9.Brian J. Corcoran, Jr. — Direct (Part 1)
277 linesBRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR., duly sworn
COURT CLERK: Have a seat. State your name, spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic.
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Brian J. Corcoran, C-O-R-C-O-R-A-N, JR.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Good afternoon.
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Good afternoon.
MR. WEINREB: Where do you work?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston.
MR. WEINREB: How long have you worked there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Five years in April.
MR. WEINREB: What is your current job assignment?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: My current job assignment is a special agent bomb technician.
MR. WEINREB: How long have you been a bomb technician?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Since May of 2012.
MR. WEINREB: What are the responsibilities of a bomb technician at the FBI?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: The FBI, we are tasked with training state and local partners; assisting on any call-outs, whether they be real devices or hoax devices; maintaining communication with those partners for any type of investigative purposes such as counterterrorism investigations; or any explosive incidents involving WMDs.
MR. WEINREB: As part of your training as a bomb technician, did you learn how to recognize explosive devices and components?
MR. WEINREB: Did you learn how to handle them safely?
MR. WEINREB: And proper procedure for taking them into evidence?
MR. WEINREB: Did you participate in the marathon bombing investigation?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: I did.
MR. WEINREB: Was that both on April 15th when the bombing occurred, and then later on April 18th, 19th, 20th, up at the Watertown crime scene?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct; all occurrences.
MR. WEINREB: When did you -- did you go to the Watertown crime scene?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct. I was called there as part of a larger response back to the field office. Tasked as a special agent bomb tech, we were sent directly to the scene to assist state, local and other and federal assets.
MR. WEINREB: When did you arrive there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Middle morning. I would say approximately three, three-thirty. Once I was on-scene, the two devices that were loaded into TCV were already currently in there. The techs had just finished clearing the Civic for what they felt were any devices in there as well as a general safety sweep.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So you said 3:30. That's 3:30 in the morning?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct; a.m., 19th.
MR. WEINREB: And the two devices that had been cleared, what were those two devices?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So as I arrived on-scene, I was briefed that there were two pipe bombs. I was told they were a little irregular because they were internally threaded. They were located out on the street and placed in a TCV via robot. And those were the two main hazards that they had identified that were still active.
MR. WEINREB: And TCV, that's total containment vessel, a safe vessel for putting a potentially live bomb into?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: You said the Honda Civic had been cleared?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: That was the Honda Civic on the street?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: The Honda Civic was on the street on Laurel somewhere just -- I would say just east of 56 or 55 Laurel.
MR. WEINREB: What did you personally do after you arrived?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So after we arrived, the techs that were down-scene returned. Myself, along with other state and local techs, proceeded to do a quick search down the street for any remaining devices that may not have been as obvious. We were obviously interested in getting the residents out of their house, based on what had happened earlier, did what they call a secondary search, which is when you're looking for those devices, not necessarily in a full bomb suit but in protective gear. Once we did that, pulled back --
MR. WEINREB: Let me stop you. So were any additional live devices found?
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Continue.
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Pulled back towards the corner of Dexter and Laurel where the TCV was still located, hadn't left the scene yet. Residents were evacuated from the house, the ones that were remaining that had not left, the rear of the residences, and we basically formulated a plan as far as evidence recovery for that portion of the street.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So everybody who lived on that block of Laurel Street was asked to leave their homes?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Why was that?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Obviously, we still had somebody at large in the area. There was a concern that, A, he could have been in any of the houses, so we were doing it primarily to see if someone was in any of those houses. And even though a secondary search was done, you never know what you're really going to find out there when you're working the scene of an active explosion.
MR. WEINREB: By the time all of that was done, what time of day was it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It was approximately -- I mean, I couldn't give you the time of day. It was daylight. The sun was starting to come up at that time.
MR. WEINREB: So it was around dawn?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: What happened after all that was done and the sun began to rise?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: At that point we gathered all the assets that were down there, state local and federal.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Assets: That's police talk for law enforcement officers and --
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Right. Law enforcement officers which would consist of patrol officers, evidence response personnel that are tasked with gathering up evidence, as well as techs -- bomb techs that know how to handle those various devices should you come upon one.
MR. WEINREB: So all those people gathered. And what happened?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: At that point we formulated a plan. Based on the number of personnel onsite -- Massachusetts State Police had a large amount of personnel there that had responded from the MIT scene. Based on that and the fact that FBI personnel, largely ERT, were still processing Boylston --
MR. WEINREB: ERT?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Evidence response technicians.
MR. WEINREB: People who collect evidence?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: They're still down at the marathon bombing scene?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: They are preparing for that day, to work down at Boylston, to finish up the evidence collection down there, as well as any other scenes they may have been tasked to at that point in the morning. At that point we had identification for one of the subjects, and they were basically staging to go to another location to gather evidence.
MR. WEINREB: So there were a lot of Massachusetts State Police officers?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And members of other state and local law enforcement agencies?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: How did you go about beginning to process the crime scene up on Laurel Street?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So as part of that we basically divided the total crime scene into a ballistics portion and a potential explosives and intelligence portion. For the intelligence and explosives portion, that's, you know, where I came in. And Mass. State Police basically divided the street, Laurel Street, into three different zones: A, B and C. A was the north side of the street, including the yards, residential areas, the house, side yards; B was the center part of the street; and C was the south side, or the odd numbers going down the street.
MR. WEINREB: So those are geographic zones?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And then when you said explosives portion and ballistics portion, you're talking about teams with different purposes?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. What was the purpose of the explosives group?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So ours was what you would consider post-blast recovery. So we're basically going around, looking for evidence of the actual explosion, whether that be any type of powders, fragmentation, containers, concealment devices, anything along those means, and like I said also, the intelligence that may tie that to something else as well.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So what's fragmentation?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So fragmentation can come in a variety of different forms. It can be either loose-packed, whether it be BBs, nails, brads, or it can be the actual container that holds what is the bomb, whether it's the explosives -- you know, high explosive or low explosive -- all contained in there. And then the actual container can become fragmentation as it separates and it's sent down the street.
MR. WEINREB: So it's called fragmentation because when it blows up it turns into fragments of something?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: What happened when you identified one of those types of explosives' evidence on the street or in a yard or in a house or somewhere else?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Certainly. So as you work your way down the street, if something was noticed it was placarded.
MR. WEINREB: What does that mean?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It means using a small -- and depending on which side you were, there were a variety of different things used out there. So it would be either a small triangle that has a number on it, it could be a cone with a number on it, or in some cases based on the total volume, we just had so much, they actually used chalk with a number adjacent to it. Each one of the zones was broken out. And obviously, as you work through 1 through 100, you don't want to have any confusion across the zones.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And within each zone, each placard had a unique number?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Like one, two, three, four, five?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And what's the purpose of marking a piece of evidence with a numbered placard or a circle or a cone?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So basically, you want to tie it -- ultimately, as you go through the investigation, you want to be able to tie it together throughout the course of events. So you're going to have that number there that's always associated with that piece of evidence. It will be photographed as such, both from a far distance and up-close so you get a good idea of where it was and then the specific detail of it. And also, once the evidence is ultimately collected, it's written on the bag, signed by the collector, and it has that unique identifier tied to it at that point.
MR. WEINREB: So Step 1 is identify the item?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Step 2 is put down the placard?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Step 3 is photograph it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And then Step 4 is collect it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: All right. Were you aware that some evidence are also GPS readings being taken?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes. The Massachusetts State Police in the course of this investigation was able to use GPS coordinates. I know that they did that 100 percent for the firearms portion, and I'm not sure if they did it 100 percent for the explosives portion.
MR. WEINREB: Once explosives' evidence on the scene was marked, photographed, collected, bagged and documented in the way you've described, what physically happened to it? Where did it go?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So in this case, since Massachusetts State Police was the lead agency for the actual collection of it, they collected it. As the FBI, we had specific interests in a portion of it based on its intelligence or things that could basically tie it to someone, whether we could get some type of forensics off of it or whether it matched other devices we had previously seen. Those devices we asked for that day, on the 19th, to be turned over directly to the FBI.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So when you say they have intelligence value, you mean they can teach you something about the crime, perhaps give you a lead?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Certainly. So for a device, it could be something in how it was constructed, you know, what the initiation system was, or also, the intelligence we were interested in is if there's any electronics out there, maybe something we can pull forensics off of, whether it be -- tape often catches quite a bit as far as fingerprint detail. So things of that nature we're interested in to get down to our lab as soon as possible.
MR. WEINREB: So how did they make their way to the lab?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So in the course of this investigation, state police collected it, I immediately took custody of it. We took it to our command post that we had set up in Watertown that day at which point it was assigned an FBI number, transferred to Black Falcon, and placed on a plane that evening to go to Quantico. We were making at least one, if not two, trips to Quantico each day with a plane to get the evidence down there for immediate inspection.
MR. WEINREB: In the course of doing your secondary search down Laurel Street to make sure it was safe, did you encounter a computer bag that was lying on the ground?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: I did.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know how that computer bag was handled when it was discovered?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: When we came out to the scene during the initial brief, we were told that as part of the Civic -- the Honda Civic that was on-scene clear, the bomb techs did remove some items from the car, one specific item being that laptop bag.
MR. WEINREB: So that came out of the Honda?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And where did it go?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So it went to the rear passenger side of the vehicle in the street.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So once it was cleared and -- was it deemed safe at that point?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: When the scene was turned over to us, it was, "us" being the collectors for that portion of the day. The techs that were out there that did some of the initial work had to respond to another scene, so they had left at that point.
MR. WEINREB: Did somebody then take a further look into the bag?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So as we worked our way down the street, one of the personnel that was out there, a non-bomb tech, looked inside of the bag and saw a piece of electronics equipment that looked like it was modified, drew a little suspicion on their part. At that point the attention of the bomb techs on-scene was flagged and we were asked to take a closer look at it. In an abundance of caution, we x-rayed that bag just to determine there was nothing in there that was missed earlier. Obviously, it was dark when a lot of the other work was done, so we just wanted to be safe for everybody out there. It was deemed that there was no IED in there, there wasn't the other components required to form an explosive, but there was a piece of modified electronics in that bag.
MR. WEINREB: The contents of that bag, what happened to them?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So they were taken out of the bag, photographed on ground in place. And obviously, the bag itself before it was removed was photographed in place. Everything was laid out --
MR. WATKINS: Objection, your Honor. Could we see if this is personal knowledge?
THE COURT: Go ahead.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Do you have personal knowledge of what you're talking about?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes; I was there for it. I witnessed it being removed from the bag, I personally took the transmitter out of the bag and questioned the modified electronics.
MR. WEINREB: Please continue.
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So those items were removed from the bag, photographed in place and collected.
MR. WEINREB: Can I have the Exhibit 772 for the witness? Actually, this is in evidence so we could have it for everyone.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: This appears to be Laurel Street going this way across the street with the intersection of Dexter traveling down.
MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, at this point I intend to show just the witness a lengthy series of photos and ask him at the end if they're fair and -- fair and authentic copies of what he saw on the scene, and then I would propose to move them all into evidence at once.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. WEINREB: So with the Court's permission, I'll begin. Can we have Exhibit 948-524.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is the computer bag that we discussed. At this point what was inside of the bag -- at least some of the items. Not all of them -- are on top of the bag. You see two specific ones there: one being the transmitter, closest to us, and one which appears to be the HTC phone that was inside of the bag in the center of the bag.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo of the objects as they appeared the day that you saw them?
MR. WEINREB: 948-525, please.
MR. WEINREB: Again, is that a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is.
MR. WEINREB: 948-532.
MR. WEINREB: Fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: Mr. Bruemmer, can you bring up the photos now -- I'm not going to give the 948- prefix, but that's true for all of them. 541.
MR. WEINREB: Fair and accurate photo?
MR. WEINREB: 542.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo?
MR. WEINREB: 533.
MR. WEINREB: What's this a photo of?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is a bag, opens like a typical messenger bag, that was on the street, not removed from the Civic per the techs that cleared it.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: 534, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate close-up?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: 535, please.
MR. WEINREB: Again, fair and accurate?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: 536, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that an item that was inside the bag?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is, both items.
MR. WEINREB: Both items. And is that a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: They are.
MR. WEINREB: 537, please.
MR. WEINREB: Again, a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: 10, please. 948-10.
COURT CLERK: I'm sorry, Mr. Weinreb. I didn't hear the number.
MR. WEINREB: 948-10.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: What is that a photo of?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is a photo of a Honda four-door with the rear driver's side door where a pressure cooker is embedded in the lower portion of it.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. That's not the same Honda that was in the middle of the street?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is not.
MR. WEINREB: Is this some person's Honda who was parked in the driveway?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: 948-11, please.
MR. WEINREB: And is that a fair and accurate close-up?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -12, please.
MR. WEINREB: Again, fair and accurate close-up?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -305, please.
MR. WEINREB: Fair and accurate close-up?
MR. WEINREB: -306, please.
MR. WEINREB: And is that a fair and accurate close-up?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: Now, 948-72, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: I do. That is a residence on the south side of Laurel. I believe it's Residence No. 53.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo of how the residence appeared on the morning when you were doing your evidence collection?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That morning it was, yes.
MR. WEINREB: 948-73, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate close-up?
MR. WEINREB: -74, please.
MR. WEINREB: That's a fair and accurate photo?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Correct, yes.
MR. WEINREB: -75.
MR. WEINREB: Also fair and accurate?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: -76.
MR. WEINREB: Again, fair and accurate?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: 948-253, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a photo of an item that was collected at the scene?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: And is it a fair and accurate photo of it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -355, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a close-up of it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -99, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
MR. WEINREB: What is it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is the residence of 55 and 57 Laurel also on the south side of Laurel Street.
MR. WEINREB: Is that how it appeared on the morning when the evidence collection was taking place?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It was.
MR. WEINREB: -100, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a close-up of the same house?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -101, please.
MR. WEINREB: Same thing?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -102, -103 and -104.
MR. WEINREB: Are these all fair and accurate photos of that house and an object that was removed from it?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: It is.
MR. WEINREB: -307.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: This residence is at the intersection of Laurel and Dexter on the north side of the street.
MR. WEINREB: Is that how it appeared during the day you did the evidence collection?
MR. WEINREB: -308, please, -309, -310.
MR. WEINREB: Are these all fair and accurate photos of that house, the lawn beside it, and an item that was recovered from the lawn?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes, they are.
MR. WEINREB: -416.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: That is obviously during the night when we arove [sic] there. That is the intersection of Dexter and Laurel that is looking west down Dexter.
MR. WEINREB: And so away from where the --
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Away from the scene would be behind us where the Civic is, correct.
MR. WEINREB: -417, please.
MR. WEINREB: Are those two fair and accurate photos of that area and the item that was found there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: They are.
MR. WEINREB: -39, please.
COURT CLERK: What's the number?
MR. WEINREB: 948-39.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: What's that a photo of?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: So that is looking at the same exhibit you just pointed out of the same picture, but looking east down Laurel toward the scene. Same intersection with Dexter going across.
MR. WEINREB: -37 and -38.
MR. WEINREB: Are those fair and accurate photos of that scene and an item that was recovered there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: They are.
MR. WEINREB: -210, please, and -211.
MR. WEINREB: Are those fair and accurate photos of an address on Laurel Street and an item that was recovered there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes. That is in front of 55 Laurel, correct.
MR. WEINREB: -552, -553, -33 and -34.
MR. WEINREB: Once again, are those four photos fair and accurate photos of a house on Laurel Street and an item that was recovered there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes, they are.
MR. WEINREB: -40, please, -41.
MR. WEINREB: Are those fair and accurate photos of the location on Laurel Street and an item that was recovered there?
BRIAN J. CORCORAN, JR.: Yes, they are.
MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, at this time the government offers all of the preceding identified exhibits into evidence.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay. They are all admitted.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 948-524 and 948-525, 948-532, 948-541 and 948-542, 948-533 through 948-537, 948-10 through 948-12, 948-305, 948-30, 948-72 through 948-76, 948-253, 948-355, 948-99 through 948-104, 948-307 through 948-310, 948-416 and 948-417, 948-38 and 948-39, 948-210 and 948-211, 948-552 and 948-553, 948-33 and 948-34, 948-40, received into evidence.)
THE COURT: I think that's as far as we'll go today with the witness.
Jurors, again we'll recess. I remind you of my instructions again to avoid any discussion of the case, any contact with any news reporting about the case. And we'll see you in the morning and continue with the evidence.
Thank you.
COURT CLERK: All rise for the Court and the jury. Court will be in recess.
(The Court and jury exit the courtroom and the proceedings adjourned at 4:06 p.m.)