LAKEPORT — The doctor who performed the autopsy on Skyler Rapp, the toddler killed in a shooting last spring, testified Wednesday that the boy died because of shotgun wounds.
Dr. Gregory Reiber, of the Sacramento County Coroner”s Office, was the final witness of the day at the Lake County Courthouse during the trial of the two Clearlake Oaks men accused of pulling the trigger.
Paul William Braden, 22, and Orlando Joseph Lopez Jr., 24, pleaded not guilty to 15 felonies (including one murder count and five counts of attempted murder) and denied more than 30 special allegations in connection with the June 18 shooting.
Authorities allege the two men fired shotguns at a group of people gathered late that night, killing Rapp, 4, and injuring five others.
Braden and Lopez are standing trial in the same courtroom but have different lawyers and separate juries.
Reiber, a forensic pathologist, testified he performed Rapp”s autopsy four days after the shooting and said the toddler died of “multiple shotgun pellet injuries.”
The pathologist said the boy”s body had more than a dozen entry, exit and graze wounds. Reiber testified about finding buckshot pellets in the areas of Rapp”s abdomen, armpit, elbow, pelvis and rib.
The prosecution showed several autopsy photographs to the juries. Reiber also stuck probes into and through a child-sized mannequin to indicate pellet trajectories.
Sheri Frechette, of the California Department of Justice, testified earlier in the day and described analyzing several items for fingerprints.
Frechette said that on hacksaw, she found a print matching Braden”s.
The saw was taken from the house where both defendants reportedly attended a party during the afternoon and evening of June 18, according to retired Det. Sgt. Tom Clements, of the Clearlake Police Department.
Several partygoers testified about seeing Braden sawing off the butt of a shotgun on June 18.
Frechette testified none of the items she analyzed had prints that were a positive match to Lopez. Several of the impressions were inconclusive, she added.
Don A. Dunbar, a firearms expert with the Justice Department, also took the stand. He said he examined three fired shotguns shells recovered from the scene and one unspent round found in a vehicle related to the case.
Dunbar testified he received a shotgun to analyze but could not test the firearm because it did not function.
Clements testified he was present when law enforcement removed the shotgun from the apartment of the girlfriend of Kevin Stone, a former co-defendant in the case.
The prosecution claims that shotgun was not used in the shootings and alleges the murder weapons were not found.
Stone, who reached a plea agreement last fall, is expected to take the stand today. He began testifying as a prosecution witness last week, but his testimony was interrupted after only a few minutes.
Stephen Carter, Lopez”s attorney, said in court Wednesday — outside the presence of jurors — the stoppage occurred because of a discovery issue relating to a meeting between Stone and authorities that the defense was not made aware of.
Before testimony began Wednesday, Judge Doris L. Shockley excused one of the Lopez alternate jurors because of a family medical issue. The Lopez jury has four alternates remaining. The Braden jury has two alternates left.
