John MacLellan

Sergeant John MacLellan testified for the prosecution on Day 33 about the Watertown confrontation. The Watertown night patrol supervisor described responding to the carjacked Mercedes alert, encountering gunfire on Laurel Street, and returning fire after a bullet entered his windshield. He used his rolling cruiser and then a tree for cover, and described a nearby explosion that disrupted his vision.

MacLellan identified the defendant as the smaller suspect who threw the second and third bombs. He did not see who threw the first bomb and was uncertain which of the next two failed to explode. He also testified that the defendant drove the Mercedes toward officers restraining Tamerlan Tsarnaev, struck Tamerlan and Reynolds' cruiser, and escaped. MacLellan described warning Pugliese to disengage and agreed that there was room for the vehicle to pass the officers.

His account distinguished the defendant's bomb throws and driving from the gunfire he could not attribute. Although simultaneous flashes initially suggested two handguns to him, MacLellan acknowledged a lighter as an alternative explanation. He could not say which brother fired or whether they alternated.

On cross-examination, MacLellan qualified his recollection of the officer-down call's timing and the driveway where Officer Donohue received aid. He agreed that Government's Exhibit 775 omitted the Mercedes, could not determine which figure was larger in a photograph, and did not remember exactly what Tamerlan wore when apprehended. Defense Exhibit 3005 was admitted without objection. Watkins also elicited his agreement that a BB gun does not produce a muzzle flash.