It gets crowded for a DNA strand up on a police baton! Today a DNA expert from the chief medical examiner's office testified that Michael Mineo's blood and DNA could not be definitively linked to the retractable police baton, or ASP, that Officer Richard Kern allegedly used to sodomize Mineo after he resisted arrested in a Brooklyn subway station in October 2008. Criminologist Sarah Philipps said that she found DNA from three sources on the ASP, and that Mineo was "included as a possible contributor to this sample." But because the other DNA was mixed with the sample, she could not confirm a match, NY1 reports. It was a different story with Mineo's boxers, however.
Mineo's DNA was matched to blood found on his underwear, which had a hole in the seat and was presented as evidence today. That blood could not be definitively tied to the baton, and the lawyer for Officer Alex Morales, who's accused of helping cover up the assault, tried to throw out Philipps's testimony. But Justice Alan Marrus wasn't having it, telling the defense, "There was something in it for both sides."
Yesterday a doctor testified that Mineo's anal lacerations were consistent with his allegations, and today the prosecution rested its case. The defense began their counterattack this afternoon by calling a crime scene detective as their first witness.
