Shifting stories, sudden amnesia mark Kobe Bryant crash photos trial testimony
LA TimesWhen he took the stand Monday in the trial over photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Mejia said he didn’t know whether victims’ bodies had been visible in photos sent to him by another deputy. Their claims were undermined by Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who said in a 2020 Times interview played for jurors that “every police department struggles with the same thing where people take photos, and they’re not evidence.” Jurors have also heard several times another interview clip in which Villanueva said the only agencies that had a legitimate reason to take photos that day were the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates plane crashes, and the coroner’s office. Jordan testified Monday that he had been ordered by Anthony Marrone, then the county’s deputy fire chief, to take photos of the crash site, but insisted he could not remember taking the photos. When a lawyer for Bryant played a recording of Jordan saying in a deposition that he “walked most of the scene” of the crash, Jordan told the jury: “That sounds like me, but I don’t remember that.” At one point, Jordan, who worked for the county Fire Department for 35 years until his retirement last year, reiterated his inability to recall the photos before standing up, walking off the witness stand and announcing, “I need a break.” Jordan bolted from the witness stand twice more during his testimony. He acknowledged later that he has “memory issues.” Marrone, now the county’s acting fire chief, has denied instructing Jordan to take photos of the helicopter crash site.