 concert-goers who experienced strange symptoms ... twenty of them sadly perished and died which is a crying shame. A down-right crying shame. Who was responsible for this horrific act? The state of California wants to know ... and they will leave NO STONE un-turned as these captivating proceedings untangles itself for the world to see.
The victims or the "Twenty" as the media refers to them as are described somewhat ... of which one was a "budding veterinarian", one victim was a "devout Mormon", one was a "Roofer", and one was in "nursing school." The deceased appear to have been average and even wholesome members of society.
The State wants to prove without the lingering shadow of a human doubt that the concert organizer, Heidecker, and his gross negligently dumb behavior can be pinned like a tail on a donkey as the CAUSATION of the Electric 20's untimely demises.
Yet, the Defense counter-claims that Heidecker and his grossly negligent machinations were not at fault ... but the gross negligent behavior of his colleague, one Luther Sanchez (deceased) was the party and actor at fault. The Defense claims that Luther Sanchez AKA "Doctor San" (or possibly Doctor Sand as the pronunciation is ambiguous and no official documentation has been released as yet to clarify the spelling of his nickname), was the only party who's stupidity and greed led to the untimely demise of the Twenty. The head attorney claims that the proof of Sanchez's guilt lies in the fact that he took his own life in a fit of shame ... thereby displaying to the world that he knew he was responsible for their heinous and tragic demises.
The Defense also claims that the "Twenty" were also consuming a myriad of other drug-related and alcohol-related cocktails thus the "vape juice" distributed by Heidecker and/or Sanchez may not even be the number one factor in causing the reactions and symptoms the concert goers experienced .... other hard drugs and alcohol could have contributed to the demise of the Twenty. Also, the taking of more than the recommended amount of vape juice may have been a significant contributor as well according to the Defense.
Witness Testimony on Day 1
The prosecution called three witnesses to testify as to which the Defense only chose to cross examine two of said witnesses. Let's briefly summarize their statements.
Sirotky, Emily:
This civilian who was present at the outdoor music festival claims the festival was outrageously under-organized. She gives examples that there were little to no facilities for purposes of defecation (i.e. 1 or 2) ... and claims one of the few facilities that existed in the form of a "port-o-potty" was over flowing with excrement and spilling liquid excrement all over the place. She claims also in regards to the sanitation of the event that people could not go to bushes/trees to move urine/bowels for there were none in the cramped area ... thus ... people were relieving themselves near or even on the stage where people were preforming music.
As for statements to the immediate character of the defendant, she claims she witnessed Mr. Heidecker running over her friend Andrea's foot with his exasperatingly large golf cart and even though he noticed what he'd done ... she claims he could care less about her friend's foot.
She also hurts the defense's claim that Heidecker and Sanchez were at odds with each other and paints a picture of the two men being quite-in-cahoots as she states with 100% certainty that Sanchez was in the golf cart with Heidecker as Heidecker ran over her friend Andrea's foot.
Sirotka goes on to claim that whilst the 157 concert-goers went into various forms of convulsions ... the band "DKR" (of which Heidecker is a preforming member of) did not stop playing and didn't even seem to care that 157 people were having big-time whacky convulsions everywhere.
She lastly states that exits were hard to get to and blocked by various debris or vehicles.
Benzos, Lisa:
Benzos, a EMT/Para-Medic employed by the state of California, makes statements which also paint a negative light of the defendant. She claims the exits were blocked by vehicles (corroborating the testimony of Sirotka) and claims it took emergency personnel over 25 minutes to enter the fair grounds. She states that if they could have entered faster than 25 minutes that many of the Twenty's lives may have been salvaged/saved.
Benzos claims that when they finally were able to reach the site and help the civilians ... she saw Heidecker not preforming standard procedures like CPR or First Aid but rather placing "energy crystal" dollar-store trinkets around the victims in some sort of bizarre display of ritualistic nonsense. Her testimony painted the defendant as some sort of idiotic and smelly hippie.
The Defense's cross-examination fell flat as Dryer's question as to why emergency personnel didn't use the pedestrian entrance which wasn't blocked was retorted by Benzos that their vehicles couldn't enter through that entrance and they eventually did enter through there, yet on foot, and carried the victims to the ambulances on foot.
Jarred Jolson:
Jolson paints a picture of the festival as being very poorly organized, claiming that there was virtually no staff present and no one was even checking tickets which made his purchase of the extra expensive VIP pass seem unnecessary and like a complete waste of money. He states that there was only small water bottles sold on this over 100 degree Fahrenheit day which left concert goers dry, parched, and dehydrated. He claims the only food available was not the big luxurious food trucks advertised in the brochure ... but just one small table with plates of "peanut butter crackers".
He claims the "vape pens" were given away for free to most concert goers but refills of "vape juice" cost $49.00 dollars .... he states he took one "toke" of the vape pen which made his throat ache and burned his lungs ... but the pen broke after one use and leaked juice all over his "joggers" and like totally ruined his pants.
Defense attorney Dryer actually gained ground here on the cross-examination as two valid points were extracted from Jarred's testimony. It seems Jarred could not recall with 100% certainty if it was Heidecker or Sanchez who gave him the vape pen ... which helps establish the Defense's assertion that Sanchez was the negligent party.
Also, Jarred states himself and his friends Tyler n' Brett were smoking marijuana cigarettes prior to the concert in their car as well as consuming tequila from a small bottle ... which lends credence to the Defense's assertion that these kids were taking all kinds of drugs and not just vape juice from the defendant's pens.
Jolson ends by stating that he did smoke and drink but his vast experience with these drugs has built a good tolerance to them and that he was not impaired from them.
End of Day 1
The day of proceedings ended with the judge declaring a recess after Mr. Heidecker could not contain himself and his various forms of outburst.
Day One left Heidecker visibly angered, using the "F-word", berating his attorney, and demanding a mistrial. What will happen on Day 2 of Proceedings? Only Time Will Tell...
You can see it Live Streamed All over The World on Adult Swim's Online Stream. I think it goes live at 11 pm Eastern, baby ... I know what I'm watching tonight!
(Kayfabe Break: Yo, the photo they used for Luther "Dr Sands" Sanchez, at first I though it was a photo of Bruiser Brody with 100% certainty ... but under closer look it's not him.).
DAY TWO
The Docket Continues....
The second day of proceedings was met with a wash of disbelief by all members of the viewing gallery as the defendant entered without defense attorney Mark Dwyer (I apologize to Mr. Dwyer for referring to him as Dryer during the Day 1 account of happenings). It seems the defendant has not retained his attorney's services for Day Two and will be his own counsel.
After the new defense council (Heidecker) re-news his counsel's opening statements the prosecuting attorney expresses concern that this ploy is a scheme employed by Heidecker for the case to end in a Mistrial. The Prosecution team believes that the defendant will argue his defense with such little regard for the decorum of the court that the judge will have no choice but to declare the trial not binding ... the judge understands the prosecutor's concerns but states that it is every Californian's right as a citizen of the state to defend themselves in legal proceedings though the honorable Judge Scymyck expects decorum from Heidecker similar to that of a bar-licensed attorney of law.
Many viewers were hoping perhaps Heidecker had a brazen cousin from up state New York who could swoop in and take over as lead counsel, a la My Cousin Vinnie starring Karate Kid and Happy Days star Ralph Macchio, yet this was not the case. Mr. Heidecker as of now is the only member of his legal defense team.
The Defense may have changed head-counsel yet the onus on them to prove two factors in this case remains the same:
A) That Heidecker was not in any sort of cahoots what-so-ever with one Luther "Dr. San" Sanchez and that Sanchez was acting on his own volition. It must be shown that Sanchez was some sort of Mexican version of Rasputin who's trickery had conquered Heidecker's fragile celebrity mind or that Sanchez was some sort of bearded/dirty Svengali who's charms and charisma took Heidecker captive to his whims of folly.
B) That the "Twenty" were all on other forms of dangerous narcotics and not just the "vape juice" from the "vape pens" distributed by the defendant.
Witnesses called on Day 2: William Ellis (Law Enforcement Official), Dr. Gerard Kearny (medical examiner and toxicologist), Gregg Turkington (quasi-celebrity)
William Ellis:
Mr. Ellis was the detective assigned to investigate the tragic events of the Electric Sun 20 music festivity. Ellis makes the claim that Luther Sanchez was seen giving more vapor to already incapacitated victims in hopes of helping them until law enforcement removed Sanchez from the scene.
It is in his testimony that we for the first time see videographic evidence of the existence and demeanor of one Luther Sanchez AKA "Dr. San". Ellis interrogated Sanchez prior to his death via suicide.
In video evidence we hear the appellation of the formula's name in the vape pens. Sanchez says the formula was a mixture of toad venom, and fungus from dead caterpillars, known as " Dong Chong Xia Xua".
Sanchez claims in the video that he is indeed Heidecker business partner.
A very damning piece of evidence presented by the prosecution which is corroborated by Ellis is an invoice from a Chinese chemical company signed by Heidecker for the purchase of 5 kilograms of "DMMA-3" and methylhexhedamine. Analgesic narcotics. The narcotics were purchased through subsidiaries of the defendant's elaborate web of phony charities.
The Defense's cross examination fell flat in an attempt to claim the authorities did not do enough to investigate the "Chinese Conspiracy" which the defense believes is not being investigated due to "Political Correctness" reasons.
Gerard Kearny:
It is Kearny's expert opinion that death resulted from cardiac arrest from symptoms caused by the substance inside the vape pens.
The Defense's cross of Dr. Kearny bordered on the ridiculous as Mr. Heidecker attempted to assassinate the character and expertise of Kearny by asking him a series of queries to hold his credentials to standards including questioning the methodology of Kearny's lab by making on odd display dipping paper into a cup of coffee which supposedly attempts to cast doubt or even compromise Kearny's methods ... however no one present really fully understood the defense's line of questioning.
Yet one grain of solid gold was uncovered during cross-examination as Kearny reveals ONE of the TWENTY (Sean Levin) died from an over dose of heroin and not from the substance found in the vape pens ... meaning the demise of 1/20 of the victims is very likely not related to actions caused by the defendant.
Gregg Turkington:
Mr. Turkington was brought by the prosecution as a character witness to offer a glimpse to the jury of the reputation of the defendant.
Turkington hosts a movie review television program similar to "Siskel and Ebert" along with the defendant ... and his experiences with the defendant were often taxing and difficult. He goes on to claim that the defendant's relationship with Luther Sanchez was not one where Sanchez was a Mexican vesrion of Svengali or a Puerto Rican version of a Rasputin like figure ... but the relationship between the two men (defendant and Sanchez) was a business partnership of mutual benefit between both persons.
Turkington's testimony casts serious doubt on the Defense Claim (A) that Sanchez was acting on his own volition ... and the testimony also painted the character of the defendant as being less than noble... in fact the character of the defendant appears to be quite flawed. Statements by Mr. Turkington describe Mr. Heidecker as a man of almost alarming ill-repute.
The witness also describes the vape fluid as having a terrible odor similar to burning rubber. The prosecution played a videographic clip from Turkington and Heidecker's show where the defendant himself on the Siskel/Ebert-like show speaks of dangers of the vape fluid and how the vape fluid almost caused his own death.
The cross examination of Turkington by the defense was petty and led to very little revelations of any value. The defense tried to bring the witness's character into question by asking the witness if he can back up his claim of being "a movie buff" despite not having a degree in movies from a real school. Mr. Turkington counter-claims that he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having watched "501 movies in 501 days" which is apparently some sort of feat worthy of stature.
And thus concluded Day Two of Legal Proceedings!!!!
Day Number 3
...and the docket continues.
Witnesses called on Day 3: Amanda Davis (Victim's Family), Mark Proksch (impersonator), Alessandro Sarodemini AKA "Axiom" (guitarist), Ayaka Ohtani (defendant's ex-wife)
Amanda Davis:
Davis testified on record, fighting back tears of heart wrenching sorrow, to bring to light the innocence and wholesomeness of the victims. Davis is the mother of nursing student Vicki Davis who's untimely demise sent shock waves through her immediate kin. Her testimony paints the picture that most if not all of the "Twenty" were innocent and beautiful human beings.
The defense crossed by asking the court to dim the lights and take a moment of silence for the victims. Judge Szymyck agreed to the moment of silence yet did not fulfill the defense's request to dim the lights.
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| From L to R: Proksch, Waymon, Szymyck, Rosetti, Bailiff, Stenographer | r |
Mark Proksch:
Proksch is a impersonator of vintage hollywood celebrities such as Groucho Marx, W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplain, amongst others. He portrayed various impersonations for the defendant's unsuccessful Siskel/Ebert-esque program and testifies that his relationship with the defendant was similar to Turkington's relationship ... one which was taxing, difficult, and at times violent. As a character witness Proksch strokes the defendant's demeanor with a wide and stinging streak of paint ... a paint of deep negativity.
Under cross examination, a visibly irate Heidecker acted so aggressively to the witness that Judge Szymyck ordered the Bailiff to stand as a buffer between both parties to ensure the safety of Mr. Proksch. Questioning by the defense was unproductive, aggressive, and strange ... which prompted lead prosecutor Rosseti to refer to the proceedings as being a "Kangaroo Court" and re-implied his belief that the defense's main goal was to orchestrate a mistrial by displaying such obtuse behavior towards the proceedings.
Alessandro Sarodemini AKA "Axiom":
Guitarist from Italy and member of DKR (the defendant's band). The prosecution questioned the validity of this person's integrity and willingness to lie under oath for the defendant by playing two songs (Exhibits 25 and 26) in order to show that Heidecker's "hit song" Empty Bottle was a re-work of a prior Italian language song written by Alessandro.
It is revealed that the defendant pays this witness some form of stipend and is under the employ of the defendant in varying capacity.
Even stranger, the prosecution uncovered that Alessandro donated his right hand, his guitar playing hand, to the defendant ... as to why he would do this is unknown, maybe the defendant thought he could gain Sarodemini's guitar playing skills if he grafted Sarodemini's hand unto his own arm ... whatever the motive was ... it paints a picture of the relationship between the parties as being strange ... and the prosecution is setting up that this witness would do/say anything for the defendant which will surely be a factor to consider when the defense calls upon Sarodemini when it is its turn to call witnesses to take the stand.
The cross examination of this Kaelin-esque individual was very cordial and the defendant implied the gallery and the court should applaud as he disembarked the witness stand. Once again it must be noted that the defendant's behavior is odd and unfitting for a courtroom.
Ayaka Ohtani:
Another character witness the prosecution called to demonstrate the reputation of the defendant. Ohtani is the ex-wife of the defendant and claims he is a negligent and uncaring man of significant ill-repute.
Similar to the cross examination of Proksch, the defense displayed odd and sometimes aggressive behavior towards the witness as he seemed jealous that she had a new Japanese husband named Satoshi and new lovely daughter with said man named Sakura. This so angered the defendant that he stormed out of the court room and declared (although he does not have the power to do so) a 5 minute recess. Not wanting to conduct proceedings further under the duress of the defense the judge felt he had no choice but to conclude proceedings for this day and declare that sessions will resume on Monday of the upcoming week (same court time - same court channel ... I assume).
The Bailiff had to escort Mrs. Ohtani out of the premises for fear of aggressive behavior towards her by the defendant who's erratic outbursts have kept getting more-and-more completely out-of-control.
AND THUS CONCLUDED THE THIRD DAY!!!!
Day 4 of Legal Proceedings
.... as the wheels of the docket continues for the world to see.
We observe a much more relaxed, acute, and attention-to-decorum oriented defense on Day Four as Judge Szymyck threatens to tack on another contempt of court charge to Mr. Heidecker's already mounting docket of contempt charges and if any more are tacked on he will have to have contempt of court charges heard on multiple days by other multiple judges.
With the Prosecution at Rest, it is the Defense's turn to call witnesses to the stand.
Witnesses Called by the Defense: Jack O'Ryan (DeeJay), Jesse Popp (civilian), Joe Estevez (Brother of Martin Sheen and uncle of Charlie and Emilio Estevez), Gregg Turkington (self-proclaimed movie aficionado)
Jack O'Ryan:
O'Ryan was present at the Electric Sun 20 Festival as a performer yet did not perform due to the early end to the festival on account of the terrible tragedy. He claims the festival was "chill" and it was "cool" although he reiterates early witness statements that food and water were scarce or even non-existent on the fair grounds.
He was little use to the Defense as a positive character witness as he goes on to state that he was never paid by the defendant for what they agreed on for him to preform at the music festival and is still awaiting payment.
Upon cross examination by the prosecution a fairly decent-sized bombshell is dropped on the defense as Mrs. Waymon asks with due aplomb if the witness is being paid by the defendant to testify on his behalf as to which Mr. O'Ryan replies with a stern and un-ambiguous "Yes" ... which serves as a pretty resounding blow to the defense.
The defense chose to accept the prosecution's redirect and issue new questions to its witness. Heidecker, who remind you is both the defendant and the defense, begins personally debating the merits of O'Ryan's claim that he paid him to testify by clarifying that if he goes to the metal slammer his assets will be frozen and would not be able to pay O'Ryan in that scenario and thus his statement to the witness prior to testifying were in the nature of O'Ryan would be paid only if the present court case was won and thus it was in O'Ryan's interest to testify as a positive character witness on the defendant's behalf ... and he in no way implied that this witness was paid specifically to testify.
Though O'Ryan was meant as a character building witness for the defense ... the swearing and arguing between himself and the defendant as he disembarked the stand erased any positive statements he made about the defendant's character ... the only notable one being that the festival was "chill" and that it was also "cool".
Jesse Popp:
Next the Defense called a Carrot Top looking young man to the stand to act as a boon to the character of the defendant. He was a youth at the concert who did not die and seems like he had a swinging good time there. Popp counters claims of previous statements by previous witnesses that the festival was in disarray ... he claims the following key points about the concert.
A) It was Wonderful
B) There was Food
C) No One got Hurt
D) DKR (defendant's band) "Slayed" on the Stage
E) Did Not See Defendant Giving out Vape Pens
Popp, it should be noted, makes a claim that he is in no way under employ of the defendant in any capacity.
Cross examination was once again on-the-ball and raring to rip this poor Carrot Top looking youth's testimony to shreds and ribbons. Though extracting the nugget of truth that this witness was paid by the defendant to testify was more difficult than Mr. O'Ryan that nugget was once again extracted just the same.
Mr. Rosetti, showed a clip of the defendant's web-a-sode style show "Decker" where Popp is briefly seen in a scene. Rosetti also showed a document (Exh. 28) which is Popp's Internet Movie Data Base page on the web which has one entry in it as a credit to his budding film career and that is of course the previously mentioned "Decker" show.
The prosecution, after reminding the witness that lying while under oath can lead to perjury charges, asks simply and as plain-as-stone once again if the witness is being paid by the defendant and just like O'Ryan was before him ... Popp responds with a "Yes."
So far the prosecution has extracted information that both witnesses called by the defense have been paid by the defendant to testify on his behalf. One offered this information on his own volition and the other needed said information extracted from him.
The defense is hitting .000 so far and is 0-fer-2.
Joe Estevez:
The brother of Martin Sheen and benevolent uncle of famous brothers Charlie and Emilio Estevez takes the stand at this juncture in proceedings. He is the quintessential "Star Witness" and is pretty famous.
He knows the defendant as he played President Davidson on his web-a-sode format program and is the first character witness that paints the defendant with a positive light. Estevez claims the following things about the defendant ...
A) He's a "Terrific" Person
B) He's Easy to Get Along with
C) He booked Estevez as the President which shows He is Inteligent and Recognizes Talent
D) Would Not Hurt a Fly
E) Is a "Hailed Fellow" which Nobody can Deny
Now with a quick reputation boost off the list, the defense moves to gain more ground and attempts to damage the character of the deceased Luther Sanchez. Estevez claims he does not know the "Doctor" (though he and Sanchez both appeared on the panel of the "Doctor San Forgiveness Special" of On Cinema At The Cinema).
It is in this celebrity, Mr. Estevez's eyes and opinion, that the tragedy at the festival was nothing more than an unfortunate accident and the defendant is void of any responsibility or wrong-doing.
Upon being cross examined by the prosecution, negative character traits of the defendant are extracted from the famed witness. The prosecution was interested in the defendant's relationship with drugs as to which Mr. Estevez reveals that he indeed believes that Mr. Heidecker has a problem with drugs.
Estevez also paints the defendant as a ne'er-do-well who once "set himself on fire" on set ... yet Estevez later recants this statement and readdresses this event as one where the defendant had "an accident" with a blaze/fire and clarifies that the defendant did not "set himself on fire".
Gregg Turkington:
A lackadaisical and still-under-oath Turkington retakes the witness stand. The Defense puts his suit jacket back on, collects himself, and seems pretty ready to rip this man's integrity apart. The Defense seems to have renewed vigor at the sight of Turkington and appears poised to assassinate the witness's character ... specifically in regards to the witness's assertion that he is a "movie buff".
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| Turkington, G. self-professed aficionado of movies. |
The defense poses a series of questions with the intent to test the validity of Turkington's claim of being a movie expert. The line of questioning is paraphrased below:
What is your favorite movie?
It's a three way tie between Casablanca, Jaws, and Gone with the Wind. Coming up on the rear-end of my favorite list is Sleepless in Seattle, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Have you ever seen "Sully" starring Tom Hanks?
Yes, I was invited to a "sneak peek" that only esteemed movie buffs and film critics were invited to attend.
Does Star Trek 2 take place in San Francisco?
Yes.
Does Star Trek 4 take place in San Francisco?
No.
Interesting to say the least. It seems Mr. Turkington is dancing a sultry mambo with the truth here and is straddling on a steep slope with these statements. If it is found that "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is indeed shown to the satisfaction of the court that it took place in San Francisco .... could Mr. Turkington's assertion that he is a "movie buff" be a bold face lie? Could Mr. Turkington be committing perjury by lying under oath to the state of California about his credentials as a movie aficionado?
The stew is definitely beggining to boil and it appears that the Defense's ENTIRE CASE depends on whether Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one where they need the whale sounds because some robot thing is going around destroying everything that doesn't have pre-recorded whale sounds) takes place in San Francisco!!!
AND THUS CONCLUDES DAY FOUR OF THE BIGGEST TRIAL EVER!
The Fifth Day
The docket resumes.
Closing statements were delivered in this session and the jury sent to deliberation. Prior to that there were two remaining witnesses called by the defense.
Witnesses called on Day 5: Nicholas Meyer (Director of Star Treks 2 and 6, co writer of 4), Manuel "Juicy" Giusti (musician and actor).
Nicholas Meyer:
The defense called in an expert witness, the director of Star Trek 2 and co-writer of Star Trek 4, to act as a Star Trek expert to sort out the muddled mess encountered in the previous session whereas one Gregg Turkington (self-styled movie buff) seemed to be so sure of himself that the fourth installment of the Star Trek movie franchise did not take place in San Francisco.
Surely the writer of said film would be privy to the correct answer to that and he was in fact privy. Mr. Meyer (no relation to Oscar although he stated he was nominated for an Oscar award once) ... the star Star Trek expert with more than enough expertise on this matter stated that in the fourth installment of the Star Trek movies (the following is verbatim)....
..... "They go to SAN FRANCISCO."
A visibly shaken Gregg Turkington could not control his disagreement with this matter and called out from the gallery that they go to San Franciso in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and not Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .. as to which Meyer helps him through his confusion by saying that scenes from Star Trek 2 (such as Cpt. Kirk's apartment scene amongst others) were set in San Franciso (yet not actually filmed there). The continued outbursts from the gallery by Turkington left Judge Smyzyck with no choice but to ask the bailiff to remove Mr. Turkington from the premises.
The falsification of Turkington's testimony fell like a stone into the jury's minds. Like a jenga piece being removed from a jenga structure .... the removal of Turkington's "expert" testimony may very well crumble the structure and foundation of the prosecution's entire case.Gregg Turkington's credibility melted like a popsicle in the hot desert sun as soon as the words "They go to San Francisco" left Mr. Meyer's two lips. This self professed movie buff did not even know basic plot points of the smash hit 1986 science fiction adventure film Star Trek IV: The Journey Home.
It wasn't all jenga foundation destroying gains for the defense however as under cross examination Mr. Meyer reveals that similarly like O'Ryan and Popp ... he was paid in the tune of 10,000 dollars to testify for the defense.
Mr. Heidecker interjects (not during re-direct but on whim) that he's allowed to employ the services of expert witnesses and it makes no matter near nor dither if he paid for the expert Star Trek related services of Mr. Meyer.
Manuel "Juicy" Giusti
After observing two Kato Kaelin like individuals in the court gallery the jury and observers must have enjoyed finally getting to hear the testimony of the second Kato, one Manuel Giusti, who's long flowing locks are blonde as opposed to Axiom's long flowing brown locks.
Mr. Giusti declares a startling revelation that he was in contact with one Luther Sanchez the very day Sanchez committed suicide. Not only that but Snachez gave him a letter on yellow legal pad written in big block letters with permanent marker.
The defense asked Mr. Giusti to read said document which roughly stated that Sanchez felt that he was the only one responsible for the deaths of the "Twenty" and that Tim Heidecker in no way shape or form shares any of this responsibility and is totally innocent.
If this letter is authentic and was written by Sanchez prior to him taking his own life, the defense would have adequately shown to the satisfaction of the court that the only one responsible was indeed Luther Sanchez .... but all was not smooth sailing and this startling revelation was dashed with precision.
Under cross examination, Mr. Rosetti, being of Italianized extraction himself, openly wondered if Mr. Giusti was a Pope-fearing Catholic like he was as to which Giusti responded that he was. Rosetti pointed out that prior to taking the witness stand Mr. Giusti made a pledge to GOD on HIGH that he would not tell a LIE.
With that in mind, Mr. Rosetti asked the witness who really gave him that shocking case-decision -alteringly-important letter as to which the witness replied ... " Tim did this morning. "
Another one bites the dust as they say.
Closing Statements
Following these two witnesses the defense rested. With both parties at rest it was now time for closing arguments.
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| DA Rosetti |
This was the first time in the proceedings Mr. Rosetti showed emotion and jury/observers now understand that the bearing of the gravitas of the trial as well as the brazen effronterous displays by the defendant must have really weighed down this humble clerk of the State of California.
Mr. Rosetti ends by making an impassioned plea for the jury to convict this man.
Mr. Heidecker's closing arguments were anything but standard fare as far as court proceedings go. He brought out a board and wrote the following seven concepts on it:
1. Heroin
2. The Chinese Connection
3. Orion Jack
4. Dr. San Confession
5. Star Trek 2/4
6. Character (Joe/Jesse)
7. Tim (Victim)
He drew question marks all around these concepts and connected them like venn diagrams ... and finally when he got to himself "Tim" he flipped the board around which had the photos of the 19 (20 - Sean Levine) victims on it and stated that he belongs there with them for he is nothing short of a victim as well.
He re-iterated a claim that one of the victims, Carlos Delgado, had predicted the future that fateful day of April 14th and confided in Heidecker that if anything goes wrong at this music festival it is 100% not Heidecker's fault and if for some reason Mr. Delgado were to die in the near future his last will and testimony is for Mr. Heidecker to start a charitable foundation in his name .... which Mr. Heidecker claims he has. He has made a charity called the Carlos Delgado Fund.
His closing words were (verbatim) ...
... "I was just a man at the scene of a crime."
And thus concluded the trial! How will the jury deliberations go? I don't know. Is he guilty? Is he innocent? Only Old Man Time can Tell us the Answer to That....
The Final Day (Day 6): THE VERDICT
After five long days of vigorous deliberation the jury has announced at 2pm (eastern time) on November the 28th of the year 2017 their verdict.
You could hear a pin drop as an anxious tension highlighted the silence of the wood paneled court room. The tension was so palpable you could almost cut it up with a rusty knife.
Lo, the unseen foreman of the jury (a solitary female voice who calls out beyond some eerie 4th wall), states that the jury clears Mr. Heidecker on charges of the death of one Sean Levine ... and as for the remaining multitude of charges ... she states the jury was HUNG.
The split jury has resulted in a mistrial as consensus was not reached between the twelve jurors.
During the post-trial press conference District Attorney Rosetti was thankful that he was allowed to make a valiant attempt to fight for justice for the victims. He had little words and was visibly disappointed and saddened by the decision.
Assistant District Attorney, Myriam Waymon, had more to say, including revealing the guilty and not-guilty statistics of the jury. She states 11 members of the jury declared the defendant guilty while 1 member of the jury found him not guilty. The hung jury was 11-1 in favor of a guilty verdict. She goes on to state that her heart is with the victims and states that due to the heavy burden on tax payers it is unlikely that the state will pursue further charges in the case.
Outside the courtroom, an ecstatic Tim Heidecker, held a press conference of his own. He stood in the center of the podium winged by both Katos, Axiom and Manuel (one Kato to his left, and one Kato to his right).
Heidecker thanked the one juror who would not budge on his/her not guilty stance and thus brought about the hung jury and the subsequent mistrial verdict. He blasted his initial defense counsel, Mark Dwyer, for being poor at his job. He blasted D.A. Rosetti and went as far as calling him both a "rat" and a "loser."
He ended by thanking three more parties. Firstly himself, who was basically a "one-man show" in the court room as he describes it, secondly he thanks his brothers, both Katoes, Manuel and Axiom ... and finally he gives a shout out to the victims ... the twenty ... for without them he wouldn't be standing here today ... and Innocent Man.
And thus concluded the Trial of the Century.
Innocent .... and "Unstoppable"
