Opinion ID: 3052803
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Deposition Testimony Of Gerald Strebendt

Text: Gerald Strebendt (“Strebendt”), a close personal friend of Torre, did not testify in person at the trial. The district court admitted his prior deposition testimony over Angelina’s objection. The court found that Strebendt resided in North Bend, Oregon, and thus that his deposition testimony was admissible under former Rule 32(a)(3)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, now Rule 32(a)(4)(B).2 That provision states in relevant part that a party may use the deposition of a witness at a hearing or trial if the court finds “that the witness is more than 100 miles from the place of hearing or trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 32(a)(4)(B) (formerly Fed. R. Civ. P. 32(a)(3)(B)). The court rejected as unsupported by the evidence Angelina’s assertion that Strebendt in fact resided in Los Angeles, California, and thus was not subject to the applicable provision. 2 Rule 32 was amended effective December 1, 2007 as part of a general restyling of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fed. R. Civ. P. 32 & note. The provision relied upon by the district court now appears at Rule 32(a)(4)(B) without substantive change. 11878 RICHARDS v. RICHARDS Strebendt is a professional fighter and martial arts instructor, and a former U.S. Marine sniper and sniper instructor. He was deposed on February 13 and 14, 2004, at which time he testified that he met Angelina through Torre in early September 2001, and that later the same month he witnessed Angelina and Torre get Bryan intoxicated so that the two of them could spend the evening together without Bryan’s knowledge. Angelina testified at trial that the idea to get Bryan intoxicated was proposed by others, and that while she drove Torre to his car after Bryan went home, she did not have a sexual encounter with Torre that night. During his deposition, Strebendt testified that Angelina told him that she and Torre were having an affair. Strebendt also testified that he saw Angelina give Torre $10,000 in cash, and that shortly afterward Torre said the following: “Angelina just wishes she could be rid of Bryan, she wishes he was just gone . . . and she’s even willing to pay somebody $10,000 to do it . . . and she knows you [Strebendt] were a sniper in the Marines and she wanted to know if you’re interested . . . .” Strebendt stated that he told Torre that he would not kill Bryan. According to Strebendt, Torre called him several times in late December and early and mid-January, stated that Bryan had been killed, and emphasized his need to see Strebendt in person. Strebendt testified that when he met with Torre in early or mid-January 2002, Torre admitted to killing Bryan but claimed that it was self-defense. Torre said that Bryan accused him of having an affair with Angelina and pointed a Glock handgun at him. Torre claimed that he knocked the gun from Bryan’s hands and applied a choke hold known in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu as “Mata Leon,” or “To Kill the Lion.” According to Strebendt, Torre stated that he just wanted to render Bryan unconscious, but that he felt something crush in Bryan’s neck, and that when he released the hold Bryan was dead.3 Torre asked Strebendt to provide an alibi, which Stre- 3 The medical examiner testified that although Bryan’s hyoid bone (located in the throat) was broken, the break did not cause his death. The RICHARDS v. RICHARDS 11879 bendt refused to do, although Strebendt did agree to keep Bryan’s handgun. Strebendt stored the gun at his home in Oregon. Strebendt subsequently contacted sheriff’s detectives, recounted the conversation with Bryan, and gave them the gun. Strebendt agreed to make recorded telephone calls to Angelina.4 On December 11, 2003, which was the first time Strebendt had spoken with Angelina in approximately two years, Strebendt told Angelina that “[t]he gun that Rafiel gave me has been recovered,” to which Angelina responded that she did not know what Strebendt was talking about and that he had better talk to Torre. On December 12, 2003, during their second conversation, Strebendt told Angelina that Torre had admitted to killing Bryan in self-defense, had given Strebendt Bryan’s gun, and had told Strebendt that Angelina would pay $10,000 for someone to kill Bryan. Angelina responded: “That’s ridiculous. I would never say that.” Angelina did not call the sheriff’s department or any other authorities to report the conversation. When questioned by sheriff’s deputies the following day, Angelina admitted that she had spoken to Strebendt the previous evening, but said the only matter discussed was whether Torre was home. When asked how Strebendt came to possess Bryan’s gun, Angelina said that she did not know. At trial, Angelina raised a hearsay objection to Strebendt’s testimony regarding Torre’s statements. The district court made a factual finding that Angelina and Torre were engaged in a conspiracy to murder Bryan, and that Torre’s statements examiner testified that Bryan died of non-ligature manual strangulation, and opined that a choke hold must have been applied to Bryan’s neck for several minutes. There were no signs of struggle or marks on Bryan’s body consistent with defense wounds. 4 Strebendt also made recorded telephone calls to Torre, which are not referenced in the district court’s FFCL. 11880 RICHARDS v. RICHARDS as reported by Strebendt thus were admissible as non-hearsay statements of a co-conspirator under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. On December 17, 2003, Torre was arrested and charged with Bryan’s murder. Following a jury trial, Torre was convicted of murder in the first degree for killing Bryan with the intent to profit from the policy proceeds.