PITTSBURGH,None — Channel 11 News is covering the trial. Check back often as reporters will be sending updates with new information throughout each day of the trial. Those updates, along with notes from Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE, will be highlighted in bold text below.
DAY 3
UPDATE: 5:15 p.m.- Tempers became short this afternoon during an exchange between Tranquilli and the judge while the jury was on a break.
The argument was the introduction of what prosecutors say is Poplawski`s personal library, containing books such as "Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries" and "Ethics of Homicide."
Defense attorney Lisa Middleman objected to the evidence and the judge ruled it couldn't be used until the penalty phase, if the trial gets that far.
"How is that relevant?" the judge asked.
Tranquilli responded by reading off a few titles and bickered with the judge.
"Argue with me one more time and the sheriff will be taking you out," Manning snapped.
The same witness, Pittsburgh police Detective Blase Kraeer, who collected much of the evidence, has been on the witness stand all day.
Tranquilli introduced evidence this afternoon that supports a prosecution theory that Mayhle engaged with a gun battle with Poplawski in the house before he was killed.
Tranquilli showed a map of the home to the jury that shows eight shell casings the same caliber as Mayhle`s weapon in the living room, kitchen, dining room and hallway. Mayhle`s body was found outside the house at the bottom of the porch steps, face up, with a fatal head wound.
UPDATE: 4:42p.m- Poplawski's defense attorney said that officers who searched the house after he was taken into custody moved and distorted evidence.
The defense also questioned what was tested in the laboratories and what reports were read.
Court went on a 45 minute recess.
UDPATE: 4:09 Officers received DNA from Poplawski on April 7, 2009 and took photographs of him.
Police said he had a bruise below his left nipple from a shot that hit his bulletproof vest.
Next they discussed bullet paths of shots that hit Officer Kelly's car. Investigators said the car was shot at least 23 times.
Cross examination of Kraeer began.
UPDATE: 3:32 p.m.- Pittsburgh police Detective Blase Kraeer remains on the stand.
Photographs continue to be presented, showing bullet holes in the house and hundreds of used shell casings.
Police found more than 1,000 rounds of live ammunition, including more than 900 rounds for the AK-47 that witnesses said Poplawski used during the firefight with officers. They also found empty casings from a shotgun and a .357 Magnum handgun.
UPDATE: 3:12 p.m. - They have now gone over 280 pieces of evidence. They are now reviewing the family room of the Poplawski house.
In a bedroom, police said they found a bullet proof vest with a bullet in the upper left quadrant. There was also a Penguins jersey found with a matching bullet hole.
The bullet proof vest had the letters "PO" embroidered on it. There was a knife found on a dresser as well.
UPDATE: 2:29 p.m. - CSI investigators said in a bedroom inside of the Poplawski home, the letters C U C K I were written on a wall in blood. The meaning of the letters is unclear.
Poplawski's mother was seen walking near the courtroom entrance. She may be testifying today.
UPDATE: 1:48 p.m. - More photos were presented as evidence, showing a number of walls inside of the Poplawski house riddled with bullets.
Channel 11's Alan Jennings reported that shell casings from Mayhle's hand gun were found inside the home, which is a direct indication that Mayhle and Poplawski had a close range gun battle inside of the house.
UPDATE: 1:32 p.m.- Detective Kraeer remains on the stand.
He explained the difference between a .40 caliber shell-casing and a .762 caliber shell-casing. Kraeer said the .40 caliber is about one-third the size of the .762 caliber.
Kraeer said both kinds of casings were found at the scene. He said some of the .40 caliber casings were likely from Officer Mahyle.
A holster for a hand gun was found on the dining room table inside of the Poplawski house and there was extensive damage done to a door near the dining room and hallway from a gunshot blast, Kraeer said.
Kraeer said a black Nokia cellphone was found in the hallway and a gun belt with ammunition was also found inside.
UPDATE: 1:03 p.m. - The trial has resumed, and Detective Kraeer is still on the stand.
The prosecution continues to show more bullet casings and pictures from inside the house.
Testimony revealed that Officer Sciullo's tossle cap and handcuffs were found on the front porch of Poplawski's home. It was also revealed that pieces of cardboard had been placed over the kitchen window prior to the shooting.
Currently, 11 pictures of the dining room are being shown in court.
UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. - The trial has recessed while the Judge Jeffrey Manning attends the funeral of a retired judge. It is scheduled to start back up at 12:30 p.m.
UPDATE: 10:06 a.m. - Pittsburgh police Detective Blaise Kraeer, an expert in crime scene investigation, testified that the massive amount of gunfire at the scene prevented the full collection of bullet fragments.
The prosecution showed photos of copper-jacketed fragments found on neighbor's porches, and bullet holes in exterior and foundation walls. Jurors also got to see pictures of off Officer Eric Kelly's service weapon and police radio in the street where he died.
Kraeer also said he was aware by examination that Poplawski had stood over Mayhle's fallen body and fired upon him.
UPDATE: 9:27 a.m. - Day 3 of the trial is under way.
DAY 2
UPDATE: 7:00 p.m.- Day 2 ended at 7 p.m. with the assistant medical examiner on the stand explaining the autopsy results of Mayhle. Testimony continues on Wednesday.
UPDATE: 4:53 p.m.- Court takes an hour-long recess for dinner.
UPDATE: 4:38 p.m.- The jury listened to the audio recording of the hostage negotiator speaking to Poplawski. In the recording, Poplawski explained in detail whre he was in the house.
Police told him, "Richard, listen to what they tell you and put your arms up in the air."
While the tape was being played, Poplawski appeared to be shifting uncomfortably.
UPDATE: 4:25 p.m.- The 40-minute call between between police negotiator Craig Campbell and Poplawski is being played in court.
UPDATE: 4:02 p.m.- 911 shift commander Bob Sabo said he too spoke to Poplawski the day of the shootings. At 9:43 a.m. the call was transferred to him and Sabo said he asked Poplawski, "Why did this happen?"
Sabo said that Poplawski told him he was shot in the leg.
While the call was played in court, Sabo looked distraught and shook his head.
"If I kept him on the phone he could do no harm to another officer," Sabo said.
At one point Sabo said Poplawski told him, "I can still fight you guys if you want."
UPDATE: 3:32 p.m.- Cathy Cornell, Allegheny County 911 telecommunications operator for 26 years, said that April 4, 2009 was "one of the worst days in my work history."
While on the stand, Cornell said she took a call from Poplawski at 9:45 a.m.
The 911 call was played in court.
"I'm lying in a pool of blood. I'm low on ammo but I promise I won't shoot anymore police officers. I'm going to jail for the rest of my life," Poplawski can be heard saying in the recording.
UPDATE: 3:23 p.m.-Neighbor and former friend of Poplawski's, Michael Bogert, was called to the stand.
Bogert, 18, said he knew Poplawski for a few years through other people. He told the jury that he had seen Poplawski carry a concealed weapon on a holster once.
Bogert testified that he woke up that morning to a text about gunshots. He said he then called Poplawski and said:
Bogert: "Pops, what are you doing?" Poplawski: "Who is this?" Bogert: "It's Mike Bogert." Poplawski: "Oh, hey Mikey. What's going on? How have you been?" Bogert: "What are you doing man?" Poplawski: "I got shot and shot three cops. I'm probably going to bleed to death or go to jail for the rest of my life."
Bogert said when he asked Poplawski why he did it, Poplawski said he didn't know and hung up. Bogert said he made the phone shortly after 10 a.m. and could confirm Poplawski's voice on the other line.
UPDATE: 2:29 p.m. - Officer Joseph Novakowski was called to the stand. He has been a SWAT team member for six years.
Novakowski said he received a text message around 8:15 a.m. the morning of April 4, 2009 and met with fellow officers that morning about three blocks away from the scene.
Novakowski told the judge that Margaret Poplawski told him, "You should have killed my son. He's a cop killer. I can't believe he shot cops."
Defense attorney Lisa Middleman objected to the remarks, and the judge wanted to hear them before the jury did. He ruled that they were inadmissible.
UPDATE: 2:06 p.m. - Pittsburgh police SWAT officers testified after lunch that they were ready to shoot to stop the "target."
Detective William Friburger, trained as a counter sniper and known at the scene as sniper one, said he tried a number of times to take out the "target" despite the "target" firing at him as he was on the roof of a home across the street.
Fribuger said during a lull in the gunfight with Poplawski he tried to "get a look into the room." Friburger said he moved, but he didn't like his vantage point.
Friburger said he was trying to be unpredictable and said, "One police sniper tactic is to not be where they think you are."
While on the roof, Friburger said he saw the curtains move in Poplawski's bedroom and eventually a round was fired.
"That told me he was in the room and he probably could see me," Friburger said.
The presence of Poplawski's mother in the house complicated sniper attempts to shoot the "target," who was already suspected of killing three officers, Friburger testified.
Friburger also said he saw Poplawski's mother come through a garage door, look directly at him and motion her hands for him to go away. He was later told that Poplawski was negotiating his surrender but couldn't move well.
During cross-examination, Friburger was asked whether or not the barrel he shot was actually a gun poking out of the window. Poplawski's attorney also asked Friburger what path he took to get to his position.
Friburger explained that the last shot he heard was the one fired at him on the roof and Poplawski surrendered 30 minutes later.
UPDATE: 12:30 p.m. - Mescan testified that SWAT team sharpshooter William Friburger told him his weapon couldn't penetrate the brick wall of the house, so he tried to condense Poplawski's space by placing accurate fire into the bedroom wall.
"My attempt was to start pushing him to the window, knowing that if I could move him, either myself or another member of my team could get accurate fire on him," Friburger told Mescan.
Friburger said he was somewhat successful and that after seven or eight rounds he could see the barrel of Poplawski's gun coming through the window, pointed at the armored vehicle, Mescan said.
Mescan said Friburger told him he aimed at the weapon, shot it and caused it to fly to the back of the bedroom.
A lunch break has begun and will last until 1:35 p.m.
UPDATE: 12:14 p.m. - A SWAT team member testified that he arrived at the scene as an ambulance carrying Officer Kelly's body was pulling away. He said he grabbed his sniper rifle as the gunfire continues.
"I ran up the street, took a position on a porch, giving me an overlook of the situation," he said.
UPDATE: 11:14 a.m. - Channel 11 News clips were played in court. In the video, gunfire could be heard in the background.
UPDATE: 11:02 a.m. - Detective Steve Mescan is being questioned. He discussed the rolling rescue of Officer Kelly and another officer.
The rescue team tried to shout to officers Sciullo and Mayhle, hoping for a response, he said.
"We will assume they're alive until proven otherwise. As far as we were concerned, they were alive and we were going for them," said Mescan.
During testimony, it was revealed that an armored vehicle was shot at from a window above the Poplawski family's garage. Officers returned fire specifically to that window.
It was also revealed that the shootout lasted about 30 minutes.
"So much gunfire that the SWAT team actually ran out of ammo," said Mescan.
All of the gun battles initiated by Poplawski, witnesses said.
The armored vehicle provided cover as rescue crews pulled Mayhle's body to safety.
UPDATE: 9:50 a.m. - The prosecution is gearing up to play WPXI News coverage of the police shooting with anchors and retired reporter Stu Brown because it shows images and live sounds of heavy gunfire at the scene.
Also, prosecutors will play a recorded phone call between Poplawski and police negotiator Sgt. Craig Campbell. In the call, Poplawski can be heard saying, "I'm going to jail for the rest of my life..."
Before the jury came in to the courtroom on Tuesday, there was a heated debate between the judge and Prosecutor Mark Tranquilli. The judge approved a defense motion to edit out all racial comments before the jury hears the tape. Tranquilli got angry and shook his head in disgust, saying racial comments are critical to proving Poplawski's radical state of mind.
UPDATE: 7:58 a.m. - Day 2 of testimony is set to begin shortly.
Previous Stories: June 21, 2011: Poplawski Trial Days 1-2: WPXI's Courtroom Updates
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