We had just four witnesses today, the owner of the boat where Tsarnaev was found hiding, a longtime friend and fellow pot-head who lent Dzhokhar a handgun
, and two FBI forensic experts. Some of the jurors wore green for St. Patrick’s Day (note the juror on the left with the shamrock t-shirt.
It was all very hush-hush as we sketch artists and two reporters were told to report to the Fish Pier at 7:30 this morning to witnesses the jurors’ examination of the bullet riddled boat in which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hid after the gun and bomb battle with police in Watertown. The boat had been moved to a large warehouse and chairs and a viewing platform, as well as a movable lift, were provided for the jurors. Tsarnaev, lawyers from both sides as well as court personnel were there as well. And it was frigid!
After we moved back to the regular courtroom the government called to the stand several police and a couple of Watertown residents.
When Dun Meng pulled over his vehicle to answer a text message Tamerlan Tsarnaev pointed a gun at him and got into the SUV. That was only the beginning of a ninety-minute carjacking that ended when he managed to escape into a gas station convenience store.
After more evidence testimony by a couple of FBI witnesses this morning the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev moved on to the murder of MIT police officer Sean Collier.
The last witness of the day, MIT grad student Nate Harman, pointed out Tsarnaev in the courtroom. He testified that he saw Tsarnaev leaning into officer Collier’s squad car as he rode by on his bicycle.
The horrific and wrenching testimony of the first three days of trial from victims and others on the scene of the Boston Marathon bombings gave way to technical details of evidence gathering. Seems every witness was with the FBI. The most dramatic moment was when bomb squad officer Todd Brown identified Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the courtroom by pointing at him.
Court adjourned early so that the judge could go take a look at the boat in which Tsarnaev hid and was captured. The government wants to cut out the sections on which Tsarnaev wrote his “confession”, while the defense wants the jury to see the entire bullet riddled boat.
Courtartist is me, Art Lien. I've been sketching the courts since 1976, mainly for NBC News, and more recently SCOTUSblog. The U.S. Supreme Court is my regular beat.
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