Page 89 of Resurrection Walk

“Yes, the petitioner.”

She said it in a sarcastic tone.

“Thank you,” I said. “Now, in the second photo in your possession, you have the man you identified as Robbie Sanz using his hands to improve the posture and stance of his then-wife. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Sanger said.

“As you are a law officer and a shooting expert, with the commendation to go with it, can you tell me what stance the petitioner is learning in that photo?”

“It’s the high-ready stance.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Sanger. I have no further questions, Your Honor, but the petitioner reserves the right to recall the witness at a later stage of the hearing.”

“Okay,” Coelho said. “Mr. Morris, do you wish to re-cross?”

“No, Your Honor,” Morris said. “The State is ready to move on.”

“Sergeant Sanger, you are excused,” Coelho said. “Mr. Haller, call your next witness.”

Keeping to my plan, I called Deputy Keith Mitchell. He was brought in from the hallway, placed under oath, and seated in the witness stand. He was a large Black man with a shaved head. His biceps stretched the sleeves of his uniform shirt to their limit. I moved back to the lectern with my legal pad. I didn’t bother asking the judge to rule that Mitchell was a hostile witness.

After a few preliminary questions that established that Mitchell was a member of the same anti-gang unit as both Roberto Sanz and Sanger, I got down to the meat of his testimony.

“You are a big man, sir,” I began. “How tall are you?”

Mitchell looked confused by the question.

“Uh, six four,” he said.

Morris stood up.

“Your Honor, can we keep the examination to things pertinent to the case?” he asked.

“Sorry, Your Honor,” I said. “I’ll move on.”

Coelho frowned.

“Don’t meander, Mr. Haller,” she said.

“I won’t, Your Honor,” I said. “Deputy Mitchell, you were at the crime scene on the night of Roberto Sanz’s murder, correct?”

“That is correct,” Mitchell said.

“But you were off duty, were you not?”

“I was.”

“How did you come to be there?”

“The department sent out a text alert that there had been an officer-involved shooting in the AV, and then like maybe ten minutes later another member of our unit called me and said it was Robbie who got shot. We were close, Robbie and me, so I went to the house.”

“And that was Stephanie Sanger who called, correct?”

“Correct. Sergeant Sanger.”

“Was she a sergeant at that time?”

“Uh, no. Not then.”

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