Opinion ID: 2357794
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Testimony of Robert McConkey

Text: One night during petitioner's trial, McConkey saw Ronald Bass and Geri Anne Johnson come into the Cafe Waterfront together. McConkey was working as a bartender and waiter; Juror Z.S. was working as a cook. McConkey had known Johnson for a few years as a regular customer of the restaurant. He knew that she was an attorney and that she was married to a deputy district attorney, Worth Dikeman. McConkey had not met Bass before. Petitioner's trial had been reported in the local newspaper and on television and radio, and customers in the Cafe Waterfront had talked about it. McConkey knew that Z.S. was a juror at petitioner's trial. Bass and Johnson sat down at the bar; they had a couple of martinis and ordered some appetizers. They stayed about an hour to an hour and a half. At some point, Bass and Johnson became aware that Z.S. was working in the kitchen. Shortly before they left the restaurant, Bass paid the bill, which was around $60 to $70. Bass handed McConkey $10 or $20 as a tip and said, Here, split this with [Z.S.] for a guilty verdict. The tip amount was appropriate for the food and drinks that had been ordered. Bass had a big smile on his face, and McConkey had no doubt that he was joking. Bass and Johnson were both laughing. McConkey shared the tip with Z.S. because they routinely shared tips. McConkey may have told Z.S. about Bass's joking remark, but he was not sure that he did. McConkey did not recall Bass sharing any kind of drink with [Z.S.] in the kitchen; indeed, he was positive this did not occur. Z.S. was not allowed to drink alcohol at the Cafe Waterfront, and McConkey did not remember ever seeing her do so while the restaurant was open for business. At one time, Z.S. had been in the habit of sitting at the Waterfront's bar and drinking for a couple of hours after work, but the owners stopped this practice immediately after McConkey began working there. It was McConkey's responsibility to see that Z.S. did not consume alcohol at the Waterfront. McConkey described this incident to Gena Eichenberg, an attorney who was one of McConkey's friends. He did not recall telling Eichenberg that Ronald Bass ordered a drink for Z.S., that he (McConkey) delivered a drink to Z.S. in the kitchen, or that Z.S. drank alcohol that night. He did not recall telling petitioner's attorney that Bass was having drinks sent back to [Z.S.] in the kitchen that evening.