Premlinary Hearing Day Two

Update Two Charges Dropped: The burglary charges and the conspiracy to commit burglary charges were dropped.

Grant Roy, was the first to testify in Day two of the preliminary hearing. He is an adult film producer in California, he testified to conversations he had with Joseph Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra the two men accused in the killing gay twink porn film producer Bryan Kocis. For 1 hour and 16 minutes, Grant Roy testified as a prosecution witness during the preliminary hearing for Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes. Roy, the first witness to testify on the second day of the hearing, admitted that he knew investigators were electronically recording the conversation he had with Cuadra and Kerekes. The conversation took place at Blacks Beach near San Diego, Calif., in April where Cuadra , Kerekes, Lockhart and Roy talked about the murder. Prior to taking the witness stand, Roy said he reviewed a transcript of a recording investigators made at a nude beach where Cuadra and Kerekes allegedly admitted to being inside Kocis' home on Jan. 24. His testimony followed what was said in the affidavit quite well

Grant Roy, testified the two men (Caudra and Kerekes) who are accused of killing the Bryan kocis in January described the interior of his home and described details of how the murder transpired. But, Roy also testified that neither Cuadra nor Kerekes ever specifically admitted to committing the crime, but referenced it in vague terms. Roy testified that "Harlow said Bryan never saw it coming". "He said it sounded sick, but it made him feel good in a way, like he got even." Roy said Harlow and Joe, inspected Bryan's Midland Drive home before Harlow arrived for his scheduled meeting with Bryan Kocis on Jan. 24. Roy testified "...they also made an observation that there was no peep hole in the door so the only way Bryan could see who was at the front door was to open the front door," Roy testified to questions asked by Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick. Roy testified. He said Harlow told him he shared a bottle of wine with Kocis, but Kocis drank most of the bottle.

Roy also testified, Harlow said he arranged a meeting with Kocis by saying he was interested in modeling for him. Roy then said Harlow became worried that Bryan recognized who he really was, but then the doorbell rang. "At that time, Brian got up, stumbled to the door, and that was it," Cuadra said. "It went really quick." Roy’s testimony seems to have placed Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes in the home of Brian Charles Kocis the night the adult film producer was murdered. Roy said Cuadra and Kerekes had indicated that authorities wouldn't take the investigation seriously because Kocis was gay. Roy testified that "They felt...because Bryan was gay, the Dallas Township Police Department would put it on the back burner," Roy testified.
Roy said Cuadra and Kerekes had stolen records from Kocis' company, Cobra Video, pornographic DVDs, three computer towers, two laptop computers and Kocis' Rolex watch.

Roy further testified that Cuadra "incinerated" the items because Cuadra considered them "too hot," in which, would link Cuadra to the murder.
On cross-examination by Cuadra's lawyer, William Ruzzo, Roy said he never directly asked Cuadra and Kerekes if they killed Kocis. Roy also testified that neither Cuadra nor Kerekes ever specifically admitted to committing the crime at 60 Midland Drive in Dallas Township, but referenced it in vague terms.
Roy remained composed during his testimony, carefully answering questions from Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick, and defense lawyers Frank Nocito and William Ruzzo.

State police Trooper Brian Murphy, testifying during the preliminary hearing for Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, said an e-mail account of dmbottom.com was set up Jan. 22 using an IP address registered to Cuadra. The IP address registered to Cuadra was also traced as the source where pictures of Cuadra were sent to Kocis' company, Cobra Video. Kocis' company received an application from a person who identified himself as Danny Moilin on Jan. 22, the same day dmbottom.com was established under Cuadra's registered IP address. The application was for a new model for Cobra Video. Soon after the application was submitted, Kocis and Moilin began emailing one another setting up an appointment. Murphy said he was also able to trace e-mail communications from dmbottom.com through an IP address using a wireless air card beginning on Jan. 23.

Investigators believe Cuadra identified himself as Danny Moilin in an attempt to disguise his true identity. Brian Murphy testified, Kocis exchanged about three dozen emails from an account with an IP address registered to Cuadra. Some of the emails included what appeared to be pictures of Cuadra, although the author of the emails identified himself as Danny Moilin. Murphy said the dmbottom.com e-mail was used to communicate with Kocis between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24. Trooper Brian Murphy, testified the e-mail account was solely used to communicate with Bryan and was last used on Jan. 25, a day after Kocis was found dead inside his Dallas Township home. Murphy also testified that it was through these emails, Kocis and Danny made arrangements to meet the night of the murder, the investigator said. The last communication occurred around 7:15 p.m., about an hour before firefighters responded to a structure fire at Kocis' home and found him inside slashed and stabbed to death.
Murphy also testified that an e-mail registered to Joseph Kerekes was logged onto at 7:43 p.m. on Jan. 24, around the time when a witness saw a light colored sport utility vehicle in the driveway at Bryan Kocis' Dallas Township home.

Trooper Brian Murphy said the e-mail registered to Kerekes, 33, was accessed through a wireless air card registered to Harlow Cuadra.
Kerekes' co-defense lawyer, Joseph Nocito, was able to determine, upon questioning of Murphy, that Kerekes' e-mail was accessed at 7:43 p.m. on Jan. 24.

During a jailhouse interview in July, said he was at the Fox Ridge Inn motel in Plains Township using his e-mail account.

State Police CPL. Leo Hannon testified about a Surveillance video from a Virginia Beach, Va., pawn shop that shows Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes allegedly buying weapons on Jan. 23, a day before Bryan Kocis was killed in Dallas Township. In one of the videos, Cuadra, 26, and Kerekes, 33, are standing with their backs to the camera looking into a glass display case. State police Cpl. Leo Hannon Jr. said a receipt - time stamped at 9:44 a.m. on Jan. 23 - was for the purchase of a Smith and Wesson handgun, ammunition and a folding knife with a five-inch blade. Luzerne County Coroner Dr. Jack Consalvo earlier had testified that he believed at a minimum a three-inch smooth-edged knife was used in the murder. A knife was found inside Kocis' home.

Hannon said Cuadra rented a silver Nissan Xterra from a Virginia Beach car rental business on Jan. 23. Hannon said. The mileage out was 21,357 and had 22,409 miles on it when it was returned on Jan. 25. Hannon said the distance between Virginia Beach where Cuadra and Kerekes resides to the Greater Wilkes-Barre area is 770 miles driving along the coast and 900 miles driving through central Virginia.

State police Cpl. Leo Hannon Jr. testified that signals from two cell phones registered to Joseph Kerekes were processed through a cellular tower on Country Club Road in Dallas Township, a short distance from the Midland Drive home of Bryan Kocis, Hannon said the calls were made at 8:34 p.m. (actually it was 8:37pm when the fire was reported) on Jan. 24, the exact same time firefighters were dispatched to Kocis' home for a fire. Kocis was found dead by firefighters on a couch inside his home. Hannon said two neighbors - who live on Midland Drive - identified the color, manufacturer and model of a Nissan Xterra, the same vehicle Cuadra had rented in Virginia Beach on Jan. 23 and returned two days later. The sport utility vehicle was seen by neighbors at Kocis' home on Jan. 24.

Well it looks like Joseph Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra will be bound over and face criminal homicide and related charges in connection to the slaying of local gay porn producer Bryan Kocis in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.
District Judge James E. Tupper held the charges against Harlow Cuadra, 26, and Joseph Kerekes, 33, to court after a two-day preliminary hearing.
Investigators allege the two men killed Kocis whom they considered their main rival in the gay pornographic production business.

Assistant District Attorneys Michael Melnick and Tim Doherty prosecuted.
Attorneys Frank Nocito and Joseph Nocito represent Kerekes.
Attorneys William Ruzzo and Thomas Cometa represent Cuadra.
Cuadra and Kerekes remain jailed without bail.

Thanks to the Times Leader and the Citizens Voice for the information in this post.

This is elmysterio and I'm out

Preliminary hearing part one

Some of you might be aware that Damon has posted that the Pennsylvania Police and the DA have placed a GAG ORDER AGAINST ME. This I find quite funny as you can see it is in fact false. More fictitious slander from the big fat liar known as Damon Kruezer.



The prosecution has been presenting evidence at the preliminary hearing to try and link Joe and Harlow to this crime. But so far they have not definitively linked them to this crime. The hearing was held on Monday August 20, 2007 at 9:00 AM. There were a total of eleven witnesses who testified at the hearing.

The first witness was the Deputy Coroner, Bill Lisman, He testimony was in regards to the location and condition of Bryan’s body. Photos were presented from the crime scene and were shown during his testimony. His testimony also described the condition of the living room of Bryan's house.

The Coroner, Dr. John Consalvo, was the next witness. He testified about the photos from the autopsy. They were shown and I might add quite graphic. He testified that the head and fingers were so badly burned that dental records had to be used to positively identify the victim as Bryan Kocis. He also testified that the toxicology reports found no drugs in Bryan’s system and that his blood alcohol level was .035 the equivalent of having consumed two 1-ounce drinks. He was presented with a copy of the death certificate and confirmed that it listed the cause of death as "multiple stab wounds". However, he also testified that the stab wounds were all post-mortem. He testified that the killing wound was a slash to the neck which nearly severed the victims head. This was ruled the official cause of death. He also testified that the knife used was straight edged and that no measurements were taken to determine the depth of the stab wounds or any other characteristics of the knife.

Next on the witness stand was the motel manager of the Fox River Inn. He testified that a registration card had been filled out on January 23, 2007 in Joe’s name. He also testified that a photo ID would have been requested and that he had the person registering write down their ID number. He also stated that he could not remember the person who registered and would not be able to recognize him in court. He testified that the room was paid in advance for two nights and paid in cash and that no credit card imprint would have been taken. He also testified that he did not receive any reports from the staff about any unusual or bloody items being found in the room and that nothing was reported missing from the room.

Next up was a neighbor of Bryan’s who lived up the street from him. He was called to the stand and he testified that he was walking his dog at around 7:35 PM and saw a gray SUV parked in the driveway of Bryan’s house. He testified that it was not parked where he normally saw cars parked, but he did not write down the license plate. He also stated that he did not see the SUV drive away. He also testified that he saw nothing unusual or suspicious while walking in front of Bryan’s house. He then testified that he remembers hearing the fire trucks drive by and looked out his front window and saw Bryan’s house in flames. He stated he recalled this being around 8:15 PM.

The next witness was Amy Zamorowski, she was visiting Bryan’s neighbor. She testified that she saw a vehicle back out of Bryan’s driveway. She could only say that it was "light colored" and was "bigger than my car… maybe a truck or SUV". She stated that she did not see the occupants of the vehicle. She also testified about being made aware of the fire and leaving the neighbors house.

Justin Hainsley was the next to testifiy. He testified about Joe and Harlow’s relationship and their business. His testimony also included information about his time working for BoyBatter. He also testified about phone conversations and e-mails he had with both Joe and Harlow about them wanting to work with Brent Corrigan. He was unable to confirm the identities of who wrote the e-mails he received. He did state that he had never heard Bryan’s name mentioned until it was on the news after his murder. He did testify that Cobra video was considered to be a rival but he also stated that there were thousands of other companies in the porn business and that they were all potentially rivals as well.

Lunch recess

The preliminary hearing reconvened at 1:00 PM in the afternoon.

The first witness after lunch was the Fire Chief Harry Vivian. He testified that he was at the firehouse when the call was received at 8:35 PM. He also stated that the firehouse is only about 1/3 of a mile from Bryan’s house. He indicated the first firefighters arrived on scene at 8:37 PM. He spoke about fighting the fire and sending teams in to the house to search for any people still in the house. He testified a body was discovered and he followed normal procedure and called the Fire Marshall, Ron Jarocha. He also testified that he entered the home briefly and then he secured the scene while awaiting the Fire Marshall’s arrival.

Ron Jarocha the Fire Marshall was the next witness to take the stand in his testimony he stated he arrived at around 10:15 PM. He then testified about his investigation and included more photos. He indicated that he found no natural or accidental causes for the fire. He also indicated that he did not find any evidence of accelerants. He testified that he found evidence of a pillow and paper materials at the point of origin of the fire. He also stated that he found evidence that the front door was at least partially open at the time of the fire. He also testified that two smoke detectors in the house were found to have been removed from they’re mounting hardware. He stated that he did not check them to see if they had batteries or if they even worked. The smoke alarms were also not collected or put in to evidence. He also stated he did not collect any samples of the burned materials. He testified that he determined the cause of the fire was arson. What was the fire department thinking? He was unable to provide an estimate of the time the fire started and had not performed any tests to determine how quickly the fire would have started and spread to the level it did.

The next witness was a representative from the insurance company who testified briefly that he had processed the insurance claim on Bryan’s house. He stated that because the repair costs would exceed the value of the house, it was considered a "total loss". He did state he received a report of items missing from the house.

Bryan’s father, Michael Kocis, then took the stand. He gave testimony about the items missing from the property. He was also questioned about when he was last in the house. He also stated that Bryan’s house was demolished last Friday at his request.

Robert Wagner was the final witness for the day, who testified that he was "Bryan’s best friend". He also provided testimony about the items missing form Bryan’s home. His testimony also included information that Bryan told him about an appointment with a model. The appointment was scheduled for the night of Wednesday, January 24, 2007. It was with a new model and he said Bryan sent him photos of the model. He also stated that Bryan did not tell him the name of the new model. He indicated that model in the pictures was Harlow. He testified that he had been at Bryan’s house in the days prior to his murder and he had been working on updating computer records for Bryan. He confirmed that he had a phone conversation with Bryan at around 6:30 PM on the night he was murdered. He also testified to the application process Bryan used for new models. He also testified that Bryan was a very private person, "almost to the point of being a recluse".

Thanks to a imbedded spy in the court room for the up to date info for this post. You know who you are.

Court was adjourned at 4:00 PM with the hearing being continued on Thursday, August 23, 2007.

Here is a link to related to the story here and here.

This is Elmysterio and I just have one thing to say Gag on this Damon!