Defense Criticizes Detectives

Attorneys for Kobe Bryant want the jury in the Laker guard’s sexual assault trial to be informed by the judge that investigators did a poor job of collecting evidence at the hotel room where the alleged rape occurred last June.

In a court filing, attorney Hal Haddon listed six items he says Eagle County detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya failed to collect -- the chair on which the sexual encounter took place; the carpet in the area of the chair and leading to the bathroom; bedroom sheets; bathroom towels; the contents of the bathroom sink drain traps; and the contents of any trash cans.

Haddon asked that Judge Terry Ruckriegle instruct jurors that the evidence, had it been collected, could have cleared Bryant.

“The government bears the responsibility for law enforcement’s failure to conduct the most rudimentary ‘crime scene’ investigation in this case,” Haddon wrote.

Legal experts said the request is a longshot, and Haddon was not able to cite precedent in Colorado for a judge to give this type of instruction in a criminal case.

Bryant, 25, has pleaded not guilty and said he had consensual sex with his accuser, a 19-year-old hotel employee, June 30 at an Edwards, Colo., resort. No trial date has been set, but both sides have said it could begin in late summer or fall.

Dist. Atty. Mark Hurlbert has said the investigation conducted by Winters and Loya was sufficient to merit the felony charge and gain a conviction.

Winters testified at the October preliminary hearing that Loya “did scan the bathroom” but did not “see anything of any relevance.” Asked by Bryant attorney Pamela Mackey on cross-examination why he did not make an effort to find blood in the hotel room, Winters said that statements from Bryant and the alleged victim “were consistent with what they indicated had happened, so I didn’t see the need to have to examine for something like that.”

Also Wednesday, prosecutors explained why they have not allowed a defense expert to observe DNA testing, saying they believed Ruckriegle had only suggested the expert be present for the testing.