updated 08/12/10See also: Tracy Rokes Cedar Falls Police Report
22 COURT: Mr. Correll?
23 MR. CORRELL: Thank you, Your Honor. Call
24 Mr. Rokes.
25
821
1 TRACY ALLEN ROKES,
2 called as a witness on behalf of the defendant, being
3 first duly sworn by the court, was examined and testified
4 as follows:
5 COURT: Mr. Correll?
6 MR. CORRELL: Thank you, Your Honor.
7 DIRECT EXAMINATION
8 BY MR. CORRELL:
9 Q. Will you state your name, please.
10 A. Tracy Allen Rokes. It's R-O-K-E-S.
11 Q. And what is your address?
12 A. 2622 Ryan Drive, R-Y-A-N, Drive, Cedar Falls.
13 Iowa.
14 Q. What is your age and date of birth?
15 A. I'm 35. My date of birth is 7-13-61.
16 Q. And in what community or city did you grow
17 up?
18 A. Cedar Falls, Iowa.
19 Q. Did you attend and graduate from high school?
20 A. Yes. I attended the Cedar Falls school
21 system and graduated from high school in 1979 from Cedar
22 Falls High School.
23 Q. Did you attend any college after graduation
24 from high school, and did you graduate from college?
25 A. Yes. I first had went to junior college in
822
1 Mason City and then on to another school, Northwest
2 Missouri State, and then back to UNI where I would have
3 completed my degree in approximately 1984. 1
4 Q. And what was your major?
5 A. I have a teaching certificate and also a
6 business minor and other miscellaneous hours.
7 Q. Okay. Are you married, sir?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And what is your wife's name?
10 A. Delonna.
11 Q. And will you spell that for the reporter,
12 please.
13 A. D-E-L-O-N-N-A.
14 Q. And when were you married?
15 A. September 1st, 1990.
16 Q. And do you have any children?
17 A. We have two.
18 Q. What are their ages?
19 A. Alexis, she was five April 24th of this year,
20 and Natalie that will be two June 28th of -- also of
21 1997.
22 Q. What is your employment, sir?
23 A. I'm self-employed.
24 Q. And what is the nature of your business?
25 A. Well, I'm in the construction business,
823
1 development business.
2 Q. With regard to your work, do you occasionally
3 work outside of Black Hawk County in that business?
4 A. Many times.
5 Q. Do you occasionally work out of the state of
6 Iowa in that business?
7 A. Prior to being married, I worked out of the
8 state almost all the time.
9 Q. With regard to your wife's family, do you
10 know and have you known her mother ever since your
11 marriage and obviously some before?
12 A. Probably a couple years before we were
13 married and then obviously from the time we've been
14 married and since then, yes.
15 Q. Going back to September of 19 -- maybe even
16 going back further, to August of 1996, were you involved
17 in any employment or construction jobs outside of Black
18 Hawk County?
19 A. Yes. We had some jobs in Black Hawk County,
20 and we also had one particular job in Mason City, Iowa.
21 Q. And how far is Mason City, Iowa, to the --
22 the farm that Delonna's parents live on?
23 A. I would guess 15 to 18 miles.
24 Q. When you were in Mason City with this
25 construction job, when did that job start?
824
1 A. That job started, I believe, on about
2 August 24th.
3 Q. And did that job get started on time?
4 A. No. That job was supposed to start right
5 about the first of August, but due to the fact that some
6 other people had to get some work done ahead of us, this
7 was a reconstruction job, we could not start until that
8 time.
9 Q. And what -- what was the time schedule as to
10 when that job was supposed to be done by?
11 A. Well, it was our anticipated schedule that it
12 would be a 12- to 14-week job if we would have started
13 the first of August, but because we got to start late, it
14 was our intention to try to speed up the process so that
15 we could be done sooner.
16 Q. Okay. Briefly, would you describe, what was
17 the process that -- or the job, what did it entail?
18 A. Well, it was a building that's located
19 probably one block west of Highway 65 and one-half a
20 block north of Highway 18 near downtown Mason City. It's
21 a building about -- probably in similar size of this
22 courthouse, the perimeter of it, and it was an old
23 building that needed some re-working for both aesthetics,
24 and they also wanted to get some insulation value, which
25 is why we were there.
825
1 Q. During the course of that job, what would
2 have -- that Mason City job, what was your role as far as
3 going up and -- to Mason City to check the job out or do
4 work or not?
5 A. Well, basically in this case, because we had
6 other jobs in town that most of our crew would have been
7 working on, I took one person from here and myself and
8 assembled a crew in Mason City of which one of the
9 particular people had worked for me in another state on a
10 job, so I was familiar with one of them, and then we put
11 together this crew to get this particular job done.
12 Q. And what did that, say, from whenever you got
13 started, mid-August or so on, on, say, a typical weekly
14 basis, how frequently would you go to Mason City to be
15 involved in that job?
16 A. Well, it would depend a little bit on my
17 other workload, but, generally speaking, I would leave
18 early Monday morning and may stay over some nights,
19 generally coming back on Wednesday nights so that I could
20 we with my family and then again maybe checking the other
21 jobs or other work early Thursday morning and then going
22 back up there on Thursday afternoon so that we could
23 do -- continue on and then work through Friday and then
24 return home Friday afternoon or Friday night.
25 Q. And would that have generally been the
826
1 schedule that you would have followed through August,
2 September, up to October 4 on this job?
3 A. Yes, it was.
4 Q. During the latter part of September, did you
5 become aware that Delonna's mother was having health
6 problems?
7 A. I -- I think I became first aware on
8 October 1st, which would have been a Monday night,
9 because I had called home to see how things were at home.
10 And I believe Delonna had told me at that point that her
11 mother was in the hospital, and that call was probably in
12 the 9 o'clock range, p.m. So I told her that I would go
13 up and see her mother after work the next day, which
14 would be Tuesday.
15 Q. And did you make that call from the Mason
16 City area?
17 A. I -- I made that call from the motel I was
18 staying at, yes.
19 Q. In the Mason City area?
20 A. Yes, in Mason City.
21 Q. On Tuesday, what would that have been, like
22 the 2nd?
23 A. I believe so.
24 Q. Did you go to the hospital?
25 A. I went to the hospital after -- after work,
827
1 probably I would guess somewhere around the 7 o'clock
2 time. We would have finished work probably about 6,
3 6:30, went to the motel, took a shower, got cleaned up
4 and went to the hospital.
5 Q. And did you check on her condition and try to
6 find out how she was?
7 A. Yes, I did.
8 Q. Did you make any arrangements to go back to
9 the hospital after Tuesday?
10 A. Yes. At that time on Tuesday night my
11 father-in-law, Gene, and -- was there at the hospital.
12 And, of course, Frances was in the hospital. We said --
13 we made a plan that I would come up on Wednesday night,
14 the next night, and that myself and Gene would go out and
15 eat after I visited Frances, and then we did so.
16 Q. And that was Wednesday you would have gone
17 out to eat. Did you ever see or visit Frances in the
18 hospital after Wednesday?
19 A. Yeah. At night-wise, Wednesday night was the
20 last night. However, on Thursday, my wife, Delonna, had
21 come up to be with her mother and had stopped by the job
22 site to let me know that she was in town and then
23 proceeded to the hospital. And sometime shortly after
24 that I went up, or within an hour I would guess, to the
25 hospital to check on her condition.
828
1 Q. Did you return back to Cedar Falls on any of
2 those nights from Monday up to Friday, or did you stay in
3 Mason City all those nights?
4 A. That particular week I had stayed in Mason
5 City Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night. On
6 Thursday I returned home.
7 Q. Now, did you go back to Mason City on Friday?
8 A. I did. I would have went up there later in
9 the morning.
10 Q. Do you recall what you did earlier in the
11 morning on the 4th?
12 A. I went and checked on other job sites that we
13 were working on. I also had to get payroll checks that
14 those men were expecting to get on Friday afternoon. So
15 I stayed there, did office work in the morning and got
16 caught up on the other jobs.
17 Q. And about -- in your experience, how long a
18 drive time-wise is it from Cedar Falls, your business or
19 your residence in Cedar Falls, to downtown Mason City?
20 A. It's probably an hour and a half to an hour
21 and 45 minutes depending on traffic.
22 Q. And when you left for Mason City on Friday,
23 October 4, would you give us the approximate range of
24 time it would have been that you would have left Cedar
25 Falls?
829
1 A. I would say it had to be somewhere right
2 around 11 o'clock, 11:30.
3 Q. And would you tell us what it was that you
4 did once you got to Mason City?
5 A. Well, along the way I had stopped and got
6 some gas before I got there, actually in Parkersburg, but
7 once I got to Mason City, on the south side of Mason City
8 on Highway 65 there is a McDonald's. So I would have
9 stopped -- or I did stop at McDonald's and eat lunch, and
10 I made reference and noted what time that was. It was
11 approximately 1 o'clock, 1:15.
12 Q. That you would have arrived there at the
13 McDonald's?
14 A. I probably arrived there about 1, but by the
15 time I ate and got out of there, it was about 1:15.
16 Q. Do you recall what you had to eat?
17 A. I do. I had, I guess what they consider a
18 value meal, which was a Quarter-Pounder with cheese,
19 super-sized, which means you get a little bit larger
20 fries and a Diet Coke.
21 Q. Okay. What -- what did you do after you got
22 done eating at McDonald's?
23 A. Well, as soon as I got done, and -- you know,
24 I was in -- I wanted to get to the job site, so I went to
25 the job site, checked on the men that were working there
830
1 that day to make sure there wasn't any problems, or, I
2 guess, for emergency type of things. Once that I knew
3 everything was going well, I went up to the hospital.
4 Q. And about what time would it have been that
5 you got to the hospital?
6 A. I would guess it would have been around 2:30.
7 Q. And I guess it's obvious, but the reason you
8 go to the hospital was to visit your mother-in-law?
9 A. Right. The day before was the day that they
10 did this -- I don't know the term for it, but the dye in
11 her heart so that they could see where the problems were.
12 So my reasoning was going -- was to go and see if they
13 had any results from that test.
14 Q. Okay. And when you got to the hospital, did
15 you spend any time with your mother-in-law and your
16 father-in-law?
17 A. I did. And at that point they had a diagram
18 of her heart, and it showed where the blockages were that
19 I viewed. At that point there was one part of her heart
20 that hadn't been getting blood for some period of time,
21 and that's why there was a lot of concern. And it --
22 from what I understood, there was some concerns of where
23 the blockage was, you know, how they would be able to
24 proceed at that point.
25 Q. Okay. When you left the hospital, did --
831
1 what was your understanding as to whether there was going
2 to be some type of medical or surgical intervention in
3 the future to address that problem?
4 A. Basically because Frances is a diabetic,
5 which I -- from what I understand somewhat complicates
6 the problem, and that this dye had been put in her heart.
7 They had to wait until Monday to do this stent, I believe
8 it's called, to hold open her artery.
9 Q. Okay. And did you know that that was at
10 least the tentative schedule when you left the hospital
11 Friday afternoon?
12 A. Yes, I did.
13 Q. And did you now know that, in fact, that
14 was -- that stent procedure was accomplished the
15 following Monday?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. When you left the hospital, again, tell us
18 what -- the approximate time and where you went when you
19 left the hospital.
20 A. Well, approximately it was probably 3:15,
21 maybe 3 o'clock. I went back to the job, delivered the
22 payroll checks, told them to lock everything up, take the
23 keys out of the machines that we were using, just general
24 things we do, especially on a Friday, so that, you know,
25 vandalism or whatever won't occur.
832
1 Q. What time do you think you would have left
2 the job site in Mason City on Friday afternoon?
3 A. Well, I would say it was right around 3:30.
4 Q. And when you left, where did you go?
5 A. I went straight back to Cedar Falls. I did
6 make one stop. I don't remember -- I believe the town is
7 Sheffield that you travel on Highway 65.
8 Q. What was your purpose of stopping there?
9 A. I stopped to use the bathroom and get a candy
10 bar and a pop.
11 Q. When you got back, did you come directly then
12 back from Mason City, with this stop, to the city of
13 Cedar Falls?
14 A. Yes, I did.
15 Q. And when you got back into the city of Cedar
16 Falls, approximately what time would that have been?
17 A. It had to be in the 5, 5:15 range.
18 Q. And when you got there, did you go to your
19 business, or did you go home first?
20 A. I went directly home.
21 Q. When you got home, was Delonna there?
22 A. She was.
23 Q. And was -- was there anybody else in the
24 home?
25 A. Yeah. There was two or three other girls
833
1 there, friends there also, yes.
2 Q. Okay. What, if anything, when you got home
3 did you tell your wife about what you had learned at the
4 hospital?
5 A. Well, she had -- she had basically asked how
6 her mother was, and at that point I said that they were
7 going to try her procedure, but it's a serious situation.
8 Q. Did you try to be truthful and factual with
9 her as to what -- what you had found?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And what was your sense, as how did Delonna
12 take that news as you gave it to her?
13 A. Well, it was upsetting. But instead of
14 hiding the facts, I wanted to tell her, you know, exactly
15 what I knew at that time.
16 Q. And what was -- what was the plan, if any, as
17 to whether you had -- or her or the both of you would be
18 in Mason City when this stent was implanted the following
19 Monday?
20 A. I don't recall exactly what the plan was. I
21 believe Delonna was going to go up there over the
22 weekend, maybe on Sunday. I believe her brother, who
23 would have been located in Chariton, Iowa, was going to
24 go up there sometime during the weekend, so they were
25 going to kind of take turns, if you will.
834
1 Q. Okay. When you got home, did Mr. Braun ever
2 come to your house?
3 A. Yeah. Probably shortly after I arrived at
4 home, Scott Braun came over to the house, yes.
5 Q. Was he the only man that came to the house
6 during that period of time from the time you got home
7 until you guys left?
8 A. Yeah, I believe so.
9 Q. And when Mr. Braun was there, did either of
10 the two of you consume any alcoholic beverage?
11 A. He did, but I was -- I believe when he got
12 there I was already drinking a pop. In fact, he went to
13 the refrigerator and said, would you want -- do you want
14 a beer? I said, no, I don't.
15 Q. Did he drink a beer to the best of your
16 knowledge?
17 A. He did.
18 Q. Did you sit and talk with him for a period of
19 time?
20 A. Yeah, probably 15 minutes to a half hour I
21 would guess.
22 Q. Okay. And what -- not specifically, but what
23 would have been the general nature of your conversation
24 with Mr. Braun?
25 A. Well, we have a lot of common interests and
835
1 things we do together, so we may have been talking about
2 some of those, basically recapping the week as far as the
3 jobs, those type of things.
4 Q. Okay. When Mr. Braun left, what would be
5 your estimate as to the range or the time that he would
6 have left your home?
7 A. I would say it was after 5:30, somewhere in
8 there.
9 Q. Okay. And what did you do as far as doing
10 any jobs or any entertainment for yourself after Mr.
11 Braun left?
12 A. Well, generally every Friday, if I'm home,
13 there's a show on HBO, I don't -- it's something to do
14 with football, NFL football where they recap last week's
15 games, look at next week's games, and then they also go
16 back into where they have a segment called, Where Are
17 They Now? And they go back and say, this guy played
18 here, and this is now what he's doing, and I always have
19 an interest in that. And that show's on from 6 o'clock
20 on Friday night until 7 o'clock, and because it's on HBO,
21 there is no commercials.
22 Q. Did you watch that show, that hour show
23 between 6 and 7 p.m.?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. When that show was over, did you consume any
836
1 type of food in your home?
2 A. At about the time it ended, my wife had put
3 some French-fries in for my daughters and some other
4 things, but there was some French-fries in the oven. I
5 took those French-fries because they -- they had been
6 eating and -- eating junk food, if you will, munchies
7 prior to my arrival, so they were not hungry. So I took
8 those French-fries and put them on a plate, put some
9 shredded cheese on top of them, put them in the
10 microwave, heated them up, put some ketchup on them and
11 ate them.
12 Q. Okay. About what time would you have
13 completed that?
14 A. It had to be real -- real near 7 o'clock,
15 maybe slightly after.
16 Q. Okay. And could you give us some sense or --
17 of the amount of the French-fries that you would have
18 eaten at that time?
19 A. I would say it would probably be equivalent
20 to at least one and a half orders of McDonald's
21 French-fries and maybe two.
22 Q. Did you have anything to drink with that --
23 with those French-fries?
24 A. Yeah. I had another Diet Pepsi.
25 Q. What did you do after you got done with the
837
1 French-fries and the t.v. show?
2 A. Well, my wife had -- had earlier started to
3 get ready to go. It takes her considerably longer than
4 it does me, so that's why I continued to watch the show
5 and ate. And then I went in and took a quick shower and
6 was ready to go.
7 Q. And where was it that you were understanding
8 that you were going to go?
9 A. Brooster's and Celebrations.
10 Q. Was that your idea to go to Brooster's or
11 Celebrations or somebody else's?
12 A. No. The girls had lined that up.
13 Q. Okay. And did you agree to go?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Okay. Did the babysitter, Jenny, come over?
16 A. She was there, I don't know exactly what
17 time. But I went in and took a shower when she was
18 there, which is very common in our -- you know, in our
19 case.
20 Q. Okay. What would be the time, approximate
21 time that you would have left your home?
22 A. I would say it was 7:30, quarter to 8
23 possibly.
24 Q. Okay. And when you left your home, who left
25 your home with you?
838
1 A. Delonna did.
2 Q. Just the two of you?
3 A. Just the two of us.
4 Q. And who drove?
5 A. I did.
6 Q. And what kind of a vehicle did you drive when
7 you left the home?
8 A. A Toyota 4-Runner.
9 Q. Was that a relatively new car --
10 A. It was a --
11 Q. -- vehicle?
12 A. Yes. It was -- I don't know how many months
13 old, but it was just a few months old.
14 Q. When you left, what route did you take?
15 A. Well, I would have -- we took off and went
16 directly east on Ryan Drive, turned right onto Barnett
17 Drive, took Barnett down to 12th Street, turned left on
18 12th Street --
19 Q. Let me stop you there a second. Did you and
20 I utilize a blowup of a map to try to depict the route?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Okay.
23 (At which time Defendants Exhibit "4" was
24 marked for identification.)
25 Q. I'm going to hand to you what has been marked
839
1 by our reporter as Defendant's Exhibit "4", and I would
2 ask you if you can identify that for us, please.
3 A. Yes. It's a map of Cedar Falls and some area
4 of Waterloo.
5 Q. Okay. And does that -- does that map
6 accurately show where your house is and the -- the
7 various streets that you were reading?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Okay.
10 MR. CORRELL: Your Honor, at this time we
11 would offer what has been marked as Defendant's Exhibit
12 "4".
13 COURT: Any objection, Mr. Wadding?
14 MR. WADDING: No.
15 COURT: Exhibit "4" is admitted.
16 Q. Mr. Rokes, I'm going to ask you to turn and
17 look at Exhibit "4", stand off to the side so the judge
18 can see it.
19 A. (Complied.)
20 Q. That is not exactly to scale, but to the best
21 of your knowledge, does it show the relative position of
22 the streets from your home in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to the
23 location of Brooster's and Celebrations in Waterloo,
24 Iowa?
25 A. Yeah. I believe it does, yes.
840
1 Q. And there is a green mark made on that
2 Exhibit "4" with a Magic Marker. Would you indicate what
3 that green mark is, and what does that show?
4 A. This green mark would show the pathway that
5 we took -- do you want me to start with the streets or --
6 Q. First, just describe, where does it -- what
7 does it show?
8 A. Okay. This is approximately where our house
9 is located on Ryan Drive.
10 Q. In the upper left-hand corner?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. As we look at the exhibit?
13 A. Yes. It's -- actually it's on the south side
14 of the street, but we just -- just the highlight is down
15 the street, yes.
16 Q. And does the green path, as it follows down
17 and across the lower quarter of the exhibit, does that
18 show the path over to Brooster's?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Okay. Now, by making reference to the
21 streets, would you indicate the path that you took when
22 you and your wife left your home in that 4-Runner at some
23 time -- at the time you've just described?
24 A. Okay. Well, as I started to say, we would
25 have pulled out of our driveway on Ryan, turned and went
841
1 east until we hit this street here which is called
2 Barnett, took Barnett down to 12th Street. That's a stop
3 sign. Turned left on 12th Street or heading east, came
4 to Hudson Road. At Hudson Road there's a stoplight,
5 turned right and headed straight down Hudson Road until
6 we came to Greenhill Road. I believe these marks are
7 where there are traffic signals.
8 Q. Where there's red circles through the green
9 line are electrically operated traffic control devices;
10 is that correct?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Then when you got down to the roadway at
13 Hudson Road and Greenhill, what did you do?
14 A. Well, we would have made a left turn, went
15 down Greenhill, continued on, and you kind of come into
16 the backside, and there's this -- I guess what you'd call
17 a -- it's more than a 90-degree turn. It's a -- kind of
18 a hairpin turn, come around to the front side of
19 Brooster's parking lot.
20 Q. Okay. And that's located in the city of
21 Waterloo; is that correct?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Okay. Why don't have you a seat, please.
24 A. (Complied.)
25 Q. With regard to the route that you have just
842
1 described, have you run that for the purposes of
2 attempting to determine how long it takes to drive that
3 route?
4 A. Yes, I have.
5 Q. And what have you found as you drove that
6 route?
7 A. Well, depending on how you hit the stoplights
8 exactly, it's about a 15- to 16-minute trip.
9 Q. Okay. Is that traveling no faster than the
10 posted speed limit?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And -- but at the same time is it going close
13 to the speed limit?
14 A. I believe it's close, you know, as you could
15 go, yes.
16 Q. And does it -- is that making all the stops
17 at the appropriate stoplights or stop signs as you might
18 find them?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Do you know the approximate distance in
21 miles?
22 A. From my home to Brooster's?
23 Q. Yes.
24 A. I think it's -- no, I don't. I think maybe
25 six miles.
843
1 Q. You do know the exact distances from some
2 locations; is that a fair statement?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. And would you -- do you know the distance,
5 say, from Brooster's back to South Main Street?
6 A. It's three miles.
7 Q. Okay. And do you know the distance from
8 South Main Street to Highway 58?
9 A. In miles or feet?
10 Q. In miles or feet.
11 A. Well, in miles I believe it's about .35. I
12 believe in feet it's 1800 and some odd feet.
13 Q. Okay.
14 COURT: Can you give me those again, please.
15 DEFENDANT: In miles it's .35 approximately,
16 as best you could tell with the odometer. In feet it's
17 like 1858 feet.
18 Q. When you give the feet measurement, how did
19 you determine that?
20 A. I've got a construction wheel that I use for
21 my job. I went out and walked it.
22 Q. Okay. With regard to the route that you went
23 over there, did you stop anyplace along the way, any --
24 get any gas, any food, anything like that?
25 A. No. And probably one of the reasons we would
844
1 take that route is because it's, for no better term I
2 guess, a home-run route. We're just going from our home
3 to Brooster's. If we were going to eat somewhere or do
4 something else, we may go down University.
5 Q. Okay. And in your opinion, is the -- would
6 the route from -- on Greenhill Road be a little bit
7 longer distance than University?
8 A. Distance-wise it probably is longer, yes.
9 Time-wise it's probably shorter.
10 Q. Okay. And why is that?
11 A. A lot less traffic, fewer traffic signals.
12 Q. With regard to getting to Brooster's, what
13 would be your estimate then as -- would it be in that
14 16-minute range that it would have taken you to get to
15 Brooster's?
16 A. I would believe so, yes.
17 Q. What time would you believe then, or the
18 approximate time you believe it was that you got into
19 Brooster's that night?
20 A. We would have probably arrived at the parking
21 lot somewhere slightly before 8 o'clock, maybe 7:45,
22 quarter to 8. I mean, that's the same time, but about
23 then, yes.
24 Q. Okay. And what did you do once you got
25 there?
845
1 A. Well, obviously we parked the vehicle, walked
2 into the Brooster's side and continued into the
3 establishment.
4 Q. Okay. When you got into the Brooster's side,
5 did you see anybody that you knew?
6 A. Yeah. When we first walked in, at one of the
7 first tables there was a gentleman by the name of Dave
8 Claus that I know, that we have a few common interests.
9 So I would have stopped -- or I did stop and talk to him
10 for some period of time, maybe ten minutes.
11 Q. Okay. And when you were talking to him,
12 where did Delonna go?
13 A. She kept on going. I later found out back to
14 where the other girls were congregated.
15 Q. And did you then go back there yourself?
16 A. Yeah. After we concluded our conversation, I
17 walked back to where the guys were, yes.
18 Q. And when you got back there, did you
19 ultimately have conversations with Scott Braun, Craig
20 Young and William Bradford?
21 A. I'm not sure at this point if Scott Braun was
22 there, but if he wasn't, it was just a few minutes later,
23 and then, yes, we all had conversations.
24 Q. And over in the Brooster's side of this
25 building, what was it that the four of you did, the four
846
1 men?
2 A. Well, we were standing a little ways away
3 from where the women were. There was the -- one of the
4 playoff baseball games was on t.v., and I believe that
5 was about the time. We made comments about that the
6 umpires might go on strike, I believe, because Roberto
7 Alomar or somebody had spit on one of the umpires, and
8 they were upset that he was only getting suspended for a
9 game, so we had some conversation about that.
10 Q. Okay. As far as you say, you were some
11 distance -- tell us or show us by making reference in
12 this courtroom, about how far would you have been from
13 where the gals were seated?
14 A. I would say from where I'm at to that column
15 or that post-like structure.
16 Q. And how far would you guess that --
17 A. Fifteen feet maybe.
18 Q. Okay. When you are in Brooster's, do -- do
19 you have any beer? Do you order a beer?
20 A. Yeah. About the time that I had got back to
21 where the guys were, I ordered a beer and had a beer.
22 Q. Okay. And was that a draw beer or a bottle
23 of beer?
24 A. It was a bottle of beer.
25 Q. Okay. And did any of the other guys that you
847
1 were with, did any of them have any beer or alcoholic
2 beverage to the best of your knowledge?
3 A. I believe two of the other guys had beer, and
4 Bill Bradford doesn't drink beer, so he was drinking some
5 kind of mixed drink.
6 Q. With regard to when you're in the Brooster's
7 side, are you watching -- do you pay any attention to
8 what's on the t.v. there?
9 A. Yeah. We made -- we were watching it and
10 making comments about it, talking about it.
11 Q. When you're in the Brooster's side, do you
12 pay any attention, do you observe your wife at all?
13 A. Not necessarily. I mean, we were somewhat
14 separated, and the girls were talking with the girls, and
15 the guys were talking with the guys.
16 Q. When you were over there, did you have at
17 least one or more than one beer in the Brooster's side?
18 A. If I was going to guess, I would probably say
19 at least I had more than one, probably two.
20 Q. Okay. And when -- did you stay in the
21 Brooster's side of that building, or did you go to the
22 other establishment?
23 A. Well, eventually we went to the other side.
24 During this whole congregation, if you will, we had -- I
25 had run into a gentleman by the name of Keith Sandvold
848
1 that I have known for probably almost 30 years, and we
2 had probably a 20 -- 25-minute conversation. His -- he
3 knows my father, my father and mother. My father has had
4 some health problems over the years, so he started out
5 the conversation asking how my father was. At that time
6 I knew his father was having some problems. He
7 basically -- we talked about health problems. He went
8 through and explained that his father had cancer and was
9 extremely ill and how the two of them had really become
10 closer than they had ever been before, and then we talked
11 briefly about my mother-in-law, but it was a fairly long
12 conversation.
13 Q. Was it a serious conversation?
14 A. I would say so, yes.
15 Q. And did he -- did his father, in fact, if you
16 know, die relatively shortly after that conversation?
17 MR. WADDING: Well, I'll object, Your Honor,
18 as to relevance.
19 COURT: Overruled. You may answer.
20 A. His father, I believe, was like in the
21 hospice-type environment. He was at his home, and this
22 particular gentleman, Dave, was taking care of him and
23 helping his mother, and I believe he died almost within a
24 week of that conversation.
25 Q. With regard to that conversation, did that
849
1 conversation take place when you're at Brooster's?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. With Mr. Sandvold?
4 A. Right.
5 Q. And could you, for our record, spell his last
6 name?
7 A. I believe it's spelled S-A-N-V-O-L-D, but I
8 could be wrong.
9 Q. At some point was there a decision made to go
10 over to -- through a doorway to a place called
11 Celebrations?
12 A. Yeah. I believe Scott Braun had went over
13 there and saw that there was a band setting up, so he
14 came back and basically tried to get everybody to go over
15 there and watch the band, and he may have left first, but
16 basically we all ended up over in the Celebrations side,
17 yes.
18 Q. Okay. What time would be your best sense
19 that you would have gone over to the Celebrations side of
20 that establishment?
21 A. I would guess it was around 9:45.
22 Q. And when you went over there, describe for
23 the record, how did the group congregate? How that was
24 divided up?
25 A. Well, we were a little closer proximity of
850
1 each other. The place was a little bit fuller, not as
2 open. We were congregating up by -- near the bar. And
3 then there was an area, probably similar to this area
4 that's raised, so some of us were standing along this
5 rail area.
6 Q. And what were you doing over there?
7 A. Well, basically when I first got there, I ran
8 into a gentleman by the name of Bob Marshall, who's a
9 roofing contractor that I know, see occasionally. His
10 wife was with him. So we talked about the contracting
11 business and would have got a beer.
12 Q. Okay. Did -- in -- how long would you have
13 talked to him approximately?
14 A. It was a shorter conversation. We've had
15 similar conversations, and his wife wasn't really that
16 enthused about hearing about the contracting business, so
17 it was fairly short.
18 Q. When you're over at Celebrations, do you
19 listen to the music? The band's playing?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Did any people in the group that you were in
22 dance?
23 A. Yes. I believe Scott Braun and his wife
24 danced, and I'm not sure that Scott and my wife didn't
25 dance, and at one point Delonna said that she'd like to
851
1 dance.
2 Q. And did you dance with her?
3 A. Yes, I did.
4 Q. At some point in time did you have any sense
5 that the Bradfords were leaving -- or left before any of
6 the other couples?
7 A. Yeah. I knew they were leaving a little bit
8 earlier just by -- I think their babysitter, they needed
9 to get home a little earlier than the rest of us.
10 Q. And what time was it that you were supposed
11 to be home that night?
12 A. Somewhere around 11 o'clock.
13 Q. Okay. Now, when you're over at the
14 Celebrations side, do you consume any beer?
15 A. I would think that I probably had -- mainly
16 because I wasn't engaged in as many conversations, I
17 drank more beer over there, yes. I probably had three
18 beers, I would guess.
19 Q. And in approximately what time frame would
20 you have had those three beers?
21 A. Well, I think we got over there about a
22 quarter to 10, and we basically lined up to leave
23 somewhere right around a quarter to 11, so in that, I
24 would assume, last hour.
25 Q. Okay. With regard to Delonna, were you able
852
1 to -- when you're over there, were you able to get any
2 sense of how she was feeling about her mother?
3 A. Well, I knew she was upset and -- because
4 there's been other occasions that we've been places and
5 she would ask me to dance and I wouldn't dance, so I
6 danced for the reason to try to console her. At that
7 point if she would have said, give me a piggyback ride
8 around the block, I would have.
9 Q. At the point -- at some point in time shortly
10 before you left, what, if anything, unusual did you
11 notice about -- about her behavior at Celebrations?
12 A. Well, I noticed that she was -- had her head
13 down, and I believe it was Tracey Braun said that she
14 was -- she had kind of said, you know, your wife's
15 crying.
16 Q. And what did you do after you made that
17 observation about Delonna?
18 A. Asked if it's time to go, we should get out
19 of there.
20 Q. And what did you do with your beer
21 immediately before you left?
22 A. Well, I would have -- I drank the beer that I
23 had, and then we left.
24 Q. How much time would have lapsed from the time
25 you drank your beer until you walked out the door?
853
1 A. However long it takes to walk probably
2 75 feet. Maybe a minute or two minutes, I suppose.
3 Q. When you walked -- when you left, who -- who,
4 if anybody, did you see from your group outside?
5 A. The -- Connie and Craig Young had left
6 approximately the same time. When we got outside and we
7 were walking to our car, we talked to them and as they
8 were walking to their car.
9 Q. Did you make a decision then to -- which way
10 you were going to go home, which route you were going to
11 take on the way home?
12 A. Well, we had planned on going straight home,
13 so we made the same decision we made on the way, was to
14 go back exactly the same pathway, yes.
15 Q. When you left and got into that car, would
16 you describe -- or that four -- what is it? 4-Runner?
17 A. 4-Runner, yes.
18 Q. Toyota 4-Runner. Will you again stand and
19 show us the route, and is that depicted by a different
20 color Magic Marker?
21 A. Yes. I believe the purple, that purple color
22 is the color on the pathway to the way back home, yes.
23 Q. Okay. And the -- on the way back home where
24 you go through that kind of S-shaped configuration, is
25 that an accurate depiction of the -- of the curves that
854
1 that street has?
2 A. Yeah. The building actually sits somewhere
3 where this -- where there is no markings, so you come out
4 on an access road, you get on this Hackett Road, you head
5 south, you make a very sharp turn and then another kind
6 of quick turn, and that's a stop sign. When you get to
7 there, you would -- we took a right on Greenhill, headed
8 through this stoplight.
9 Q. Let me back up just a minute, Mr. Rokes. As
10 far as when -- when you come down that street, after
11 coming out of Brooster's, what is the speed limit there,
12 if you know?
13 A. I believe this speed is 25. Yes.
14 Q. Okay. And is that going up the hill or
15 downhill, if you know, as you come around through that
16 S-shaped curve?
17 A. As you start here, you would go fairly level,
18 maybe slightly up. As you get a little bit farther, it's
19 maybe slightly up or level, and then from there it's
20 pretty much downhill until you get to Greenhill.
21 Q. Okay. When you got to Greenhill, is it --
22 can you go straight, or can you go left, or can you go
23 right?
24 A. You can do -- yeah, either/or. This Hackett
25 Road continues across, or you can turn right, which would
855
1 be heading -- well, eventually heading west on Greenhill,
2 or you can turn left, which basically goes under
3 University Avenue and heads to the north, yes.
4 Q. Please have a seat again.
5 A. (Complied.)
6 Q. When you make your turn onto Greenhill to
7 proceed towards the west from the stop sign, I take it
8 that only you and Delonna are in the car?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And are you driving the car?
11 A. I am.
12 Q. And where is she seated?
13 A. She's seated in the passenger side in the
14 front seat.
15 Q. Now, have you timed both by time and distance
16 how long it takes you to -- if you follow that 45 miles-
17 an-hour speed limit, how long does it take from the time
18 you leave Brooster's until you get to the intersection of
19 South Main Street?
20 A. I'm not sure I recall exactly, but it's --
21 it's three miles. So if you said you were going
22 45 miles-an-hour, or at least when you got onto
23 Greenhill, you would divide that by 66 feet per second.
24 Q. As you are going down -- across, I guess I
25 should say, to the west on Greenhill, do you have your
856
1 lights on?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Is there any conversation that gets engaged
4 or that you and Delonna are having as you are headed west
5 across on Greenhill Road going home?
6 A. When we first entered Greenhill or -- where
7 would you like me to start?
8 Q. Well, when you -- once you got in the car,
9 what was the -- what was the nature of your and Delonna's
10 discussion?
11 A. Well, basically once we got in the car and
12 basically probably got to just about Greenhill, the --
13 the discussion became about Delonna's mother, and as we
14 headed farther west, we continued talk about Delonna's
15 mother.
16 Q. Okay. And is that -- what -- not to try to
17 repeat it verbatim or -- but what was the nature of her
18 comments, and what was the nature of your comments to
19 her?
20 A. Well, her comments were that she thought
21 maybe her mother should go to Kansas City to the heart
22 institute where they could maybe better serve her. My
23 comments were, you know, let's give these folks a chance.
24 This is not open heart surgery, so let's see what they
25 can do, and now is when you need to be strong for your
857
1 mother.
2 Q. And was she -- was she upset? Was she ever
3 visibly upset to you as you were going on that trip -- on
4 that route on Greenhill Road?
5 A. The farther west we got, the more upset she
6 was, yes.
7 Q. And what was it that -- what was her concern
8 the farther west you went as she expressed it to you?
9 A. That she was scared that her mother was going
10 to die.
11 Q. As you're going down that road to the west,
12 did it ever reach a point where Delonna ever was crying?
13 A. It did, yes.
14 Q. And at approximately what point would that
15 have been?
16 A. My best guess would be somewhere near the
17 South Main intersection.
18 Q. Okay. And when she cried, what position did
19 her body posture take?
20 A. She basically was -- she was obviously in the
21 right side. She was basically leaned over onto the
22 armrest. These were bucket seats. She had her head down
23 on the armrest and was looking down and crying, yes.
24 Q. How usual or unusual was that for you to
25 observe Delonna's head down crying?
858
1 A. Well, I've seen her cry on one other occasion
2 in approximately eight years.
3 Q. Was it -- did you have any doubt that she was
4 clearly upset?
5 A. Well, I think if you -- if you're around
6 somebody for eight years and they cry two times, no,
7 there was absolutely no doubt she was very upset.
8 Q. What was -- what did you try to do?
9 A. Well, as I was driving, I was turning and
10 rubbing on her back, shoulder and trying to tell her that
11 things would be okay, that your mother needs you to be
12 strong now, and trying to tell her that things would be
13 okay.
14 Q. As you were driving down the road, were
15 you -- what would be your estimate as to the speed that
16 you were going?
17 A. I would think I was going the speed limit.
18 Q. And what do you know of the speed limit to
19 have been there?
20 A. I believe the speed limit is 45 miles-an-hour
21 on Greenhill no matter where you're at.
22 Q. Would you have had any reason to speed or any
23 reason to get home early?
24 A. No. I was in no hurry.
25 Q. When you got to the intersection of South
859
1 Main, is there a street light at the -- electrically
2 operated traffic control street light at South Main and
3 Greenhill Road?
4 A. Yes, there is.
5 Q. As you got to the intersection of South Main
6 and Greenhill Road, what was that light doing?
7 A. It was green.
8 Q. And what -- what did you -- what did you --
9 what did you do as you went through that intersection, if
10 anything, unusual?
11 A. Nothing unusual. I was talking to my wife,
12 but the light was green.
13 Q. Okay. And as you proceeded through that
14 intersection -- first of all, can you see down to Highway
15 58 and Greenhill and see that light really before you get
16 to the intersection of South Main and Greenhill Road?
17 A. Well, I believe that -- as you're traveling
18 west, you're coming up a hill here somewhere, you hit the
19 peak of the hill somewhere in this vicinity.
20 Q. And when you say this vicinity, are you
21 speaking of the vicinity of South Main and Greenhill
22 intersection?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Is it fair to say that you almost have to be
25 almost at the middle of that intersection before you can
860
1 see the light at Highway 58?
2 A. Yeah. That's true. But you -- you know,
3 as -- if you were going in a straight direction, you
4 would have to, you know, slightly turn your head, I
5 suppose.
6 Q. Okay. As you are proceeding this
7 approximately 1800 feet from Greenhill down to South
8 Main -- first of all, Mr. Kramer, do you recall Mr.
9 Kramer's testimony? He was the officer who took the
10 video, Robert Kramer?
11 A. Yes, I do believe that. Yeah.
12 Q. And you were in the courtroom and saw the
13 video, didn't you?
14 A. Yes, I did.
15 Q. Heard his testimony?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. If -- if he indicated, I think it took him
18 35 seconds to go from South Main to Highway 58 and bring
19 the car to a stop and then start it to get it into the
20 intersection, does that sound approximately correct to
21 you?
22 A. Yeah. If you were coming through here and
23 you were going to stop at the intersection, that would
24 probably be true.
25 Q. And did -- have you made the calculation of
861
1 how many seconds would go by if you would be going at
2 45 miles-an-hour from the time you passed Greenhill until
3 you got to the intersection of Greenhill and 58?
4 A. Yeah. I believe if you do the calculations,
5 it's somewhere in the 28 and some odd second range from
6 Greenhill -- from the start of this intersection to the
7 start of this intersection.
8 Q. Okay. Is there any point on -- at the first
9 portion of Greenhill between South Main and 58 where if
10 you are -- are looking straight ahead, you don't see the
11 intersection lights?
12 A. Yeah. That's true. If you were -- maybe I
13 can use this.
14 (At which time the witness used a pointer.)
15 A. I suppose if you were traveling exactly
16 straight, you would be something like that.
17 Q. And about how far do you go down before the
18 road gets a straight shot down to Highway 58?
19 A. Well, I tried to measure that the best I
20 could when I had this wheel and I was walking this, and
21 the nearest I could tell it was somewhere around 1300
22 lineal feet.
23 Q. Okay. With regard to the route and the paths
24 when you're going down between South Main and Highway 58,
25 what are you doing in relationship, if anything, to try
862
1 to comfort your wife?
2 A. Do you want me to stand up or sit down or --
3 Q. Yeah, you can sit down.
4 A. Okay. (Complied.) Well, basically, that
5 would have been the time that during that time is when
6 she was crying and had her head on the armrest, and so I
7 was turned slightly, had my hand on her shoulder, back
8 and was talking to her and glancing up at the road.
9 Q. As you got to the intersection at 58, as you
10 approached that intersection, did you observe the red
11 light flashing?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Okay. And why, in your opinion, did you not
14 see that red light flashing?
15 A. Because I was turned and was paying more
16 attention to my wife than I was the road.
17 Q. Okay. When you got to -- at the
18 intersection, at some point in time did you see the
19 Farrell vehicle, which you now know to be the Farrell
20 vehicle?
21 A. Sometime probably about somewhere in the
22 intersection I saw something coming from the right, yes.
23 Q. Okay. And did -- what was your reaction to
24 that?
25 A. I turned my vehicle to the left.
863
1 Q. Okay. And what were -- what were you -- why
2 did you do that?
3 A. I suppose it's just a natural reaction.
4 Q. Okay. When you made that turn or after you
5 made that turn, was there impact between your vehicle and
6 the Farrell vehicle?
7 A. Yes, there was.
8 Q. And what -- what do you recall about that
9 impact?
10 A. Well, I remember making the turn, and I
11 remember the basic impact. I remember their vehicle
12 going across and my vehicle going into them, and I
13 remember the -- at impact or obviously very shortly
14 thereafter we -- I went forward, the air bag went off or
15 deployed, and that's about it.
16 Q. Where was your vehicle -- where did your
17 vehicle come to rest?
18 A. Do you want me to show?
19 Q. Yeah.
20 A. Okay. It would have been approximately -- I
21 believe somebody has already marked, whatever that is,
22 five or S, but it's right there facing kind of northeast,
23 the front, just about on the cement.
24 Q. Okay. And what did you do after your vehicle
25 came to rest?
864
1 A. Well, once I realized basically what
2 happened, I proceeded out of my side of the vehicle and
3 went over to my wife's side.
4 Q. Okay. And how -- how did that impact affect
5 you, if at all?
6 A. Well, I was unsteady, I guess for no better
7 term, wobbly and a little bit confused.
8 Q. Okay. When you were wobbly, was any of that
9 wobbliness attributable to the alcohol that you had
10 consumed earlier in the evening?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Is there any doubt in your mind about that?
13 A. Absolutely not.
14 Q. What was your goal in getting out of your
15 vehicle?
16 A. To go to the other side where my wife was
17 located.
18 Q. And had her air bag gone off as well?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. And once you got to her side, what happened?
21 A. She -- I believe she was getting out of the
22 vehicle about that time and aided her in getting out.
23 Q. Okay. Was she steady or unsteady?
24 A. She was very unsteady.
25 Q. And what did -- what did you do?
865
1 A. Well, we made a few steps basically crossing
2 the street to the north, and at one point Delonna had
3 basically fell down to her knee, and I tried to help her
4 up. And approximately that time somebody from somewhere
5 said, why don't you come and stand in front of our car?
6 Q. Do you know -- do you now know who that
7 person was who made that statement to you?
8 A. Yeah. That would be -- I now know that as
9 Jennifer Girsch, and her vehicle, I believe she's already
10 circled it, but it would have been located in the turning
11 lane heading east on Greenhill.
12 Q. Okay. And did you go over there to where --
13 or go to that position that she suggested?
14 A. Yes, we did.
15 Q. From -- when you were there, did -- did you
16 have a view, could you see the Farrell vehicle?
17 A. I could see there was a car over there, yes.
18 Q. Do you remember Mr. Brasfield coming up to
19 you when you were in that location?
20 A. I remember Jennifer, or now that I know as
21 Jennifer, coming up and saying, why don't you come over
22 here? I remember Mr. Brasfield, or that I now know as
23 Mr. Brasfield, coming up and saying, how are you? Are
24 you okay?
866
1 Brasfield, if anything?
2 A. I said, help them, and pointed towards their
3 car.
4 Q. While you were in that location, did you --
5 do you remember being approached by Mr. Zarifis?
6 A. I remember somebody a little bit older coming
7 up and talking to me, yes.
8 Q. And did you know Mr. Zarifis before -- before
9 that occasion?
10 A. No.
11 Q. And have you ever talked to Mr. Zarifis
12 between the time of this accident and his testimony
13 today?
14 A. No.
15 Q. When Mr. Zarifis approached you, would you
16 have been looking over at the Farrell vehicle?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Were -- what were your concerns, or what were
19 your feelings about the people in that vehicle at that
20 time?
21 A. Well, I knew that at least I was relatively
22 okay and that my wife was relatively okay, I guess shook.
23 At some point I had put my hand on my face and saw that
24 there was blood but wasn't too concerned about that and
25 so tried to get help over there.
867
1 Q. Okay. Did you tell more than one person to
2 go get them help, to take care of the people in the other
3 car?
4 A. At least two and maybe three.
5 Q. Mr. Rokes, while -- while you were out there
6 on the -- at the scene by the median, did you ever have
7 an occasion to observe the light that would have been
8 directing eastbound traffic on Greenhill?
9 A. Yeah. I made a -- I looked up and saw that
10 the light was flashing red.
11 Q. Okay. And what -- did you make any comment
12 either to your wife or to Ms. Girsch regarding that
13 observation?
14 A. Yeah. I made a statement that said -- my
15 wife said, whose fault was it, I believe, and I said, I
16 think it's -- it's our fault.
17 Q. Okay. And what did you base that on?
18 A. Well, now that I saw the red flashing light,
19 I knew that I must have went through a red flashing
20 light.
21 Q. Because you assumed that if it was red for
22 eastbound, it would be flashing and red for westbound?
23 A. Right.
24 Q. At some point in time did ambulances arrive
25 at that intersection?
868
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And did they ask to take you and your wife to
3 Sartori Hospital?
4 A. They did, yes.
5 Q. And did you agree to go to Sartori Hospital
6 with them?
7 A. Sure.
8 Q. In the -- in the ambulance, was there anybody
9 else in the ambulance with you and your wife?
10 A. At the time I did not know who, but Tamara
11 was in the ambulance, the same ambulance that we were in.
12 They had put her on the bed or cot or whatever you would
13 say, and once they had her loaded, they said, why don't
14 you guys come and sit in here.
15 Q. Okay. And when you got in there, where -- in
16 what part of the ambulance did you sit?
17 A. Well, initially when we got in they kind of
18 had us sit separately, and I asked them at that point,
19 would it be okay if my wife and myself could sit next to
20 each other, and they accommodated, and so we ended up
21 sitting -- would be the -- far right corner of the
22 ambulance.
23 Q. Okay.
24 A. The back.
25 Q. I believe that there was some examination of
869
1 one of the previous witnesses who indicated that the
2 ambulance personnel would have arrived at approximately
3 11:08 and departed at about 11:09 p.m. Is there anything
4 about those times that you would disagree with, or do you
5 agree to the best of your knowledge?
6 A. From what I understand, I thought it was they
7 arrived somewhere around 11:08 and actually left
8 somewhere around 11:19.
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. Yes, I would agree to that.
11 Q. And I believe the testimony indicated that
12 there was an arrival at Sartori Hospital at approximately
13 11:25; is that correct?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And could you go back over to Exhibit "4" and
16 show the court the approximate location of Sartori
17 Hospital as it's depicted on Defendant's Exhibit "4".
18 A. Right here. It's named right there, yes.
19 Q. Okay. Would have been approximately, what, a
20 six-minute type of a ride from the scene to the hospital?
21 A. That's what they say, and I -- yeah, I have
22 no reason to not agree with that.
23 Q. Okay. What happened once the ambulance got
24 to the hospital?
25 A. Well, once our particular ambulance got
870
1 there, they backed up under the -- I guess the normal
2 area, and they said that they would like to get Tamara
3 out first, and we said, hey, that's fine. So being where
4 we were sitting, which was on the -- let's see. We were
5 sitting like this, if the ambulance is pointing that way,
6 sitting next to each other, the -- so when they brought
7 out the cot that she was on, we had to kind of pull our
8 knees in, or they made mention, don't stick your feet out
9 because they'll get run over by the wheels, and so they
10 unloaded her and took her into the hospital.
11 Q. Okay. And after she was removed from the
12 ambulance, what did you and your wife then do?
13 A. We then stood up and walked into the
14 hospital.
15 Q. Do you believe that Nurse Lamb was accurate
16 in describing your gait as -- your walk or your gait as
17 steady?
18 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
19 Honor. I think that invades the province of the fact
20 finder. It's a comment on credibility of the witness.
21 COURT: How would you describe the manner in
22 which you walked into the hospital?
23 WITNESS: With an even gait.
24 Q. Okay. Once you got into the hospital, where
25 did you first go?
871
1 A. I believe they directed us to one of the
2 emergency rooms that was located very near where Tamara
3 was, or actually, I think, right next to Juli Farrell.
4 Q. And when you were in that emergency room,
5 were you in the room with -- together with your wife?
6 A. We were both in the same room, yes.
7 Q. At any point in time did any officer from the
8 Cedar Falls Police Department come in and ask you if --
9 if you would give any type of test?
10 A. Yes. I believe it was Officer Michael or
11 Anderson, or maybe a combination of the two.
12 Q. Okay. And earlier while you were at the
13 scene, had you made any comment to any officer, or were
14 you asked or did you indicate to any officer that you had
15 had any alcoholic beverage to drink earlier in the
16 evening?
17 A. Yes. I believe at the scene Officer Michael
18 came up and said, have you had anything to drink, and I
19 said yes, and he asked where we had been, and I said
20 Brooster's, and he asked some other questions like, do
21 you know what direction you were going, and we said west,
22 short comments.
23 Q. When you got to the hospital, did either
24 Officer Michael or Officer Anderson ask you if you would
25 agree to give both a breath test and a -- consent to a
872
1 blood test?
2 A. They did. And I signed their consent and
3 said that will be fine.
4 Q. Okay. Did you call an attorney, seek any
5 advice before you did that?
6 A. No.
7 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
8 Honor. It's irrelevant.
9 COURT: The answer is in, and it will remain
10 in.
11 Q. When you gave that consent, did you have an
12 opinion as to whether you were under the influence of
13 alcohol or intoxicated?
14 A. I obviously did, because if I would have
15 thought that there was even any remote possibility, I
16 would have called a -- an attorney.
17 Q. And through the course of your business, do
18 you have attorneys who work for you?
19 A. Several.
20 Q. And when they asked for you to give both
21 tests, did you agree to do so?
22 A. Yes, I did.
23 Q. When -- when they -- when you signed the
24 document, I believe the implied consent document is
25 signed at approximately 11:43 p.m. on October 4, do you
873
1 have any reason to believe that that's not accurate?
2 A. I would think that is accurate, yes.
3 Q. Were you advised, or did you know when you
4 took the preliminary breath test, do you know whether
5 that test was less than a hundred or more than a hundred?
6 A. I -- I did, yes. I did know what that was.
7 Q. And what was that?
8 A. It was under.
9 MR. WADDING: Well, I'm going to object to
10 that, Your Honor. I don't think it's admissible. He's
11 talking about the preliminary breath test.
12 COURT: Sustained.
13 Q. Without giving a number, did you know what
14 the result was?
15 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
16 Honor. He's still making reference to a result number or
17 otherwise a result is not admissible on PBT.
18 COURT: Sustained.
19 Q. With regard to the consent that you signed
20 at -- and which is timed at 11:43, p.m. on October 4,
21 where were you when you signed that?
22 A. In the emergency room.
23 Q. And at that point in time were you prepared
24 to give the withdrawal immediately?
25 A. Any time they wanted it, yes.
874
1 Q. And do you know why that took so long, why it
2 took from your signing it at 11:43 until the withdrawal,
3 which was sometime around 12:28; do you know why it took
4 so long?
5 A. I have no idea.
6 Q. Did you do anything that caused any delay,
7 that approximately 45-minute delay? Did you do anything
8 that could have contributed to that?
9 A. No.
10 Q. Did you continue to sit there in this
11 emergency room with your wife waiting for them after they
12 had requested and you had signed your consent to take
13 the -- the sample?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. There was testimony including a reference to
16 the report of Mr. -- Officer Anderson when he -- where he
17 in his testimony indicated, you did not seem disoriented
18 and answered all my questions without hesitation. Did
19 you do that, in fact?
20 A. Yes, I did.
21 Q. Did you have any difficulty understanding
22 anything from any of the law officers or any of the
23 nurses?
24 A. No.
25 Q. And is he correct when he said that you
875
1 cooperated?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Is he correct when he concluded that you were
4 not disoriented and answered all questions without
5 hesitation?
6 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
7 Honor. It's repetitive and it's leading.
8 COURT: Sustained.
9 Q. Were you ever told why it took so long for
10 them to withdraw the blood sample?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Were -- at any point in time when you were in
13 the hospital in the emergency room, did you ever request
14 the -- to be able to use the bathroom, use the restroom?
15 A. I did, yes.
16 Q. And of whom did you make that request?
17 A. Officer Michael.
18 Q. And what were you told?
19 A. Wait until the blood test was done.
20 Q. And did you comply with that direction?
21 A. Yes, I did.
22 Q. While you are waiting for them to do the
23 blood, do they do -- do they give you any treatment for
24 the lacerations that you've received on your head?
25 A. No. I think earlier, prior to that they had
876
1 come and, you know, cleaned them up type of thing, but
2 other than that, no, we basically sat in the room and
3 waited.
4 Q. Do you recall the witness who the state
5 called named Renee Whitlock (sic)?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Do you recall seeing her on that -- that
8 evening?
9 A. I do.
10 Q. And where did she -- where did you see her?
11 A. She came into the room and eventually said
12 that she was going to do a withdrawal of blood and asked
13 me a few questions.
14 Q. If she indicated -- or how long do you think
15 she was in that room?
16 A. I don't know. I would guess maybe ten
17 minutes.
18 Q. Okay. What did she do when she was in the
19 room?
20 A. Well, when she first came in, one of the
21 officers was there. She asked me if I became queasy when
22 they take blood or have I ever had that done before, and
23 I said, no, go right ahead. So I pulled up my sleeve on
24 my right arm, and she put a needle in it.
25 Q. With -- going back to Mrs. -- or Ms. Lamb,
877
1 there's -- Ms. Lamb gives a description of your injuries
2 to your forehead that she gave in the courtroom today.
3 Would you show by pointing to the areas where the
4 lacerations were?
5 A. Well, there was one above my eye here which
6 is basically covered up by my eyebrow.
7 Q. Is that your left eye?
8 A. My left eye, yes. And then there was one on
9 my nose, which I think there is probably still a scar
10 there, yes.
11 Q. And were those ultimately stitched up?
12 A. Ultimately, yes, they were.
13 Q. Do you know why it took so long for -- for
14 those to be stitched?
15 A. I do not know why, no.
16 Q. Okay. There was some question in here about
17 a -- you're indicating that you -- once your lacerations
18 got treated that you did not want or felt that you needed
19 further medical care; is that true or incorrect?
20 A. Yeah, that is true. They had wanted to do a
21 x-ray on my neck, which I declined, because I've had
22 previous neck injuries, and it felt no different than
23 those.
24 Q. At some point in time did you come in -- or
25 did Dr. Robitaille or Robitaille, the emergency room
878
1 doctor, did he ever come into the emergency room?
2 A. Yes. After -- after the withdrawal, then we
3 were moved to a different room, and he would have then
4 came in, yes.
5 Q. Okay. And who was in that room with you and
6 the doctor, the emergency room doctor?
7 A. Well, at the beginning it would have just
8 been Delonna and myself.
9 Q. And at some point in time did Mr. Wilson ever
10 come into that room?
11 A. I believe at the end of our conversation, Mr.
12 Wilson and Officer Venenga came into the room, yes.
13 Q. Okay. And in that room was there ever any
14 conversation that you made where you indicated that you
15 had one too many to drink?
16 A. I never made that comment.
17 Q. Okay. Did Mr. Wilson ever ask you about that
18 comment when you gave a statement to him the next day?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Was there ever any comment that was made
21 to -- by you in the presence of the doctor and Mr. Wilson
22 about one too many anything?
23 A. There was. At about the time that Dr.
24 Robitaille or Robitaille, or whatever, finished up, he
25 mentioned to me that -- that I kept my head still and
879
1 that I did a good job for him and it was easy for him to
2 do, and he then said, have you ever had stitches before?
3 Yes, I've already had one too many.
4 Q. Okay. And is that the comment that you would
5 have made to -- in response to Dr. -- the doctor?
6 A. That's the comment I made then. That would
7 be the comment I'd make today.
8 Q. And had you, in fact, told any of the
9 officers before that, both at the -- both at the scene
10 and at the hospital, that beer did not play a role in
11 this?
12 A. I told Officer Michael immediately. He asked
13 where we had been. We said we were at Brooster's. He
14 said, how many beers did you have? I believe my comment
15 was, I had a few. He then tried to make this into a
16 drinking thing, and I told him immediately that alcohol
17 had nothing to do with this accident.
18 Q. Did you tell him at that point in time that
19 what caused this accident was your attention to your
20 wife?
21 A. I think I told everyone that was there. Yes.
22 Q. And did you tell Mr. Wilson, in fact, that
23 evening that alcohol did not play a role in this
24 accident?
25 A. I did.
880
1 Q. When the stitching was done, did they at some
2 point in time either before or after give you a tetanus
3 shot?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Did you have any -- any way or any vehicle --
6 a way to get home?
7 A. No. They said that they would give myself
8 and my wife a ride home. Basically while we're in that
9 room, once that -- once he was completed with me, he did
10 look over my wife for a short period of time, and she
11 said she had some pain to her back or shoulder area, and
12 he did some examination, and we were then sent out into
13 the hallway.
14 Q. Okay. And did you receive a ride home from
15 the Cedar Falls police?
16 A. Yeah. As we were getting ready to leave, the
17 emergency room staff, I guess, finally realized that they
18 had never actually checked me into the hospital. So as
19 we were -- Officer Venenga was leading us, we were going
20 to walk out, they said, hey, wait a minute, we don't
21 have -- you haven't been signed in yet. So after we got
22 done signing in, Officer Venenga then gave us a ride
23 home.
24 Q. Is there any doubt in your mind as you sit
25 here today that alcohol did not play any role in this
881
1 accident of October 4?
2 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
3 Honor. That's asked and answered.
4 COURT: Overruled. You may answer.
5 A. In my opinion, alcohol didn't have anything
6 to do with it. The fact is, that I was paying attention
7 to my wife.
8 Q. How do you feel about this accident?
9 MR. WADDING: Objection, Your Honor.
10 Irrelevant.
11 COURT: Overruled.
12 A. Well, I feel terrible about it. I don't know
13 if I can get this out, but I'll try. I guess if I could
14 put this into an analogy, this would probably be best
15 said. If God could come into this room right now -- just
16 give me a minute -- and say that, Mr. Rokes, if we can
17 rip your legs off and that will bring back Juli, I would
18 tell him, do it right now, because that pain would be
19 nothing compared to the pain I have tolerated.
20 Q. The -- when you left that hospital, did you
21 have any belief that Juli Farrell would die?
22 A. During my conversation with the doctor, I had
23 asked how the girls were. He said --
24 MR. WADDING: I'm going to object, Your
25 Honor. It's hearsay.
882
1 COURT: Sustained.
2 Q. Just when you left, did -- were you -- did
3 you think she would die?
4 A. No.
5 Q. The next day were you contacted by Mr.
6 Wilson?
7 A. I was, probably somewhere around 7 p.m.
8 Q. And were you at home when you got contacted?
9 A. Yes, I was.
10 Q. And did he come to your house in person, or
11 did he call you on the phone?
12 A. No, he called on the phone and asked if we
13 would come down and make a statement, which at that point
14 I said, well, as soon as we can get a babysitter lined up
15 or have the neighbors watch the kids, we'll be down.
16 Q. Did you ever indicate to him in any fashion
17 that you wanted time to think about it or that you wanted
18 it to be delayed in any way?
19 A. As soon as we had somebody lined up, we
20 immediately went down there.
21 Q. From the time that you got that call from Mr.
22 Wilson until the time that you arrived at the Cedar Falls
23 Police Department, about how long would that have been?
24 A. I would guess less than a half hour for sure.
25 Q. When you got down there, on your way down
883
1 there, did you have any reason to know that perhaps an
2 hour and a half or so earlier that Juli Farrell had died?
3 A. No. Other than I kind of thought it was a
4 little bit odd because at the hospital they had said that
5 we will get back to you later in the week for your
6 statement.
7 Q. When you got down there and you went into the
8 police station, tell us what happened.
9 A. Well, we -- we went in and -- after a short
10 period of time, Officer Wilson and Venenga brought us
11 back into a room and had us sit down. At that point
12 Officer Wilson said that Juli Farrell had died and that I
13 didn't quite -- my reaction was, I turned to my wife and
14 grabbed her hand and said, how can this be? Once that
15 was done, Officer Wilson and Venenga -- Officer Venenga
16 said, I will take Delonna and take her statement, and I
17 don't know if they stayed in the same room or not, but
18 Officer Wilson and myself then went to a room farther
19 back into the police station.
20 Q. When Mr. Wilson took you back into that room,
21 did he advise you that you had certain constitutional
22 rights that you -- including you didn't have to talk to
23 him at all?
24 A. Yes, he did.
25 Q. Okay. The -- did he give you all the rights
884
1 that included that you had a right to have an attorney
2 present if you wanted one?
3 A. Yes, he did.
4 Q. Did it ever occur to you that you should not
5 talk to him or that you should consult with an attorney
6 before you talked to him?
7 A. No. I didn't have anything to hide, so, no,
8 I was more than willing to talk to him.
9 Q. And did he proceed to ask you questions, and
10 did you answer all the questions that he asked?
11 A. I did.
12 Q. Did you stay as long with Mr. Wilson as he
13 wanted you to?
14 A. Yes. I believe we were probably there for
15 sure over an hour.
16 Q. And that would have been on approximately
17 October 5, 1996, at approximately 8 to 9:30 p.m.; would
18 that be correct?
19 A. We may have started slightly earlier than
20 that, but, yes, that is correct.
21 Q. And a trial information was filed and you
22 were charged when?
23 MR. WADDING: Objection, Your Honor, not
24 relevant.
25 COURT: The record reflects when that was
885
1 filed, Mr. Correll. Go ahead and answer, if you know.
2 A. When there was a charge filed?
3 Q. Yes.
4 A. There was -- I believe it was about 70 days
5 later.
6 Q. Thank you.
7 MR. CORRELL: That's all the questions I
8 have, Mr. Rokes.
9 COURT: Why don't we take an hour and
10 15 minutes before we begin cross-examination. We'll
11 reconvene at 1:15. Thank you.
12 (At which time a recess was taken at
13 11:58 a.m., May 21, 1997; and proceedings commenced at
14 1:15 p.m., May 21, 1997, with the court, counsel and
15 defendant present.)
16 COURT: And, Mr. Rokes, you remain under
17 oath.
18 WITNESS: Yes.
19 COURT: Mr. Wadding?
20 MR. WADDING: Thank you, Your Honor.
21
22
23
24
25
886
1 CROSS-EXAMINATION
2 BY MR. WADDING:
3 Q. Mr. Rokes, you indicated you were 35 years
4 old; is that correct?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And when did you receive your driver's
7 license?
8 A. Well -- permanent one or the -- student-like
9 one?
10 Q. Yeah, sure, student-like one.
11 A. Fourteen, and then 16. When I was 16, I got
12 my regular license.
13 Q. And what -- you're about six foot tall?
14 A. Five foot eleven, yes.
15 Q. 230?
16 A. A little more than that.
17 Q. How much more?
18 A. Probably right now about 250.
19 Q. And you indicated that you have a bachelor's
20 degree; is that correct?
21 A. Degree --
22 Q. In education?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. With a minor in business?
25 A. That is true.
887
1 Q. And you received that in 1984?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And you have two daughters?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Five and two?
6 A. Correct. Well, five --
7 Q. One that's going to be two --
8 A. One is five right now. One will be two at
9 the -- June 28th, yes.
10 Q. And you've worked in the construction and
11 development business for how long?
12 A. Well, I went to work for my father when I was
13 probably seven, eight years old, I suppose, in the summer
14 and helped out there, and then during my high school time
15 I would have done that. And as soon as I was done with
16 college, I went to -- immediately to that, yes.
17 Q. And you run that business yourself now; is
18 that correct?
19 A. That is correct.
20 Q. You don't -- you no longer run it with your
21 father?
22 A. No. Probably about 11 years ago my father
23 had some pretty serious illness and --
24 Q. Is that when you took it over?
25 A. Was basically forced to at that point, and
888
1 then after that, yes, took it over.
2 Q. Okay. And you said that some of this work
3 takes you out of state or took you out of state prior to
4 your marriage in 1990. Was that --
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. Okay. And where -- can you describe, what do
7 you mean took you out of state?
8 A. Well, initially when I got out of college, we
9 did a job in Appleton, Wisconsin. From there we went to
10 Council Bluffs, Iowa. From there we went to Sioux Falls,
11 South Dakota. From there we went to Mankato, Minnesota.
12 We went to Moline, Illinois. We went to Traverse City,
13 Michigan, went to Port Huron, Michigan, to Des Moines.
14 And then basically because I got married I was tired of
15 traveling, and, quite honestly, that business is a very
16 up-and-down business, either you got way too much to do
17 or there's nothing to do. Right now we're in the
18 basically nothing to do at least in the Midwest.
19 Q. Now, when you go to these outside jobs or
20 out-of-state jobs, do you drive to those jobs?
21 A. A lot of times I would drive. Sometimes I
22 would fly.
23 Q. Is there a lot of driving in what you do
24 anyway?
25 A. Quite a bit, yeah.
889
1 Q. I mean, you don't do all your work here in
2 the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area?
3 A. That is correct.
4 Q. A good example is this instance because you
5 had a job up in Mason City?
6 A. Right.
7 Q. Not uncommon for you to have jobs as far away
8 as Mason City?
9 A. Yeah. Not uncommon for me to have jobs five,
10 six hundred miles away from home.
11 Q. Now, you described your return home that
12 evening of October 4th as being around approximately
13 5 o'clock; is that correct?
14 A. Approximately then, yes.
15 Q. And that your wife had prepared -- you first
16 told your wife of your mother-in-law's condition,
17 correct?
18 A. Yeah. After I walked in and talked to the
19 other people that were there, my wife asked me about the
20 condition of her mother, and I told her.
21 Q. Okay. And at that time did you tell her that
22 part of her heart was blocked?
23 A. Yes. That is true.
24 Q. And that she would require a stent operation?
25 A. Yes.
890
1 Q. Did you use those words, stent?
2 A. I'm not sure at that time I really knew what
3 a stent was, but I'm fairly --
4 Q. I'm just simply asking you, did you use that
5 word, do you know?
6 A. I have no idea.
7 Q. Okay. And at some point in time your wife
8 was fixing dinner for your children; is that correct?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And what time was that?
11 A. Well, I would guess initially they had
12 planned to eat, you know, around the 6, 6:30 range.
13 Q. And you said that your children had been
14 eating kind of junk food --
15 A. Right.
16 Q. -- or snacks?
17 A. When I got home, all the girls that were
18 there, including my kids, there was nachos, chips, those
19 kinds of items that everyone was eating.
20 Q. And your girls were eating those as well?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. And were the fries that you described being
23 prepared for you or your daughters?
24 A. They were for my daughters, yes.
25 Q. And is it your testimony that -- that neither
891
1 one of your daughters ate the French-fries?
2 A. That is correct, because they had been eating
3 the chips and assorted treats, so they --
4 Q. That's a yes then?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Okay. And when you gave your statement, I
7 believe it's --
8 MR. WADDING: May I approach?
9 Q. Well, let me just ask you, in your statement
10 you indicate that you ate some of the fries that your
11 daughter had not eaten; is that correct?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And in that you indicate one daughter; is
14 that correct?
15 A. I don't recall if I said one or plural.
16 Q. Okay. I'm going to show you what's been
17 marked as State's Exhibit "F". Do you recognize that as
18 your statement?
19 A. Can I look at it?
20 Q. Sure.
21 A. (Complied.) That's the statement I believe I
22 signed on October 5th, time completed, it says, 21:12.
23 I'm -- I don't understand this military time, but I
24 suppose that's 9:12.
25 Q. Okay. The -- do you recognize that as a
892
1 statement you gave to the Cedar Falls Police Department?
2 A. That was the statement, yes.
3 Q. Okay. And you signed that; is that correct?
4 A. Yes, I did.
5 Q. Okay. You recognize your signature on that
6 document; is that correct?
7 A. I sure do.
8 Q. And when you make reference to what you ate
9 that night, didn't you indicate that you were watching
10 t.v. and had some oven-baked French-fries that my
11 daughter did not eat?
12 A. That is true.
13 Q. Is that correct? And is that a correct
14 statement?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Okay. At that time you just used the
17 singular; is that correct?
18 A. There was a reason for that probably.
19 Q. Is that correct?
20 A. That's what the man wrote. That's what I --
21 that's what I signed my name to, yes.
22 Q. And you indicated --
23 MR. WADDING: May I approach, Your Honor?
24 COURT: You may. What do you need?
25 MR. WADDING: The route map.
893
1 Q. Okay. You indicated that you left, what,
2 around 7:30 or so?
3 A. In that vicinity, yes.
4 Q. For Brooster's. And this is the route that
5 you indicate that you took, the green line; is that
6 correct?
7 A. That is true.
8 Q. All right. Now, is that -- is that a route
9 that's uncommon to you? Are you familiar with that?
10 A. No. And if I may explain why, I'll tell you.
11 Q. Well, it is uncommon to you?
12 A. No, it is not uncommon. It's a route that I
13 commonly take.
14 Q. Okay. And so you commonly take that to
15 where?
16 A. I commonly take that because I also do some
17 development work just north of the UNI Dome, and I
18 commonly go over near where Brooster's is to a place
19 called Eastern Iowa Supply that is located on Black Hawk
20 Road, and I would typically go that way.
21 Q. That's like a drywall company and stuff like
22 that?
23 A. Supply company, yes, that's true.
24 Q. So you would typically take Greenhill Road to
25 get to that location as well?
894
1 A. Yes, I would.
2 Q. So how many times a day do you think you
3 would travel that?
4 A. During the day or at night?
5 Q. Anytime.
6 A. Depends on the particular job that we're
7 doing, but probably a couple of times a week.
8 Q. Okay. And is Brooster's a fairly common
9 place for you to socialize at?
10 A. I would probably go there once a month maybe,
11 maybe less.
12 Q. Okay. Is that -- is that a common route that
13 you take to Brooster's as well? Or from Brooster's?
14 A. Yeah, for sure.
15 Q. And you called that your home-run route; is
16 that right? Route or route?
17 A. If I can answer, I will.
18 Q. Sure.
19 A. The reason I called it a home-run route was
20 because it's a simple route from one place to another, no
21 stops in between as opposed to if I was going to go to,
22 let's say, McDonald's or some other place to stop and eat
23 or for whatever reason, get gas, whatever the reason may
24 be, then I would probably be more likely to go down
25 University because there's more of those type of
895
1 establishments. This generally is out in the -- more in
2 the country-like setting.
3 Q. And freer from traffic, right? And I think
4 you described it also as being a short -- shorter in
5 time, maybe not distance, but time?
6 A. I said it would be shorter in time. It
7 probably depends a lot on how many of the lights you may
8 or may not hit on University as opposed to how many
9 lights you may or may not hit here, but definitely less
10 traffic.
11 Q. Okay. And where -- where do you come by this
12 term home-run route? Is it --
13 A. It's just a -- I don't know, just a term that
14 would be -- a home run would be, you're going from home
15 plate all the way back around. Same idea.
16 Q. Okay. I'm not trying to trick you. I just
17 never heard it before. Is that something that you
18 commonly use?
19 A. Occasionally.
20 Q. Okay. And you said that you had measured the
21 intersection of South Main, if we -- I guess this would
22 be more illustrative of that, wouldn't it, in State's
23 Exhibit "A", you measured from this intersection all the
24 way down to Greenhill Road and Highway 58?
25 A. As best I could. If I can show you, I'll
896
1 show you what I did. I started at this particular point,
2 which I said was the start of this intersection.
3 Q. Okay.
4 A. I then, walking on the sidewalk, with the
5 wheel, walked down to where this intersection actually
6 started.
7 Q. Okay.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And you got a little over 1800 feet; is that
10 correct?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. 1850 some feet?
13 A. I believe it was 1858 if I'm not mistaken.
14 Q. You also indicated -- did you make a
15 measurement from this bend down to the intersection as
16 well?
17 A. I did. But it's -- it's a very subjective
18 type of approach. You know, as you're walking down
19 this -- at some point you got to decide, when do you
20 think it's actually straight? Okay. So, yeah, at some
21 point I decided, and then I noted the measurement on my
22 wheel and then continued to there, and it came out to
23 1300 feet.
24 Q. Okay. So you got two points -- maybe I'll
25 just have you -- can you tell me -- maybe -- if we could
897
1 try, using this marker here, my pen here, could you tell
2 me from just approximately where you're starting here,
3 just maybe mark a line.
4 A. I would say approximately there to
5 approximately there.
6 Q. Would that be -- the end line, would that be
7 the same for the 1300-foot measurement as well?
8 A. Yeah. And I would guess that's probably
9 somewhere in there.
10 Q. Okay. And could you just put 1300 here?
11 A. (Complied.)
12 Q. And then what was this one? 1850?
13 A. I believe 1858.
14 Q. Okay. If you want to just put --
15 A. (Complied.)
16 Q. Well, it's in the record anyway, 1850 on
17 the -- from that intersection; is that correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Plus? 1850 plus, right?
20 A. Assuming, I guess, the wheel was correct, but
21 I've used the wheel many times, and it generally is
22 close.
23 Q. In the times that you've run through the
24 South Main intersection then, in measuring it or
25 whatever, by the time you get, well, halfway through the
898
1 intersection, that's when you can see the Greenhill Road
2 intersection; is that correct?
3 A. Well, I think you get a little different
4 perspective when you're walking as opposed to when you're
5 driving. When you're walking, you can see it probably
6 just prior to entering the intersection, so you'd
7 actually be slightly east of the intersection. I did not
8 measure it when I was driving, but, yeah. That's --
9 Q. And I think that the -- your friends that met
10 with you that night, they indicated that -- at least a
11 couple of them indicated that you arrived at about
12 7:45 p.m. at Brooster's?
13 A. I'm not sure anybody's exactly right, but it
14 was in that range, yeah.
15 Q. Okay. And you indicate that on the
16 Brooster's side you maybe had one or two -- well, you
17 weren't -- you'd really have to guess at that; is that
18 correct?
19 A. That is true. I just know that on the
20 Brooster's side I was engaged in more conversations than
21 I was over on the Celebrations side.
22 Q. Okay. I believe your testimony was, if you
23 had to guess, you had more than one, probably two on the
24 Brooster's side?
25 A. That's probably true.
899
1 Q. So you don't know exactly how many you had on
2 the Brooster's side?
3 A. I know I had more than one, and it probably
4 was two.
5 Q. But you don't know for sure how many you had
6 there?
7 A. I remember buying one, and I remember buying
8 a second one, yes.
9 Q. And then you indicate that you went over to
10 the Celebrations side at approximately what time?
11 A. About 9:45, I believe.
12 Q. Okay. And in your statement you indicated
13 that -- that you left -- or you decided to leave at
14 approximately 10:30 p.m.? Is that correct?
15 A. I believe that's what that statement says,
16 yes.
17 Q. And you said that you had approximately three
18 to four beers from 8 o'clock p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; is that
19 correct?
20 A. I believe that's what it says, yes.
21 Q. Okay. And is that -- is that correct in your
22 testimony today?
23 A. The -- the difference is that when that --
24 when that was taken was right after they had told me that
25 Juli Farrell had died.
900
1 Q. I'm just asking you, is that correct today?
2 A. Is that correct today?
3 Q. Yes.
4 A. No. As I've went back through and tried to
5 recount the night, the best I can, it was more than three
6 for sure.
7 Q. Okay. You had more -- you had more to drink
8 than what you indicated in your statement?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Okay. And was it -- were you drinking later
11 than 10:30?
12 A. Well, at that time I had said 10:30, but as
13 we went back and reconstructed the whole thing, obviously
14 I was there for -- until more like a quarter to 11 or
15 maybe 10:50.
16 Q. So that's changed?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And you don't have any disagreement with the
19 time of accident being right around 11 o'clock, do you?
20 A. I would -- my best guess would be it would be
21 probably about 10:58.
22 Q. Okay. Now, why would you guess 10:58?
23 A. Well, I know through the testimony that the
24 call came in at 11:01. Obviously, it had to happen
25 before then, and I'm fairly --
901
1 Q. Do you have a reason to doubt Jennifer Girsch
2 when she says she looked at her clock and it said 11:02?
3 A. I do, because obviously she couldn't have
4 made a call at 11:01 if she just looked at her clock and
5 it was 11:02. So I -- my point would be, I guess, I
6 don't know if her clock is right.
7 Q. Now, while you were at -- while you were at
8 Brooster's, you do remember speaking with a Mr. Clausen;
9 is that correct?
10 A. Claus.
11 Q. Claus?
12 A. Dave Claus, yes.
13 Q. And you do remember speaking to someone when
14 you first got in the door; is that correct?
15 A. That was him, yes.
16 Q. Okay. And do you remember talking to
17 another, Mr. Sandvold?
18 A. Yes, Keith Sandvold.
19 Q. And do you remember talking to the gentlemen
20 that you were with about Roberto Alozar (phonetic)? Is
21 that --
22 A. I believe it was -- yeah. I don't know --
23 I'm not a baseball fan, but I believe his name was
24 Roberto --
25 Q. The guy that spit on the umpire?
902
1 A. Yes, exactly right.
2 Q. During the playoffs?
3 A. Right.
4 Q. And do you remember speaking with Mr. -- was
5 it Bradford?
6 A. Brasfield?
7 Q. About --
8 A. Bradford.
9 Q. About a vehicle?
10 A. Bill Bradford, yes.
11 Q. Do you remember talking to him about the
12 vehicle?
13 A. We had some discussions about his -- that he
14 had just ordered a Yukon and was waiting for it to come
15 in, and we had discussion about the vehicle we had, and
16 there was discussion by Scott Braun about he also had a
17 Yukon and basic discussions about that, yes.
18 Q. And do you remember Mr. Sandvold discussing
19 the fact that his dad had cancer; is that correct?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Do you remember what type of cancer?
22 A. No, I don't remember what type. His -- I
23 knew his father slightly. His father was the owner of
24 Simpson Furniture in Cedar Falls. I met him a few times
25 but really did not know him.
903
1 Q. But you remember that -- you remember being
2 told that he was in the hospice; is that correct?
3 A. He was at home, yes. Hospice, I believe.
4 Q. And when you left, you took the home route --
5 home-run route, right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. And do you remember going through the
8 intersection at Cedar Heights and Greenhill?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Okay. Do you recall what the light was
11 there?
12 A. Green.
13 Q. And do you remember going through the
14 intersection at South Main and Greenhill?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And what color was the light there?
17 A. Green.
18 Q. And at that point in time is when your wife
19 is becoming more and more visibly upset --
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. -- is that correct? And she leans to the
22 armrest?
23 A. Had her head on the armrest, yes.
24 Q. And that's when you turned to your wife?
25 A. Yes.
904
1 Q. Started rubbing her back?
2 A. And talking to her, yes, and --
3 Q. Telling her she's got to be strong?
4 A. That is correct.
5 Q. And as you're turning, you're kind of
6 glancing up at the roadway; is that correct?
7 A. That is true, yes.
8 Q. And when you enter the intersection at that
9 roadway, you don't know what color the light is?
10 A. Which -- which intersection are you talking
11 about?
12 Q. Greenhill and Highway 58.
13 A. No.
14 Q. Okay. Is that correct, you don't know --
15 A. That is correct.
16 Q. Okay. And I believe your testimony was that
17 you didn't see the light; is that correct?
18 A. That is correct.
19 Q. And do you recall telling the officers --
20 Sergeant Wilson in your statement that as you were
21 approaching Highway 58, you saw the light for east/west
22 traffic?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Do you remember telling him that you were
25 close enough to the light that when you saw, it was
905
1 green, you thought you had sufficient time to proceed?
2 A. That is what I perceived it to be, yes.
3 Q. Okay. So now you perceived it to be green?
4 A. I think -- I think actually the way I
5 perceived it and the reason that I thought it was green,
6 if I may answer, is that as I was driving and turning to
7 my wife, I glanced up just momentarily, and I think what
8 actually happened was that that light that was red went
9 off, and I saw that go off and turned back down, and I
10 assumed that it turned green.
11 Q. So your testimony earlier is incorrect, you
12 actually did see that light?
13 MR. CORRELL: Excuse me. That's a
14 misstatement. There is no earlier testimony.
15 COURT: Overruled. You may answer.
16 Q. On direct examination didn't you say you
17 didn't see that light?
18 A. I did not see that light blinking red.
19 Q. Okay. So what you're saying now is that you
20 did see a red light and that it went off?
21 A. What I said is, I thought I saw a green
22 light, and my only possible reasoning for that would be
23 that I was turned like so, looked up and saw what must
24 have been the red light go off, turned my head, and I
25 assumed that it turned to green.
906
1 Q. Okay. Well, what I'm asking you is if -- did
2 you actually see a light or not?
3 A. I stated that I saw what I thought was a
4 green light. That's why I proceeded through the
5 intersection.
6 Q. So in your direct testimony when you said you
7 didn't see it --
8 A. I did not see a red blinking light.
9 Q. But you believe you saw a green light?
10 A. That's in my statement, yes.
11 Q. And in your statement you also indicate that
12 your wife was crying at the time; is that correct?
13 A. That is true.
14 Q. And that you were looking over at her? Is
15 that correct?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And that you were holding her hand?
18 A. Rubbing her back, holding her hand, touching
19 her, yes.
20 Q. Well, you said, holding her hand; is that
21 correct?
22 A. I was doing a combination of things, yes.
23 Q. You didn't indicate that in your statement
24 though; is that correct?
25 A. Probably not.
907
1 Q. And after entering the intersection, you saw
2 the car?
3 A. That is true.
4 Q. And you indicated in your statement that you
5 attempted to put on your brake; is that correct?
6 A. I think my statement says that I -- there was
7 not time to put on my brakes.
8 Q. Says, "I went to put my foot on the brake. I
9 don't know if I was able to."
10 A. Because there wasn't time.
11 Q. Okay. You didn't have enough time?
12 A. Yeah. That -- yes.
13 Q. So you do know if you were able to?
14 A. I made an evasive move, tried to put my foot
15 on the brake, but I do not believe my foot ever got to
16 the brake.
17 Q. So it was not a matter of not knowing, you
18 did know that you didn't make it?
19 A. I'm -- restate that question.
20 Q. Here it says -- let me approach. "As I was
21 entering the intersection," I'm reading off your
22 statement; is that correct?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. "I saw a car to my right. At that point I
25 went to put my foot on the brake. I do not know if I was
908
1 able to."
2 A. That's because we made contact, yes.
3 Q. Okay. Today you're saying that you do know
4 that you were unable to reach your brake?
5 A. I do not know whether I was able to. I know
6 that I tried to make a turn, and I know that I tried to
7 put my foot on the brake. Whether I touched the brake or
8 not, I do not know.
9 Q. And while you're coming to the intersection
10 itself, in your position, as you describe it, turned
11 towards your wife rubbing her back, looking at her and
12 glancing up at the roadway, are -- do you perceive that
13 you're even coming close to an intersection?
14 A. Obviously not. If I would have perceived
15 that, I would have took some different action.
16 Q. Would have slowed down?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. I mean, you don't -- you wouldn't normally
19 enter into an intersection at 45 miles-an-hour, would
20 you?
21 A. Not unless you thought you had a green light.
22 Q. So you didn't perceive the intersection, and
23 you didn't perceive Ms. Farrell's car; is that correct?
24 A. I perceived their car just shortly before
25 impact, yes.
909
1 Q. Okay. That was after you entered the
2 intersection though, right?
3 A. I believe that to be true, yes.
4 Q. And at that time you're not really sure as to
5 whether or not you've perceived a traffic signal or not?
6 A. At that particular moment?
7 Q. Yes.
8 A. I have no idea.
9 Q. And is it possible that the belief that you
10 were proceeding under a green light was formed after the
11 accident?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Well, Mrs. Young testified yesterday; is that
14 correct?
15 A. I believe she did.
16 Q. And she -- I believe she testified that she
17 was over at your house approximately 2:30 in the
18 afternoon the next day; is that correct?
19 A. I believe so, yes.
20 Q. And she indicates at that time you had a
21 discussion as to whether or not that light was green and
22 the possibility of it changing over to flashing mode; is
23 that correct?
24 A. I believe she questioned whether there --
25 what time it may have turned to flashing.
910
1 Q. Okay. That was a discussion that was had; is
2 that correct?
3 A. That is true, yes.
4 Q. Okay. That's something that you even make
5 reference to in your statement; isn't that correct?
6 A. Where would that be?
7 Q. Not necessarily the -- the conversation, but
8 the possibility that it changes over; is that correct?
9 "As I remember looking at my watch, it was 11:10. At the
10 point the traffic lights were then blinking red for
11 east/west and yellow for north/south. I made a distinct
12 question in my mind as to when did the lights change."
13 A. I thought there was a possibility those
14 lights changed right about 11 o'clock. At 11:10 that
15 you're referring to, I believe, was when we were at --
16 after the accident when we were out on the median, that's
17 when I looked up and saw that those lights were actually
18 blinking red.
19 Q. And you gave this statement after you had
20 your conversation with Ms. Young; isn't that correct?
21 A. I -- yeah, for sure I did.
22 Q. And as you sit here today, you don't have any
23 belief that those lights would have changed over to
24 flashing mode at 11 o'clock, do you?
25 A. I believe they were probably flashing. I
911
1 think everybody had some question, because in the
2 testimony of the police officers --
3 Q. I guess I'm asking you.
4 A. Pardon me?
5 MR. CORRELL: Excuse me, Your Honor. I would
6 ask that he be allowed to finish his answer.
7 COURT: You may finish your answer.
8 MR. WADDING: Your Honor, I guess I would
9 object to that because he's not being responsive. I
10 asked him his belief.
11 COURT: Your question is framed "as you sit
12 here today." Well, he's been sitting here through four
13 or five days of testimony also. He's explaining his
14 belief. You may answer.
15 A. There seems to be some question in everyone's
16 mind at least to verify what time those lights actually
17 did turn. I believe it was Officer Anderson who actually
18 went out the next night prior to 10 o'clock to verify
19 that they actually did turn at 10 o'clock.
20 Q. What do you think that was in response to?
21 A. The fact that I didn't know.
22 Q. The fact that you had indicated it was green
23 at the time you entered that intersection?
24 A. I would assume so, yes.
25 Q. And the fact that they wanted to make sure
\ 912
1 that those lights did, indeed, change over at 10 o'clock?
2 A. I would say so, yes.
3 Q. And as you sit here then today, you don't
4 have any belief that those lights change over at
5 11 o'clock, do you?
6 A. Do I believe they change over at 11? Yes, I
7 believe they change over -- excuse me. I believe they
8 change at 10 o'clock.
9 Q. Okay. And at the time you gave your
10 statement, you didn't know for sure; is that correct?
11 A. That is true.
12 Q. Now, you indicated that you came in contact
13 with either Officer Anderson or Officer Michael or both
14 of them at the hospital at Sartori; is that correct?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And at that time you were requested to give a
17 chemical sample; is that correct?
18 A. Yes. I believe it was 11:43 as we know it
19 now, yes.
20 Q. And the -- in your statement you indicated
21 that when you were asked if you would sign a waiver, that
22 you were a little confused at the time; is that correct?
23 I believe your statement is up in front of you if you
24 want to look at it.
25 A. I know the statement. I'll answer the
913
1 question, but it's going to get into -- this PBT will be
2 part of the answer, so if -- I would be more than happy
3 to answer the question if you would like.
4 Q. I just simply asked you if in your statement
5 you indicated at the time that you were requested to sign
6 the waiver that you were a little bit confused?
7 A. What I was confused of is, after they did
8 this PBT and I heard the results --
9 Q. I asked you --
10 A. -- and I heard that it was under when he came
11 back in, I asked him, what was the results? I also then
12 asked him -- he said, well, it was just to show that you
13 had been drinking. I said, why did you need to take that
14 test because I already told you that I had? That's why I
15 was a little confused.
16 Q. And would you say that you were continually
17 asking with reference to the request for the blood as
18 opposed to the request for the breath?
19 A. I'm sorry. Restate the question.
20 Q. Well, Officer Anderson indicated that you
21 were cooperative and appeared to be able to answer the
22 questions correctly and give consent at the time; is that
23 fair to say?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. And when -- after Officer Anderson left, is
914
1 that when you started to question the procedures that
2 were being done?
3 A. I questioned them after they did the
4 preliminary breath test, and I knew the results, and they
5 would not tell me the results. So then I questioned, why
6 would you do a test that you already knew the answer to?
7 It has no logic to me.
8 Q. The -- I'm asking you, when you -- who you --
9 who you asked the questions of.
10 A. Officer Michael.
11 Q. Okay. And was that after -- after Officer
12 Anderson left?
13 A. I believe he -- yeah, I believe he had left.
14 I'm not sure. I did not see him in my room at that time.
15 Q. Now --
16 MR. WADDING: May I approach?
17 COURT: You may.
18 Q. You indicated that -- well, once you get
19 through -- once you get through the intersections on
20 South Main and Greenhill Road and then Highway 58 and
21 Greenhill Road, you can see the intersection at
22 Highway 58 and Greenhill; is that correct?
23 A. I believe what I said is, if you turn your
24 head slightly, yes, you can.
25 Q. Okay. So -- you would -- it's your testimony
915
1 that you would have to turn your head?
2 A. Well, I think if -- if I may, I'll do the
3 same thing I did earlier. I think if you were to put a
4 straight line, you can obviously see that you would not
5 see -- you would have to turn your head slightly so that
6 you may rotate a little bit.
7 Q. Okay. So you're telling me that you could
8 not see that within your peripheral vision?
9 A. No, I did not say that. I just said, if you
10 were going in a straight line, your straight line would
11 be farther to the north, something like that.
12 Q. Let me ask you, Mr. Rokes, could you see it
13 in your peripheral vision?
14 A. I did not see that because I was talking to
15 my wife.
16 Q. Could you?
17 A. Would it be possible?
18 Q. Yes.
19 A. Oh, for sure.
20 Q. And you didn't that night; is that correct?
21 A. That is true.
22 Q. And really no question about, you know, when
23 you come through that intersection, you know, it's just
24 off to your left a little bit within your peripheral
25 vision; isn't that correct?
916
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And when you're driving with your wife and
3 you turn towards her and you're glancing up at the -- at
4 the roadway?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. I suppose obviously to maintain your position
7 on the road, how often do you think you're doing that?
8 A. Probably did it twice between South Main and
9 the intersection, and then the third time would be right
10 prior to the impact.
11 Q. Okay. So the third time would have been in
12 the intersection itself?
13 A. Probably so.
14 Q. Because that's when you identify -- see the
15 Rokes vehicle; is that correct?
16 A. You mean the Farrell vehicle?
17 Q. I'm sorry. Yes, the Farrell vehicle.
18 A. That is true, yes.
19 Q. Now, and --
20 A. I mean, it wasn't like I was counting, if
21 that's what you mean.
22 Q. Now, what -- you indicated that your -- that
23 you estimate the time from -- well, just tell me what
24 your estimate is. Is it 28 seconds?
25 A. I believe it's 28 point something if the math
917
1 is correct, yes.
2 Q. Okay. Twenty-eight seconds from that South
3 Main to the Greenhill Road and Highway 58 intersection?
4 A. From the start of one intersection to the
5 start of the other intersection, I believe, at 45 miles-
6 an-hour, if you do the math, it comes out to 28 point
7 some odd seconds, yes.
8 Q. And so it would be fair to say that in that
9 28-second period of time you looked up at the road twice?
10 A. Like I said earlier, I didn't really count.
11 I'm sure I must have looked up at least a couple of times
12 just to keep my vehicle in a straight line.
13 Q. Otherwise you were focused on your wife; is
14 that correct?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Mr. Rokes, why were you drinking beer that
17 night?
18 A. Why was I drinking beer?
19 Q. Yes.
20 A. Sometimes I drink beer to quench my thirst,
21 or I like the taste of beer.
22 Q. And is it -- do you ever drink beer to change
23 your mood?
24 MR. CORRELL: Well, Your Honor, I'm going to
25 object to that. That's irrelevant. It's beyond the
918
1 scope of the direct. It's argumentative.
2 COURT: Overruled.
3 A. Answer -- ask the question again.
4 Q. Do you ever drink beer to change your mood?
5 A. I suppose everybody does at some point, yes,
6 at particular times, yes.
7 Q. Isn't that kind of the point of putting an
8 alcoholic beverage in our bodies?
9 A. I don't believe that's true, because there's
10 a lot of people that drink that non-alcoholic beer, and I
11 have on occasion.
12 Q. But you didn't this night; is that correct?
13 A. For the taste factor.
14 Q. You didn't on this night?
15 A. No, I did not.
16 Q. And did Sergeant Wilson give you the
17 opportunity to review your statement when you gave it?
18 A. Yes. I had looked it over, yes.
19 Q. Did you have the opportunity to make any
20 changes that you wanted to?
21 A. I believe we talked through that, yes.
22 Q. And, as a matter of fact, it was a fairly --
23 fairly easy-going atmosphere; is that fair to say? At
24 least in the context of the information that you found
25 out?
919
1 A. Actually, during the process, I at one point
2 asked him, you know, how does one live through something
3 like this? And I got a response that was very -- I paid
4 particular attention to because I did not know Mr.
5 Wilson, but Mr. Wilson was involved in an accident, I
6 believe, a year or two before --
7 MR. WADDING: Well, Your Honor, I guess I'm
8 going to object as non-responsive.
9 Q. I'm asking simply for the feeling of the
10 atmosphere at the time you were giving your statement.
11 COURT: Sustained.
12 A. I'm sorry. So you want me to answer -- ask
13 the question one more time.
14 Q. I'll rephrase it. Certainly you're not
15 suggesting that Sergeant Wilson was coercive in any way?
16 A. No. Quite to the contrary.
17 Q. Okay.
18 MR. WADDING: I don't have any further
19 questions. Thank you.
20 COURT: Mr. Correll?
21 MR. CORRELL: I have no questions.
22 COURT: Thank you.
updated 08/12/10