Okay. Next witness?
(At 7:36 p.m. witness excused)
MS. LAMP: Joel Mead, Your Honor.
THE
COURT: Step up please. Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear
or affirm the testimony you will give in this matter will be the truth, so help
you God?
MR. MEAD: Yes.
THE COURT: Come on around, watch your step. The chair is on rollers, so be careful. The microphone isn’t going to make you any louder, so make sure you speak up loudly and distinctly for us. State your full name.
THE WITNESS: Joel Mead.
THE COURT: How do you spell your last name?
THE WITNESS: M-e-a-d.
THE COURT: Miss Lamp?
JOEL MEAD
Called at 7:36 p.m. by the People, sworn by the court, testified:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. LAMP:
Q. Joel Mead, where do you live at?
A. I live on
Q. And do you live there with anybody else?
A. Yeah, I live with my parents.
Q. And who are your parents?
A. Rick and Star Mead.
Q.
Okay. And where is that-—well,
let me ask you this. Are you familiar
with the Turn Three Ranch located at
A. Yes, I am.
Q. And how are you familiar with that, that ranch?
A. Pretty much drive by there every day to go feed our own horses.
Q. And where are your horses located?
A.
They’re located on
Q.
Okay. And so you drive from your
residence to the
A. Yeah, that’s correct.
Q. And in the course of doing that, you drive by the ranch.
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. All right. And are you familiar with the people that, that own or run the ranch?
A. Yeah, you could say so.
Q. How so?
A. It’s, where we used to board our horses, they had boarded their horses there also and, and then just kind of from living in Grass lake, I mean, it’s a small town so kind everybody knows everybody.
Q. Okay. And where’s this place that you boarded the horses?
A. Triple C over on Sager Road.
Q. Okay. And who are the people, the Turn Three Ranch people that you knew who had also boarded their horses there?
A. Matt and Jimmy.
Q. Would that be Matt Mercier?
A. Yes.
Q. Is he here in the courtroom?
A. Yes.
Q. Can you point to and identify him for the record please?
A. (No audible response)
Q. What’s he wearing?
THE COURT: What is he wearing? Where is he seated?
THE WITNESS: He’s wearing a tuxedo it looks like.
THE COURT: Seated at the table?
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Second one from the left, the one with the coat on?
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: The record will reflect that he’s identified the defendant Matt Mercier.
BY MS. LAMP:
Q. And you said Jim. Would that be Jim Henderson?
A. Yes.
Q. And is he here in the courtroom?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you point to and identify him and what he’s wearing for the record please?
A. He’s sitting diagonally behind Matt, wearing a dark pants.
THE COURT: Colorful tie?
THE WITNESS: Colorful tie.
THE COURT: The record will reflect that he’s identified the defendant James Henderson. Miss Lamp?
MS. LAMP: Thank you, Your Honor.
BY MS. LAMP:
Q. And approximately when did you become acquainted with these two gentlemen?
A. Oh, probably been fourteen years ago since we boarded at Triple C.
Q. So a long time?
A. Yeah.
Q. Would you say that applies to both Matt and Jim or…
A. Probably more so Matt than Jim, but, you know, Jim was there occasionally also.
Q. Okay. Have you had occasion on your daily treks by the Turn Three Ranch to observe who had been there at the ranch—-
A. What’s that?
Q. From January through now, January of this year through now. Have you been able to see who’s at the ranch being that you drive by it every day to feed your own horses?
A. Yeah, I would say that they were both there occasionally, they, you know, I’d see both vehicles that they, that they drive there. And actually I was interested in buying a vehicle that they have setting out front and had stopped to ask about the vehicle and they were both there when I was there.
Q. When was this?
A. Oh, my daughter was born at the beginning of the year and I would have to say it was after she was born.
Q. And what was her date of birth?
A. The twenty-second of January.
Q. So it would be after the twenty-second of January of this year?
A. Yeah.
Q. And you talked to Jim Henderson about buying the vehicle?
A. Yup. Matt and Jimmy were both there.
Q. And you talked to both of them?
A. Yup.
Q. And where was the vehicle?
A.
The vehicle was parked right on, right on the grass right off
Q. Okay. And what if anything transpired out of this, of the inquiry into buying the car?
A. Really nothing. I inquired about it, they said that they weren’t sure where the keys were at because that’s why they weren’t driving it and, you know, had they found them they would give me a call and, you know, possibly go from there.
Q. What kind of car was this?
A. I’m not sure exactly what kind of car it is. It’s a, it’s green in color, four door, and my wife drives a full size pickup to Ann Arbor every day and it kills her in gas, so..
Q. I’m sure it does. What were they doing when you stopped to inquire about the vehicle?
A. I’m not sure because they were both kind of out by the gate when I pulled up there, so I’m not really sure what they were doing.
Q. Okay. And did you say that you’d seen their cars, both of their cars there on multiple occasions from January through March twentieth of 2007?
A. Yeah, that’s correct.
Q. And which car do you attribute to which person? If at all.
A. I’m not really sure if I could say which car is to which one, but I know they drive a silver extended cab Dodge with a diesel in it and a maroon two door car.
Q. And you saw both cars there on approximately how many times from January to March twentieth? If you know.
A. I mean, I don’t know, quite a few times I guess.
Q. Okay. Did you see them there each month, January, February and March?
A. Yeah, I would have to say so.
Q. Do you know if you saw both cars there in January, February and March?
A. Maybe not both of them at the same time, but you know, one or the other for sure.
Q. And do you recall if you ever saw both of them there at the same time?
A. Maybe on a few occasions.
Q. Okay. And let me ask you, on the day that you were there that both Jim and Matt were there, were both vehicles there on that day if you know?
A. Yes, they were.
MS. LAMP: No further questions.
THE COURT: Mr. Mead, Mr. Dungan will have some questions for you. Okay? Mr. Dungan.
CROSS-EXAMINATION (At 7:42 p.m.)
BY MR. DUNGAN:
Q. Where are you going when you drive by the farm?
A. I would either be going to feed my own horses or I would be going to work.
Q. Where do you work?
A. I work at Corby Energy.
Q. Okay.
A.
Before I worked at Corby Energy I worked for Lester Brothers, and we do
a lot of work in
Q. Where did you work between January and March of this year?
A. I was actually laid off.
Q. So you weren’t driving to work between January and March of this year.
A. No.
Q. But you did have horses to feed apparently?
A. Yes, that’s correct.
Q. Which are located where?
A.
Q.
Can you see this chart up there?
Can you see that? It says
A. Yes, sir.
Q.
And to your right it says
A. Yes, sir.
Q. All right. That’s the Turn Three Ranch, okay?
A. Yup, yes, sir.
Q.
And that
A. Yup.
Q.
All right. And then when you go
to feed your horses, which direction are you going on
A. I’d be traveling northbound.
Q. Show me on there.
A. What’s that?
Q. Show me on the chart which way you’re going.
A.
It would be coming down
Q. Okay.
THE
COURT: On
THE
WITNESS: Yeah. Coming down
THE COURT: Left to right, then up.
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Okay.
BY MR. DUNGAN:
Q. And is that something that you’re doing every day?
A. Yeah, most of the time.
Q. Okay. From January through March every day?
A. Yup.
Q. What time do you, what time do you go there?
A. It could be any time of the day.
Q. You don’t have a consistent schedule?
A. My mom normally feeds them, so but I would be either going over there to check on them or, you know. I was laid off, so..
Q. So you don’t have to go out there and feed them. Because your mom is?
A. Sometimes my mom feeds them, sometimes I feed them.
Q. Okay. But if your mom feeds them, you still go out there?
A. Yeah. My grandpa was sick, so..
Q. Okay. So you’re either going out there to feed the horses, see your mom, or take care of grandpa?
A. Yup.
Q. Every day.
A. Yeah, pretty much.
Q. Okay. But not at any particular time every day.
A. No.
Q. Could be morning or afternoon, evening, night time?
A. Yup.
Q. Okay. So morning, afternoon, evening, night time, every day that you go by you see Matt and Jim there.
A. Yeah…
Q. Doesn’t matter the day of the week, the time of the day or the night, Matt and Jim were there.
A. No, I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say they were there any time of the day.
Q. Okay. Maybe it’s me and it’s late and I’m having a hard time understanding. Between January and March of ’07, did you drive past that farm every day?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. Did you see Matt there every day?
A. I don’t know who I seen there every day, but there was a vehicle there every day.
Q. Oh, so we’re not talking about seeing people, we’re talking about seeing vehicles. Right?
A. Yeah. I mean, it’s a big ranch.
Q. Oh, so you’re just assuming who’s there based on the vehicle that you see. Right?
A. Yeah, there you go. Yup.
Q. Okay, okay. Now, you say there’s a silver Ford pickup truck involved?
A. No, it’s a Dodge.
Q. It’s a Dodge. But it’s silver, right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Okay. And it is it your understanding that that truck belongs to one or the other of these fellows?
A. Yes.
Q. Who owns it?
A. I don’t know. I don’t know who owns it.
Q. Okay. And you said there was a maroon two door?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And who owns that?
A. I’ve seen Matt driving the Dodge most of the time, the silver truck.
Q. Okay.
A. And I would assume that Jimmy would be driving the maroon two door.
Q. All right. You ever seen Jimmy drive the maroon two door?
A. I’ve seen him in it a few times.
Q. You’ve seen him in, driving it to that farm between January and March of 2007?
A. Yup.
Q. Huh?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You saw Jim pull up into that farm?
A. I’ve seen him go by there, yes.
Q. Go by the farm.
A. Go by my grandma and grandpa’s house headed towards the farm, yes.
Q. You don’t know where he’s going, do you?
A. (No audible response)
Q. Let me ask you a better question. Do you see Jim Henderson in person on that farm between January and March of 2007?
A. Yes, sir, I did.
Q. When?
A. When I stopped to inquire about the car.
Q. Which car is this?
A. A green four door car. That sits approximately right here.
Q. All right. And it’s been sitting out there forever?
A. Yeah, it’s been sitting there for a while.
Q. Okay.
THE COURT: Now, Joel, you’re talking about the little, the circle on the lower left part of the drawing. Is that correct?
THE WITNESS: It would be in front of there because there’s, there’s fencing here somewhere.
THE
COURT: But by the circle is what you’re
saying, what you’re pointing to?
THE WITNESS: Yeah.
It’s to the left of the driveway.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
BY MR. DUNGAN:
Q. Okay. So you’re driving by the Turn Three Ranch, right?
A. Yup.
Q. And you’ve been thinking about this car?
A. Yup.
Q. How long you been thinking about it?
A. I don’t know, a few months I guess.
Q. Okay. And you see the two fellows outside the gate?
A. They were, I believe Matt was, yeah, they were both outside the gate.
Q. Okay. Gate’s shut?
A. Yup.
Q. All right. So they’re not even inside the farm itself.
A. They’re on the premises, yes.
Q. But not inside the gate or the outer perimeter of the farm.
A. (No audible response)
Q.
They were within what, twenty feet of
THE COURT: Joel—-
THE WITNESS: Yeah.
THE COURT: Point on the map. Where did you see the two of them? Go up there and point.
THE WITNESS: I’d say they were right in this area.
THE COURT: Now, the other circle on the other side of the driveway, right?
THE WITNESS: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay.
BY MR. DUNGAN:
Q. So you decide to take that opportunity to stop and ask about purchasing the vehicle.
A. Correct.
Q. What time of day or night is this?
A. I believe it would have to be morning.
Q. Okay. What day of the week? If you can possibly remember.
A. I would have to say it would probably be a weekend because my father was with me.
Q. Okay. And then tell me about the conversation you had with these guys.
A. Pretty much just asked them what the deal was with the vehicle, if it was operable or not.
Q. Who were you talking to?
A. I was talking to Matt and Jimmy. They were both standing right there.
Q. Are they both standing?
A. Yeah.
Q. Outside of their vehicles?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Go ahead.
A. And pretty much just asked them if the vehicle was operable or not, told them that, you know, my wife drove to Ann Arbor every day and gas was getting expensive in the truck and, you know, if they’d be interested in selling it or not. And from what I can remember he said that-—
Q. He who?
A. I’m not, I think it was Jimmy that said that the key was lost at the time and had he found it he would let me know. And that’s pretty much the end of that.
Q. Okay. And you remember at that time if Matt was in a cast, with a cast with a broken leg, right?
A. I can’t recall.
Q. Do you remember when he broke his leg?
A. No.
Q. What was the weather like that day?
A. Mmm… It was a decent day. Sunny.
Q. Is the car buried in snow?
A. No. The car wasn’t buried in snow.
Q. All right. You know it snowed in January?
THE COURT: I’m sorry. What was the question?
MR. DUNGAN: Is the car, it’s parked on grass, on property, correct? It’s not in the driveway, right?
THE WITNESS: Correct, yes.
BY MR. DUNGAN:
Q. All right. And is there snow around the car?
A. No.
Q. No snow at all.
A. No.
Q. No snow on the property.
A. No.
Q. What were you wearing? Do you remember?
A. No.
Q. Now, this time that you’re talking about when you’re trying to negotiate this sale for the car. It was the only time that you saw Jim Henderson there in person in the year 2007. Correct?
A. Mm, yeah, I would say so.
Q. Okay. Do you know when’s the last time you saw him at the farm in 2006? I’m not talking about cars or anything else, I’m talking about him.
A. No, I can’t recall.
Q. Okay. From what I understand about this potential purchase of this car and what you’ve told me about the weather, et cetera, are you so sure it wasn’t September?
A. I wouldn’t believe so, no.
Q. So you think it’s more likely that we’re all standing outside in the cold with no snow on the ground and it’s January?
A. I wouldn’t say that. I don’t believe it was a very hard winter.
Q.
Okay. Did you spend the winter in
A. Yes, sir.
MR. DUNGAN: Okay. I don’t have any other questions, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Miss Lamp?
REDIRECT EXAMINATION(At 7:52 p.m.)
BY MS. LAMP:
Q. The date of your daughter’s birth, was that a fairly significant date for you?
A. Yeah, I would say so.
Q. Okay. And are you sure that this occurred after your daughter’s birth on January twenty-second?
A. Yes, I believe so.
MS. LAMP: Okay, nothing further.
THE COURT: Mr. Mead, you had mentioned to us that from time to time you would drive by other occasions and two cars were there. Is that correct?
‘ THE WITNESS: That’s correct.
THE COURT: And for some reason you identified those as cars driven by Matt and Jimmy?
THE WITNESS: That’s correct.
THE COURT: Why do you call him Jimmy?
THE WITNESS: What’s that?
THE COURT: Why you call Mr. Henderson Jimmy?
THE WITNESS: It’s just what I would know him by.
THE COURT: And for fourteen years or so?
THE WITNESS: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. And you also said that there’s been times that you had seen Jimmy driving a vehicle by your grandfather’s ranch in the direction of the Turn Three Ranch. Is that correct?
THE WITNESS: That’s correct, yes.
THE
COURT: Okay. And would that be coming down
THE WITNESS: That’s correct.
THE COURT: Okay. You recognized that car that he was driving?
THE WITNESS: Mm-Hmm.
THE COURT: Yes?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Were you able to recognize him as the driver?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. How many times would you say that you saw that?
THE WITNESS: I don’t know, three, four times.
THE COURT: Okay. After--
MR. DUNGAN: What time period are we in, Your Honor?
THE COURT: I’m just going to ask that. After your daughter’s birth?
THE WITNESS: Um…
THE COURT: Or before? Or some before, some after?
THE WITNESS: Some before, some after.
THE COURT: Okay. Any further questions, Miss Lamp?
MS. LAMP: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Dungan?
MR. DUNGAN: No, sir.
THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Mead, thank you very much. You’re excused. Watch your step going down. May Mr. Mead be excused?
MS. LAMP: Your Honor, yes. We would ask that Joel Mead, Rick Mead and also Star Mead all be excused.
THE COURT: Very good.
(At 7:54 p.m. witness excused)