Opinion ID: 2247066
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Brian Gasparian.

Text: Brian Gasparian was called as the prosecution's next witness. He testified that on the day in question, he was the evening watch detective at the Hollywood station. When Monique arrived at the station, she and her dog were placed in the captain's office, which was a nice office with nice furniture. It was not customary for a witness to be permitted to have his or her dog with them for an interview, but it was allowed in this instance. When Gasparian went into the captain's office, Monique and her dog were there, along with Officers Devey and Janecek. Gasparian told Monique he was there to talk with her about the case. She inquired whether appellant was going to be arrested. Gasparian responded that he was unsure, but he would talk with her, appellant, and the officers, and then make some type of decision. Monique stated that she did not want appellant to be arrested, but she did want to make a report to document what had transpired, in case something happened in the future. According to Gasparian, Monique was upset and nervous, but very cooperative. Gasparian stated that Monique gave him a chronology of the relevant events. She stated that she and appellant had argued because she had brought Jack, a male friend from college, to the house. Appellant thought that it was disrespectful for her to do this. The argument had begun on June 13, 1999. To avoid the argument, she and Jack went rollerblading. When she returned several hours later, appellant was on the bed upstairs crying about her having Jack in the house. Appellant began beating the bed with a cane and told her that he had to drink to pass out to avoid killing them both, and that he had to pray for strength to avoid killing them. Monique said she then went to a hotel and spent the night there. The next day, she informed appellant that she had made arrangements to go back to Buffalo, and he told her she did not have to. Monique stayed at the house that night. On the next day, June 15, 1999, the argument about Jack being in the house began anew. She accused appellant of having an affair. Appellant told her that if he had not made a prior promise to not be physically abusive, he would have broken her neck. Appellant then got a shovel and began hitting her car. Monique ran out and called 911. Monique never complained about any officers or treatment she received. She never said that she was forced into the police car or gave appellant permission to break the windows on her car. She never stated that she felt intimidated by the officers, that the 911 operator led her, or that none of this happened. Although she seemed upset and nervous, she appeared comfortable, talkative, and open. During Monique's interview with Gasparian, she informed him that there was a history of domestic violence in her two-year marriage to appellant, namely, approximately seven incidents of abuse. Gasparian testified that Monique stated that appellant had previously on one occasion given her a black eye, on another choked her, and approximately a month before stood over her with a metal spear and asked her if she wanted to live. She also stated that appellant had told her that if she ever took him to court, he would kill her or have her killed. Monique told Gasparian that she worked hard at the marriage and that she loved appellant. While discussing the details of their marriage, Monique stated that on an occasion, appellant had brought home another woman for them to engage in threesome-type sexual activities. She gave this as an example of her efforts to make the marriage work. Gasparian stated that he never told Monique that she might be in trouble or could be in trouble for making a false 911 call. On cross-examination, Gasparian testified that over the years he had developed ways of talking to different people during interviews. However, he had never threatened a victim with consequences of failure to cooperate in trying to pull something out of a witness. In addition, Gasparian testified that he did not get the specific details to any of the seven alleged domestic violence acts against Monique by appellant. On redirect, Gasparian clarified his testimony regarding different types of interviewees. He stated that there are two types, one where you have to coax information out of him and another where the witness is talkative and the officer merely clarifies and guides the interview to relevant facts. Monique's interview was the latter type, and during their interview Gasparian generally just took notes and ascertained time frames to avoid confusion. The prosecutor asked Gasparian if he felt, based on his experience and training, he could assess the credibility of witnesses, and whether he believed Monique on the occasion of the interview. Gasparian answered both questions in the affirmative. Appellant's counsel did not object to either of these questions. On recross-examination, appellant's counsel returned to this issue, as reflected in the following exchange: [Mr. Graysen, appellant's counsel] When you say you believed Mrs. Brown on June 15, that was your opinion; isn't that correct? [Gasparian] It was an opinion, yes. Q. You don't have any special powers that we don't have which enable you to tell, ultimately, if someone is telling the truth, do you? A. No, I don't. Q. So we shouldn't be calling you Super Detective Gasparian? A. No Q. Okay. A. Absolutely not.