Opinion ID: 1867526
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Evidence Connecting Blom to DJ's Expressway

Text: Hanek testified that she was working on the night of May 26 in the Subway store adjacent to DJ's Expressway. Shortly after closing time, a man, whom Hanek positively identified as Blom in a police line-up, entered the Subway store from the outside and tried to enter DJ's Expressway through the internal connecting door. Hanek said she told the man to leave and to enter DJ's Expressway through its own external entrance. After closing, Hanek left the Subway store at about 10:30 p.m. As she walked to her car which was parked behind the dumpsters at the rear of the building, she encountered the same man who had come into the Subway store shortly after 10:00 p.m. The man was walking back and forth on the sidewalk. Hanek said the man stumbled, could not walk straight, and appeared to be intoxicated. The man asked Hanek if she was done for the evening and she told him she was. Hanek testified that the man, who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, was standing about five to ten feet from her when he spoke to her. The man then got into a dark-colored pickup truck and left. Hanek later testified that the man she saw was Blom and she identified him in court. Hanek got into her car to leave and, coincidentally, started driving in the same direction as the pickup truck, following behind with no vehicles in between. Hanek followed the truck for approximately two miles before it pulled into a cafe parking lot in Moose Lake and she continued to drive on. She testified that she observed the license plate on the truck and noted that the first three numbers were 557 and the last letter was Y. She noted that the truck was a Ford F150 extended cab with white markings on the side. The state subsequently presented evidence establishing that Blom was the owner of a black extended cab Ford F150 pickup truck with white markings on the side and license plate number 557 HDY. [10] The surveillance video was entered into evidence and showed that a white male forced Poirier out of DJ's Expressway at 11:38 p.m. on May 26. The man's face is not clear in the video. Nevertheless, two of Blom's coworkers testified and identified Blom as the man depicted in the video. Height analysis done from the video by an FBI expert in the field of photogrammetric analysisthe science of measuring the dimensions of objects appearing in photographsindicated that the man who abducted Poirier was approximately 5'11. Photographs taken of Blom at the police station and later introduced into evidence showed that he is approximately the same height. The abductor shown in the surveillance video wore a dark-colored shirt with white sleeves; the shirt had a New York Yankees insignia on the front left side and the number 23 on the back. Blom's brother-in-law testified that he gave the Blom family a jersey that had short white sleeves, the number 23 on the back, and a New York Yankees insignia on the front. One of Blom's coworkers testified that he contacted the police after seeing a composite sketch depicting the jersey because he had seen Blom wear a similar jersey to work. In his September 8 statement, Blom stated that he was wearing a New York jersey that night, which he possibly got at a garage sale or from his brother-in-law. However, at trial, both Blom and his wife testified that they do not own a New York Yankees jersey and that the brother-in-law never gave them one. c. Blom's Behavior Following the Time of the Abduction At the time of Poirier's death, Blom worked at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Minneapolis, but he did not report to work on either May 27 or 28. He reported to work on Monday, May 31, but then called the next day to resign, saying he had gotten a job starting the same day at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The human resources manager at the Veterans Home testified that interagency transfers are usually negotiated between the two departments and she had no notice that Blom was transferring to another job. Blom testified that several people knew that he was quitting his job and that his employer was supportive in helping him find different work. During cross-examination, Blom's wife acknowledged that Blom never worked at the Department of Transportation. A coworker testified that Blom appeared nervous in the days following the abduction and had changed his appearance by cutting and dyeing his hair. Blom's barber confirmed that Blom received a haircut on May 29. Following Poirier's disappearance, Blom drove a Chevrolet Suburban to work, although he usually drove the Ford F150. Blom's supervisor and a coworker testified that Blom told them he had been in an accident and totaled his Ford truck. Blom later testified that he only told his coworkers that he smacked up his truck and not that it was totaled. A neighbor of Blom's testified that he talked to Blom on Friday, May 28, and asked him where the truck was because the neighbor saw Blom driving the Suburban. The neighbor's curiosity was piqued because the Ford F150 was usually parked in Blom's driveway. The neighbor testified that Blom told him that the truck's transmission was broken and it was at his brother's garage until he could afford to fix it. The state presented evidence that in an interview on June 18, Blom told the police that he had sold his truck to his brother and delivered it to his brother's house the previous month. He told the police that the truck needed a new motor because it was barely drivable. Blom's brother testified that Blom did not sell the truck to him, but suggested that Blom might have understood that he sold the truck to him. The brother testified that he and Blom had discussed the Poirier abduction and Blom expressed concern that the police would investigate him because of his past and because investigators were looking for someone with a black truck. Blom also told his brother that he should probably get rid of the truck. The police testified that they found Blom's undamaged black extended cab Ford F150 pickup truck in his garage and that it was in good working condition.