BY MR. FOGLEMAN:
Q: Officer Allen, would you state your name and occupation for the jury?
A: Mike Allen. I'm a detective sergeant with the West Memphis Police Department.
Q: How long have you been with the West Memphis Police Department?
A: Since May of '88.
Q: And how long have you been in law enforcement total?
A: Total, since 1981.
Q: Detective Allen, I want to direct your attention to May the 6th, 1993. What part, if any, did you play in the search for Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Chris Byers?
A: The morning of the 6th, we had a meeting at the detective division and, soon as we sat down for our morning meeting, we were informed of the missing youths and we, at that time, were given photographs and some general information on them, and we went out looking. I, in particular, was assigned to check vacant houses and that was my duties for that day.
Q: Alright. And were various detectives given various duties as far as certain responsibilities...
A: Different areas - different areas of search. Yes, sir.
Q: Alright. If you could, do you recognize state's exhibit 2?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Alright. If you could... take this corner, and if you could show the jury the areas where you searched that day.
A: The areas I searched was what we call our North-East section of West Memphis.
Q: Detective Allen, if you could step back a little bit so that the jurors down here would be able to see better...
Burnett: And speak up a little bit too, if you wouldn't mind.
A: This area right here is the general North-East section of West Memphis. The three boys that were reported missing lived in this general area. And so I searched vacant houses in the North-East section of West Memphis that day.
Q: Alright. What is that area bounded by - what major streets bound that area?
A: We make up from Broadway North...
Q: And where's Broadway on the map? The jurors...
A: Broadway...
Q: ... may not be familiar with that.
A: Broadway is this, uh, in the center of this... this darker line in the center here that runs East and West. This is Broadway Street here.
This right here is 7th Street that runs, runs North and South here.
This area in here is considered the North-East section of West Memphis on the board (?) map here.
Q: Alright. And what areas, again, did you search in that area?
A: I searched this... this major area here is made up of... it's residential neighborhoods in the North-East section of town, and I searched abandoned houses, storm drains, just drove over this area here.
Q: Okay. You can retake the stand. Detective Allen, about what time
did you begin your search efforts that morning approximately?
A: Approximately a few minutes after 8 o'clock.
Q: Okay. And, at some point in your searching, did you receive some dispatch of some need to go to another area?
A: I was informed to go to the area of the end of... it's West McCauley. The North end of West McCauley, the dead end.
Q: Let me put the state's exhibit 101 back up again. If you could, again, take the corner and show the jury the area where you then began to search.
A: I was informed, uh... I was informed by an officer over the radio to come to this area in regards to something that had been found.
Q: Alright. What area are you referring to?
A: This is, right here, this street right here is West McCauley. I heard an officer check out on the very North end of West McCauley, which would be right here - this is the Ten Mile Bayou here - this larger ditch here, drainage ditch. I was, uh, heard another officer check out right there at the dead-end of McCauley that, that they had some information from somebody that was on foot.
Q: Okay. After you got there, where did you go?
A: I walked in behind another officer across this, there is this pipe right here, right across this pipe.
Q: Alright. Lemme stop you right there. Now, to get to the pipe what - I mean is it just flat, level ground, or how is it to get to the pipe?
A: There is a - from the road here you go over a little - there's like a mound of dirt then there's a - this is a, a sloping hill here on the side of the ditch.
Q: Down to the pipe?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Alright.
A: Then the pipe goes over the Ten Mile Bayou here where I was shown an area in the woods here.
Q: Okay. Is that the area of the woods, for the record, immediately East of the Blue Beacon and that pond there?
A: This is Blue Beacon here. Uh, this is a pond behind Blue Beacon.
And directly East in this location right about here, approximately here.
Q: Alright. You can retake the stand. When you got to that area what, if anything, unusual did you see in the creek?
A: I was pointed out a - I observed what appeared to be two small tennis shoes floating in the creek.
Q: Now, after seeing these tennis shoes, what did you do?
A: I went, uh, we were on top of a bank there, I would say ten to fifteen foot down to where the creek was. I went to an area where I felt I could cross which I crossed and went around to the area where the tennis shoes were in the water.
Q: Alright. And, uh, did you get in the water?
A: Yes, sir. I did.
Q: Okay. And after getting in the water, what did you find?
A: My intentions were to get into the water and reach for the tennis shoe at which time, when I got into the water, I felt, uh, I felt an object in the water. I raised my right foot up, and a body floated to the surface of the water.
Q: Now, after making this discovery, what did you do?
A: I got back out of the water, stood right there. The other investigator that showed up at that time called for Inspector Gitchell and the rest of the detectives to come to that area.
Q: Alright. And then was a crime scene search done of that area that afternoon?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Alright. And how long were you there at the scene?
A: It was about 1:00 - it was, I would say, I think the radio log reflects 1:14. I was roughly there from 1:14 until approximately 8:30 that evening.
Q: Alright. I want to show you a photograph that's been marked, for identification purposes, as state's exhibit 9, and ask if you recognize that photograph.
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Does that photograph fairly and accurately portray the area at the time this occurred?
A: Yes, sir.
Fogleman: Your honor, we would offer state's exhibit 9.
Stidham: No objection, your honor.
Burnett: Alright. It may be received without objection. You may exhibit.
Fogleman: Your honor, may Detective Allen step down and exhibit for the jury.
Burnett: Yes.
Q: Detective Allen, if you would - if you would show on the photograph, to the jury, the pipe that you crossed and the trail.
A: This, right here is the very North end of West McCauley where I parked my unit. I walked down this little trail here. There's a little embankment here, across this pipe...
Q: Mike, if you could, hold the photograph in front of you and turn it so the all the jurors can see it and then point to it like that, so they can all see.
Burnett: Don't turn it like that.
A: Uh, I'm looking at it upside down... This, can everybody see this?
This is West McCauley. This is, this is the trail that leads to the pipe that crosses the Ten Mile Bayou. There's another trail that runs up along this patch of woods and I was directed into the woods through about, uh, right in through there to where I walked a little ways in to the woods to this creek that runs more or less in this direction here. It's in the woods covered with trees in this aerial photograph.
Fogleman: Okay. You can retake the stand. May I exhibit to the jury, your honor?
Burnett: Yes you may.
Q: Now I want to show you two photographs marked, for identification purposes, as state's exhibits 10 and 11, and ask if you can identify those photographs.
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Alright. Do those photographs fairly and accurately portray the scene as it appeared to you that day?
A: Yes, sir.
Fogleman: Alright. Your honor, we would offer state's exhibits 10 and 11.
Stidham: No objection, your honor.
Burnett: Alright. They may be received without objection.
Q: Beginning with state's exhibit 10, Detective Allen - was that picture taken before or after the boys were found?
A: This was, was taken before.
Q: Alright. Now, what are you doing there?
A: At this point, I was attempting to cross this small creek/ditch.
And I had leaned the, I had leaned over to that tree, thinking I could grab a hold of that tree and pull myself over. I didn't make it.
Q: Is that state's exhibit 11?
A: Yes. I ended up in the water there. This is...
Fogleman: Your honor, may I exhibit to the jury?
Burnett: Yes, you may.
Q: Now, I want to hand you what I've marked, for identification purposes, as state's exhibit 12 and ask you if you can identify that.
A: This is the...
Q: Can you identify it?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Does that photograph fairly and accurately portray the scene as it appeared to you that day?
A: Yes, sir, it do.
Fogleman: Your honor, I would offer state's exhibit 12.
Stidham: No objection, your honor.
Burnett: Alright. It may be received without objection.
Q: And what is depicted in state's exhibit 12?
A: This is the first body that I, that I discovered at the scene.
Q: Is that Michael Moore?
A: Yes, sir.
Fogleman: May I exhibit to the jury, your honor?
Q: I want to show you what's marked, for identification purposes, as state's exhibit 31 and ask if you can identify that photograph.
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Does that photograph fairly and accurately portray the scene as it appeared to you that day?
A: Yes, sir.
Fogleman: Your honor, we would offer state's exhibit 31.
Stidham: No objection, your honor.
Burnett: Alright. It may be received without objection.
Q: Alright. Detective Allen, is that your hand and feet?
A: Yes sir, it is.
Q: And what are you pointing to in the water?
A: That's the location that I had found the first body.
Q: Alright. Now in - was there anything... Alright. Where the first body was found, were the other bodies found upstream or downstream?
A: Downstream.
Q: Downstream. And was there anything about the surface of the water that was different upstream from - or where the first body was found in upstream as opposed to downstream?
A: It was clear in this area, in this photograph here than it was
downstream.
Q: Alright. What do you mean "clear?"
A: The surface of the water was clear. It was a lot - as you can see on down here it's a lot thicker with debris and sticks, bark, just uh leaves.
Q: Leaves, things like that?
A: Debris... yes.
Q: Alright. When you arrived on the scene in the... Lemme back up...
On the, where you found the, uh, Michael Moore’s body, did the bank on both sides - How did the bank do on both sides of the creek?
A: The bank?
Q: The bank. I mean, was it continuously, from top to bottom sloping down or was it...
A: No, sir. On the side which...
Q: You can say Blue Beacon or Memphis side.
A: On the, on the Blue Beacon side, it was a steep bank. What I mean by steep, I mean straight up steep on the side. On the other side there was a, like a, like a plateau, or, or, uh, flat, flat side.
Q: Alright. And where was this flattened area in relation to where Michael's body was found?
A: It was right off of the flat area - into the ditch.
Q: Was there - did you - was there anything unusual about that flattened off area? Did you observe?
A: It appeared to been - it was clean. It was...
Q: When you say it was clean, what do you mean?
A: It looked as if, uh, say you just, you had a big area of, of, of dirt. It appeared that just a lot of scuffing marks, like someone's feet were just doing this number. But there was no impressions of, that you could actually see of any particular shoe or anything in this given area here. It appeared that, it appeared that it had been smoothed, uh, like watered down with a water hose. It just was, it was clean to be in that, to be in that section of the woods.
Q: Now, was there some grass on this flattened area?
A: In parts of it, yes, sir.
Q: And did you notice anything about the grass?
A: Just that, the mud on the grass.
Q: Mud on the grass?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Was the grass stained with mud?
A: It was, to the best of my knowledge, it looked like mud had been, it was on top of the grass. It was like smooshed down.
Q: Okay. Now the, did you, was there some additional crime scene search done the next day or late that afternoon?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Alright. What was done in the, in that entire wooded area?
A: There were, there were numerous things done. There was a search made, um, I say inch by inch, there was a search.
Q: How was that conducted when you say it was done "inch by inch?" What does that mean?
A: Well, I - it's quite a large area. We took all the detectives out in that area, uh, we started roughly from the interstate, the patch of woods next to the interstate. We walked it shoulder to shoulder, uh about, we walked within hand's distance. We kinda lined up where we were actually touching each other's hands down a row and we walked into the woods. We walked from the, from one side of the woods to the other side and then we got and kinda made a chain down another section hand to hand and we walked back. We basically...
Q: Did you do that for the entire...
A: The entire wooded section.
Fogleman: I don't have any further questions at this time.
CROSS EXAMINATION
BY MR. STIDHAM:
Q: Officer Allen, who all was out there that day, when you discovered the first body - how many officers were there?
A: When I first discovered the body was, there was, uh, I'm trying to think of his name. Steve Jones, a juvenile officer, Denver Reed with Search and Rescue, George Phillips with the West Memphis Police Department, and Lieutenant Diane Hester of the West Memphis Police Department.
Q: There was just one Search and Rescue team member there at that time?
A: He's uh, I don't know, he's joint, he works with the Sheriff's Department also, he, but he is in with the Search and Rescue.
Q: Later on there were city employees out there with a pump, is that correct?
A: During a period of time, there were -- yes, sir. We sand-bagged off and...
Stidham: May I approach the witness, your honor?
Burnett: Yes.
Q: Officer Allen, uh, make sure I'm pointing at the right thing... and that is the Blue Beacon Truck Wash, is that correct?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: And this is the pipe that children in the neighborhood used to cross over the bayou, is that correct?
A: There's a pipe across the bayou...
Q: Is this approximately where the bodies were recovered?
A: If... let the jury see there...
Q: Okay, I'm sorry.
A: This - from the aerial shot, I assume that this is the ditch that we are referring to that's showing through the trees that you might be able to see a little bit of. It's heavily wooded but it would be, uh, I'd say roughly somewhere in this given area. This...
Q: Okay.
A: From the aerial shot that's my best...
Q: These little things here, those are semi trucks, eighteen wheeler rigs, tractor trailer rigs?
A: Yes, they are.
Q: And could you estimate - I know it would be an estimate - about how far it is from, say, the bayou to the interstate in yards, in football fields?
A: In football fields I would say, roughly 200 yards, a little more
Q: How 'bout this side of this field to this side over here to the truck wash? How far would you say that is? I know it's an estimation.
A: 70... I'd just be guessing... 75 yards, I don't know how much.
Q: You can take your seat, thank you. We're not talking about a real huge area are we of wooded area?
A: It's fairly good size.
Q: About 500 yards... About 100 yards... about 200?
A: Wide, I'm, I don't... I'm trying to compare it with a football field as you mentioned and it, uh...
Q: But for the jurors
A: It may be...
Q: These being eighteen wheel trucks, they can sorta get an idea of how far the distance is too?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: If you didn't, if you didn't know these were eighteen wheel trucks you'd probably wouldn't be able to make that... I guess these things here are trucks moving down the interstate?
A: Yes, yes, sir.
Q: Thank you, Officer Allen. I have no further questions.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. FOGLEMAN:
Q: Detective Allen, I neglected to ask you a question. On that flattened off area that you described, about the slicked off area, were there leaves on that?
A: No, sir.
Q: Or were there leaves like there were other areas?
A: No. There might have been several but it was not, it did not look as if as the other parts of the woods looked.
Fogleman: Okay. I don't have anything futher.
Stidham: Nothing further your honor.
