During the trial of a high-profile case involving a prop house linked to a crime scene, defense attorney Alex Spiro raised questions about the thoroughness of the search conducted at the PDQ prop house. The prop house, which supplied guns and ammunition for a movie, was scrutinized by crime scene technician Marissa Poppell regarding the search process.
Poppell revealed that she and two others were responsible for searching the four-room warehouse for .45 caliber rounds specifically. If they encountered boxes of .38 ammunition, they would move on without further inspection. However, when they came across boxes containing mixed rounds, they opted to search each box individually.
Despite their efforts, Poppell admitted that not every single item in the prop house was thoroughly searched. For instance, if they encountered boxes filled with clothing, they did not sift through each item piece by piece. The cluttered space depicted in the photos presented to the jury showcased a challenging environment filled with various items such as boxes, bags, and tools.
Poppell further testified that some boxes were merely shaken instead of being meticulously searched. When questioned by Spiro about the possibility of missing live rounds, Poppell acknowledged that she could not be certain that every live round had been accounted for during the search.
Despite the uncertainties raised during the cross-examination, Poppell maintained that she believed they had located all live rounds present at the warehouse. The questioning by the defense attorney shed light on the challenges and limitations faced during the search process at the PDQ prop house.
