See also: Lisa Bradford CFPD Report

7 MR. CORRELL: Yes, Your Honor.

8 Could you go up to that blue chair, and the

9 court will swear you in.

10 LISA BRADFORD,

11 called as a witness on behalf of the defendant, being

12 first duly sworn by the court, was examined and testified

13 as follows:

14 COURT: Mr. Correll?

15 MR. CORRELL: Thank you, Your Honor.

16 DIRECT EXAMINATION

17 BY MR. CORRELL:

18 Q. Will you state your name, please.

19 A. Lisa Bradford.

20 Q. And would you indicate what your address is.

21 A. 515 Cornwall Avenue, Waterloo.

22 Q. And would you indicate if William is your

23 husband?

24 A. Yes, he is.

25 Q. Are you employed?

758

1 A. Yes, I am. Part-time.

2 Q. And where are you employed?

3 A. GMAC Mortgage.

4 Q. Ask you if you know either Delonna or Tracy

5 Rokes?

6 A. Yes. I know both of them.

7 Q. And which one of those people did you first

8 meet?

9 A. Delonna.

10 Q. And did you meet her husband, Tracy, after

11 coming to know Delonna?

12 A. Yes, I did.

13 Q. Have you known them since they've been

14 married over the last, I guess, approximately seven

15 years?

16 A. Yes, I have.

17 Q. Did you ever have an occasion to have a phone

18 conversation with Delonna on Friday, October 4, about

19 going -- meeting them at Brooster's?

20 A. Yes, I did.

21 Q. And would you tell us how that -- who

22 initiated that conversation, how it came about?

23 A. I had just called her to speak with her, as

24 we usually do, and just told her that we would be going

25 out that evening, if they cared to meet up with us, we

759

1 would be up at Brooster's.

2 Q. Okay. And about what time would you

3 anticipate it was that you would have called her?

4 A. I would say early afternoon.

5 Q. And did you call her at her home?

6 A. Yes, I did.

7 Q. Did she -- did you indicate to her about what

8 time it would be that you would anticipate you would get

9 there?

10 A. Yeah. We said somewhere around between 7 and

11 7:30 because our babysitter came at 7.

12 Q. And was it firm that she was going to meet

13 you there, or was it just left open?

14 A. It was just left open.

15 Q. Did you know the Youngs?

16 A. Yes, we --

17 Q. And did you know the Brauns?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. When you arrived, approximately what time

20 would you estimate it was that you would have arrived?

21 A. Somewhere between quarter after 7 and 7:30.

22 Q. And were the Youngs already there when you

23 got there?

24 A. Yes, they were.

25 Q. And -- did you go sit with them once you got

760

1 there?

2 A. Yes, we did.

3 Q. Who would have been the next couple that

4 would have come?

5 A. Delonna and Tracy arrived after that.

6 Q. Do you know approximately what time it would

7 have been that they would have arrived?

8 A. Close to 8 o'clock.

9 Q. And did they also join your group after they

10 arrived?

11 A. Yes, they did.

12 Q. Did Scott and Tracey Braun then arrive after

13 the Rokeses, and, if so, about what time would you

14 estimate they arrived?

15 A. Somewhere between 8 and 8:30. I'm not for

16 sure, because we were talking with other people.

17 Q. During the time that -- or after the Brauns

18 got there, did the women basically stay in one group and

19 the men stay in another group?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Did you have any conversation with Delonna

22 Rokes while you were on the Brooster's side?

23 A. Yes, we did.

24 Q. Did you ever have any reason to believe that

25 she was upset about anything while you were on the

761

1 Brooster's side?

2 A. Yes, she was upset.

3 Q. And how do you know that?

4 A. We were talking, and she got emotional and at

5 one point started to sob a little bit.

6 Q. And what was she upset about, if you know?

7 A. Her mother was ill with a heart condition.

8 Q. Okay. And did she indicate if she had been

9 in the hospital or was in the hospital, if you know?

10 A. Yes, she was.

11 Q. What did you try to do, if anything, in

12 response to that?

13 A. We just tried to talk it out, you know, just

14 kind of let her have a shoulder to cry on.

15 Q. While you were there, did you, on the

16 Brooster's side, did you have any conversation with Tracy

17 Rokes?

18 A. No.

19 Q. When -- what caused you to go over to the

20 Celebrations side from the Brooster's?

21 A. There was a band playing.

22 Q. And when you went over there, did you -- did

23 you go as part of that group that went over there?

24 A. Yes, I did.

25 Q. Once you got over to the Celebrations side,

762

1 did you dance?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Did you have any conversation with Tracy

4 Rokes on the Celebrations side?

5 A. Yes, I did.

6 Q. And do you recall, what was the nature of the

7 conversation that you had with him?

8 A. No. It was just casual chitchat.

9 Q. Was there any -- when you had your

10 conversation with him, was there ever any indication of

11 him slurring his words in any way?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Was there ever any indication of him saying

14 things that were inappropriate or anything such as that?

15 A. Not at all.

16 Q. Was there anything that you observed, whether

17 it's an observation, anything he said, that caused you

18 for an instant to think that he was in any fashion

19 intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol?

20 A. No.

21 Q. When you were over on the Celebrations side,

22 was there ever any occasion where you had additional

23 conversations with Delonna about her mother?

24 A. No.

25 Q. When you left, approximately what time would

763

1 it have been that you left?

2 A. It was a little before 10 o'clock.

3 Q. And what time did your babysitter have to be

4 home?

5 A. 10:30.

6 Q. Okay. And did you get home shortly before

7 the news was over?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Okay. Did you give a statement to the Cedar

10 Falls Police Department when they asked you to do so?

11 A. Yes, I did.

12 MR. CORRELL: That's all the questions I

13 have.

14 COURT: Mr. Wadding?

15 MR. WADDING: Thank you.

16 CROSS-EXAMINATION

17 BY MR. WADDING:

18 Q. Has the defendant ever said anything

19 inappropriate to you?

20 A. Never.

21 Q. The -- certainly he didn't that night?

22 A. No.

23 Q. And isn't it true that you reported to the

24 Cedar Falls Police Department that the defendant is kind

25 of a quiet individual?

764

1 A. Uh-huh.

2 Q. You usually don't have much to say to him --

3 A. Right.

4 Q. -- is that correct?

5 A. That's correct.

6 Q. Is that how you would characterize your

7 relationship with him too, that you don't talk to him

8 much?

9 A. Well, just con -- casual conversation.

10 Q. You also indicated to the Cedar Falls Police

11 Department that you saw him drinking that night, but you

12 weren't really sure how much he had to drink?

13 A. That's correct.

14 Q. And did -- do you believe you've ever seen

15 the defendant intoxicated?

16 A. Yes, I have.

17 Q. And do you think that you've ever seen

18 Delonna Rokes intoxicated?

19 A. Yes, I have.

20 Q. Did you have an opinion about whether or not

21 Delonna Rokes was intoxicated on October 4th at

22 Brooster's?

23 A. No, I don't.

24 Q. You didn't have an opinion?

25 A. No.

765

1 Q. So you don't know one way or the other

2 whether Delonna Rokes was intoxicated or not?

3 A. No. I just knew she was upset that night.

4 Q. Did you form an opinion about whether or not

5 the defendant was intoxicated?

6 A. No.

7 Q. And that certainly wasn't the point of going

8 out, was it?

9 A. No. It was just a very social, casual

10 atmosphere.

11 Q. And that isn't what you're thinking when

12 you're speaking with the defendant either; is that

13 correct?

14 A. I'm sorry?

15 Q. I mean, you're not looking for signs of

16 intoxication on the defendant when you're talking to him,

17 are you?

18 A. No.

19 Q. I mean, it's a friendly gathering, right?

20 A. Right.

21 Q. And it's only after you hear about the

22 accident and the death of Juli Farrell that you start

23 thinking about those things; is that fair to say?

24 A. Correct.

25 Q. You also indicated that when -- you weren't

766

1 sure when the Rokeses arrived; is that correct?

2 A. Just somewhere between 8 and 8:30.

3 Q. Okay. That was because you were talking to

4 other people?

5 A. Right.

6 Q. And did you know other people at the -- or

7 the tavern, I don't know, bar?

8 A. Yes. Yes, I did.

9 Q. Other than the people that you were with?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And did you talk and -- talk with those

12 people as well throughout the night?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. Was that true of your husband as well? Did

15 he know other people besides the group that you were

16 with?

17 A. I'm sure he did. I'm not sure who he talked

18 to, because it was mostly the girls together and the guys

19 were together.

20 Q. Okay. Thanks.

21 MR. WADDING: I don't have anything else.

22 COURT: Mr. Correll?

23

767

1 REDIRECT EXAMINATION

2 BY MR. CORRELL:

3 Q. Mrs. Bradford, is there any doubt in your

4 mind that Tracy Rokes was not under the influence or not

5 intoxicated on October 4th?

6 A. No, he was not.

7 Q. Okay. That's all. Thank you.

8 COURT: Mr. Wadding, anything further?

9 RECROSS-EXAMINATION

10 BY MR. WADDING:

11 Q. So you did form an opinion about whether he

12 was intoxicated?

13 A. I thought you said Delonna. You were talking

14 about --

15 Q. I believe I asked you about the defendant as

16 well, and you said you hadn't formed an opinion?

17 A. Well, I just -- just -- no.

18 Q. You do have an opinion about that?

19 A. I just felt that he was hisself.

20 MR. WADDING: I don't have anything further.

21 COURT: Mr. Correll?

22 MR. CORRELL: Nothing further.

23 COURT: Thank you.

24 MR. CORRELL: Your Honor, at this time we

25 would ask to have the matter recessed until tomorrow

768

1 morning.

2 COURT: All right. Will we be ready to go by

3 9 o'clock?

4 MR. CORRELL: Yes, sir.

5 COURT: We'll reconvene at 9 o'clock.

6 (At which time a recess was taken at

7 4:02 p.m., May 20, 1997.)

8

9

updated 08/05/10