James Tyra

James Tyra testified for the prosecution on Day 28 as an FBI computer scientist attached to the cyber squad. He described digital-evidence processing at the Westin Hotel and work on the Forum surveillance system that continued the next morning at the FBI field office. After the court allowed only a general description over a defense objection, he described someone leaving a backpack and walking away shortly before a blast, without identifying the person. He authenticated the video copy, and Government Exhibit No. 23 was admitted without objection.

Tyra also explained consulting GPS specialists and extracting device contents through a write blocker. He believed the displayed GPS was the device he had examined and qualified his recognition of three waypoint maps by belief and familiarity. The device and maps were shown for identification; no admission of those items was recorded during his examination.

Tyra clarified that he was DEXT-trained rather than a CART examiner. When Bruck challenged his knowledge of other examiners' procedures, the court overruled the objection and allowed his qualified answer about common preservation practices. The defense asked no cross-examination questions.