Page 132 of Resurrection Walk

“So you opened a package containing two stubs when you tested Lucinda Sanz?”

“Correct.”

“Did you wear gloves when you did this?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why is that, Sergeant Sanger?”

“So I would not possibly contaminate the stubs. I carry and handle a weapon, so my hands could have GSR on them. It is standard protocol in the department and all other agencies to wear gloves while conducting a GSR test on a suspect.”

“You are saying that at the time, Lucinda Sanz was already a suspect?”

“No, I was talking about general protocol. In the case you are specifically referring to, Ms. Sanz was not considered a suspect at that time. We viewed her as a witness, primarily, until we gathered all the facts.”

“Why were you so quick to test her for GSR if she was just a witness?”

“Because, first of all, gunshot residue sheds from the skin. It is best to take a GSR test within two hours of a gun incident. After four hours it is useless because of shedding. And second, we didn’t know what we had out there, so we wanted to cover all the bases. I conducted the test and it turned out later to be positive. I think I already testified to all of this.”

“That’s okay, Sergeant Sanger. We want to make sure we get it right. How did you find out that the test was positive?”

“The lead investigator called me to tell me and to thank me for running the test so early. It was a very solid positive response for GSR, he said.”

I asked the judge to strike the second half of Sanger’s answer as nonresponsive to my question, but Coelho overruled me and told me to move on.

“So you did everything by the book — isn’t that correct, Sergeant Sanger?”

“Correct.”

“You gloved up, opened the testing package, conducted the test, then resealed the stubs in a lab bag.”

“Correct.”

“No contamination.”

“Correct.”

“And you gave that lab bag to Deputy Keith Mitchell to turn over to the homicide investigators, yes?”

“Yes.”

Morris stood up and objected.

“Your Honor, counsel has already been over this in his direct examination,” he said. “Why are we wasting the court’s time with this?”

“I was wondering the same thing, Mr. Haller,” Coelho said.

“Judge, my next questions should pretty much get us into new territory,” I said.

“Very well,” she said. “But I’m putting you on a short leash. Proceed.”

I looked at my legal pad and composed myself and the next question.

“Sergeant Sanger, are you familiar with touch DNA?”

Morris was quickly up on his feet again.

“Your Honor, sidebar?” he said.

---