Defense focuses on handling of evidence in capital murder trial of Jerry Elders

The capital murder trial of Jerry Elders had a heavy focus on the way evidence in the case was collected, analyzed and stored as the proceedings moved into the fourth day in a North Texas courtroom.

Elders is charged with capital murder after authorities said he shot Burleson police Officer Joshua Lott three times during a traffic stop in 2021, fled and then kidnapped a woman, stole her truck, killed her and left her outside the Joshua Police Department. If found guilty of capital murder, he faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Jurors in 413th District Court spent the entire day before lunch Thursday hearing about how the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office collects evidence, whether the office’s staff gathered it themselves or retrieved it from another agency, what protocols are in place to process and preserve the evidence and what training is required and provided to personnel required to deal with evidence.

The prosecution presented the jury with two weapons found inside the vehicle Elders was driving when he was arrested — one handgun and one rifle. The handgun had five spent .35 Special shell casings. Both guns were found in the truck authorities said Elders stolen from 60-year-old Robin Waddell before killing her.

The hours-long testimony on evidence handling came after days of questioning by the defense that focused on whether evidence was legally obtained, protected from contamination and provided to Elders’ attorneys before the trial.

His attorneys have also regularly objected to evidence being submitted, arguing that the evidence was not properly handled, not legally collected, irrelevant or prejudicial to the jury. In most cases, Visiting Judge Lee Gabriel has overruled the objections.

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The jury has also been sent away on several occasions so attorneys could argue case law regarding evidence or testimony.

Shortly after the court came back from its lunch break, the prosecution called for an autopsy technician who worked on the autopsy of Waddell to testify. The defense objected to his testimony, saying he is an expert witness who has not been qualified by the court as an expert witness.

The jury was sent away while prosecutors made a case that the witness, Jaso Gaines, who worked at the time for the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, was not being called as an expert. Gaines was questioned about his qualifications and Gabriel ruled that he would be allowed to testify as long as he was not asked for his opinion or to speak to how common some things are.

Elders could be seen in court smiling and laughing as he spoke with his attorneys while the jury was away and the prosecution was reviewing photographs with the autopsy technician outside the courtroom, a break from the defendant’s quiet, stone-faced demeanor seen through most of the trial.

During Gaines’ testimony, prosecutors showed jurors images of two projectile fragments pulled from Waddell’s body. Discussions from prior days’ testimony also came into play, with the defense questioning whether a death investigator is required to be present before clothing or other items are removed from the body of someone whose death is suspected to be a homicide.

The questioning is a callback to testimony Wednesday in which Janet Ayala, who at the time was a civilian investigator with Joshua police, said in court that she collected clothing and a drivers’ license at the hospital after Waddell was pronounced dead. While collecting clothing with the help of a nurse, a “metallic object” that appeared to be a bullet fragment fell from Waddell’s bra.

The defense questioned if Ayala was aware that she was required to have a death investigator from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office present, and she said no. She also told the jury she had no formal training in investigating a crime scene, including a trauma room in which someone died, or in collecting evidence from a body.

The defense’s line of questioning seems intended to lead to doubts about the trustworthiness of evidence. Inquiries about proper sealing of evidence, the chain of custody and the training of those collecting evidence have all led to questions about whether those things can impact contamination, alteration or loss of evidence.

The defense has also accused the state of withholding evidence that should have been turned over in discovery. While arguing the qualifications of another expert witness, firearms analyst Mateo Serfontein from the Tarrant County ME’s Office, Elders’ lawyers said they had not received full-sized photos of evidence, only thumbnails that the prosecution intended to submit into evidence during the trial. They questioned whether Serfontein could have made comparisons he would be testifying about using thumbnails.

The objections and debates have at times appeared to test the judge’s patience. In two instances Thursday, Gabriel ended up instructing the prosecution to hand over evidence the defense was requesting and claiming should have been provided in discovery.

“I don’t want to have this argument right now, so just give them what they’re asking for,” Garbiel told the prosecution to end the discussion about thumbnails v.s. full-sized photos.

She instructed prosecutors to provide the images by Thursday afternoon. Garbiel called for another recess after that debate, saying the court reporter needed a break.

The prosecution hasn’t rested its case. The trial was initially expected to run for about two weeks, one week for a guilt-innocence phase and another week, if Elders is convicted, for a sentencing phase. By Thursday afternoon, that schedule seemed unlikely.

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