SALEM — Forensic experts shared DNA and ballistic evidence on the eighth day of the trial of Lynn man Marcus Carlisle and Everett man Tyrell Berberena, who are accused of murdering Lynner Noe Hernandez and injuring four in a drive-by shooting in Lynn on July 4, 2020.
The Commonwealth called Jessica Brown, who works as a forensic scientist for the State Police Crime Laboratory, to the stand. Brown shared her findings after swabbing a white rental pickup truck, which was allegedly used in the shooting, for gunshot residue days after the shooting.
For a sample to test positive for gunshot primer residue, which is expelled from a gun at the moment it is fired, it must show at least three gunshot residue (GSR) particles.
Brown described the process of swabbing and testing the Ford Ranger’s passenger side, along with surgical masks found in the center console, a white tank top found in the front passenger seat’s back pocket, and the pockets of a black jacket found on the front passenger seat.
GSR particles were found on swab samples collected from the truck, the jacket, and the surgical masks. However, Brown said each area only hosted one particle, resulting in a negative firearm residue test.
“For those items, it means that no conclusions can be made as to whether the item was in the vicinity of a firearm discharge, or came into contact with an item that had GSR on it,” Brown said.
Prosecutor Susan Dolhun asked Brown whether or not gunshot residue could hypothetically be collected from a car’s interior if a shooter held their hand outside a car window and fired the gun away from the car. Brown responded that theoretically, the car’s interior could test either positive or negative.
“It just depends on whether the GSR particles did go inside the vehicle,” Brown said.
Brown also testified that time and friction were factors that could cause a negative GSR analysis test. If after a gunshot someone wiped an area clean, or if a surface stayed sedentary long enough, she said it might not test positive.
When Carlisle’s attorney James Krasnoo cross-examined Brown, he asked if gunshot residue would be more likely to have been preserved in a truck with its windows rolled up overnight.
Brown responded that she would not be able to predict a positive or negative GSR test from the hypothetical situation.
Krasnoo asked Brown whether or not multiple guns firing in the same area might increase the likelihood of GSR being found. She said it could in theory, but repeated that there is no way to determine an expected particle quantity.
“There’s no way to answer whether more guns or more gunshots would create more GSR particles,” Brown said. “In theory, more shots or more guns with more shots would create more of a gaseous cloud. That is where those particles kind of come from. But there’s no way to guarantee that that would create more GSR particles.”
The Commonwealth also called State Police Crime Lab DNA specialist Jennifer Montgomery to the witness stand. Montgomery shared DNA analyses from a variety of personal objects found in the pickup truck including a white tank top, a black jacket, surgical masks, cigarette butts, and three bottles.
Montgomery testified that two cigarette butts matched the DNA profiles of two men believed to have been in the car — Carlisle and alleged co-conspirator Josue Cespedes. Neither the tank top, the jacket, or any of the beverage bottles, Montgomery testified, had DNA comparable to either Carlisle or Berberena’s DNA.
In a cross-examination, Krasnoo asked Montgomery if she had any evidence indicating that Carlisle had worn the black jacket found in the vehicle.
“The DNA profile obtained from that item was not suitable for comparison,” Montgomery said. “I can not say anything about who wore that jacket.”
Krasnoo also inquired about the cigarette butt that contained DNA comparable to Carlisle’s, asking whether forensic scientists are able to determine when DNA was left on an item.
Montgomery replied that she could not determine at what time a DNA sample was deposited on an object.
When Berberena’s attorney Brian Kelley asked Montgomery to confirm that none of the studied items showed DNA comparable to Berberena’s DNA, Montgomery confirmed that none had.
Before adjourning, Judge Salim Tabit told the jury that they will likely go into deliberations sometime next week.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Monday in Salem Superior Court.