Forensic evidence implicates Stridiron

Article Photos

The jury forayed into the world of forensic evidence Monday in the trial of a man accused in the gun slaying of another man in the early morning hours of July 29 in Minot's Eastwood Park neighborhood.

Antonio Stridiron, 32, of Minot, is accused of murder in the death of 27-year-old Joshua Velasquez of Minot. Another Minot man, Bradley Davis, 27, is accused of aggravated assault in a separate but related case being tried in front of the same jury in Northwest District Court in Minot.

The morning began with the conclusion of testimony from Sgt. Dave Goodman of the Minot Police Department, one of the detectives who questioned persons of interest the morning of the homicide.

Goodman testified for a good part of the morning Thursday before the jury was given a three-day holiday weekend.

Goodman was asked again about the blood on the pants of Kristina Hovey, who testified she went to the scene of the homicide before police arrived to check on Velasquez, whom she said she almost went to the party that night with. The party was to celebrate the wedding of Davis the day before. Velasquez showed up uninvited and was asked to leave, according to several witnesses, touching off a brawl that allegedly led to his beating and shooting.

Stridiron's attorney, Robert Martin, asked Goodman why Hovey's pants, which apparently had a small amount of blood on them, were not sent to the lab for testing.

"She admitted to being at the scene and dropping to her knees," Goodman said. "That (the amount of blood on the pants) would certainly fit with what she said."

"So you were dealing with a crime scene that was contaminated?" Martin asked.

"She came into the area, yes," Goodman replied.

Martin also asked Goodman why the "light-skinned black man" Davis said went to the crime scene was not investigated further.

Goodman said Davis had identified the man as wearing a red shirt, a brown hat, a brown and white shirt, and blue jeans.

"It appeared to me that he was offering this information as a smoke screen," Goodman said.

Ward County State's Attorney John Van Grinsven asked Goodman to clarify testimony from Thursday that detectives who reported Goodman called them with the location of the alleged murder weapon during a search of Stridiron's and Davis' residences at 127- and 129-6th St. SE. Goodman testified Thursday that they were "mistaken."

Van Grinsven pointed out that the call was actually made by Officer Chuck Laboy and was contained in a police report.

Also taking the stand Monday was Sgt. Jordan Thompson, who was also questioning people around the neighborhood with Goodman.

Thompson conducted the interview with Stridiron that morning.

"He informed me he had been DJing (at the party)," Thompson said. Thompson told the jury that Stridiron said he had been in the basement, largely with his back to people. He said when he heard what he thought were gunshots, he exited the basement, went around the back of the house and went into his own residence. Thompson said Stridiron denied seeing anything and being across the street in the alley.

Thompson was also one of the detectives who interviewed Rodney Robinson, the man who claims he was in the alley and witnessed Stridiron shooting Velasquez that morning. Thompson told Van Grinsven he wasn't even aware of Robinson's last name on July 29.

Davis' attorney, Josh Rustad, asked Thompson if anyone he interviewed heard a female voice screaming at someone that night to get out of her yard, or house. Witnesses have testified Amy Davis, Bradley's wife, screamed at Velasquez to leave that morning. Thompson said one witness did say they heard words of that ilk.

Martin asked Thompson whether he had examined Hovey's legs for any sign of injury. Thompson said he had and there was none.

Martin also asked Thompson why police had not taken a gunshot residue kit from Robinson.

"Four days had passed," Thompson said.

Next up was the recorded deposition of Elzbieta Bakowska, who works at NMS Labs in Willow Grove, Pa. Bakowska was deposed in the case because, due to health problems, she would not have been able to travel to Minot for the trial.

Assistant State's Attorney Timothy Wilhelm conducted the questioning for the state, which covered Bakowska's extensive qualifications in the field of chemistry. The court accepted Bakowska as an expert witness in the field of gunshot residue analysis.

Bakowska described gunshot residue as residual particles that are the result of firing a weapon. Residue is left as a "product of the cooling of vapors that are the result of an explosion."

Three elements are sought as evidence of a gun being fired, she testified: antimony, barium and lead. Bakowska described the particles as "grains of sand some extremely microscopic, but some can be seen."

Antimony, she said, is key. Barium and lead are present in the natural environment, while antimony almost never is. She said the combination of the three is almost exclusively unique to gunshot residue.

Bakowska said gunshot residue "dramatically diminishes" with time, due to factors such as environment and transfer. Some labs, she said, won't even accept samples taken two to four hours later.

"Four hours will be very difficult to find gunshot residue," Bakowska testified in her thick, Polish accent. "They won't even want to waste their time it's an issue of backlog and resources."

Kits were taken in the case from three men, all thought to be in the area of the alley when the shooting occurred: Davis, Stridiron and Ronn Holloway. Several areas of the hands are swabbed in each kit.

Bakowska said Holloway's kit showed only lead, while Davis' showed reportable levels of all three unique to gunshot residue on his left palm.

"All three are present," Bakowska said. "Relatively low, but presence of some."

Stridiron, she testified, had "significant levels in all areas."

In the right palm, "the highest level almost approaches tenfold" the reportable level, Bakowska said.

Martin asked if the presence of blood on a suspected shooter's hands could serve as an inhibitor to the deposit of gunshot residue.

Bakowska said if a surface is covered in blood, the gunshot residue would stick to the blood, and that a swabbing would be more likely to contain gunshot residue if it also contained the blood.