Direct examination of Thano Peratis (grand jury)

📄 Direct examination of Thano Peratis (grand jury) — Tuesday, August 1, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\AUG\1\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-THANO-PE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 126 of 167

◀ Motion: videotape evidence admission Direct examination of Thano Peratis (preliminary hearing) ▶

Witness: Thano Peratis
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 • Utterances: 69

Grand Jury testimony of Thano Peratis, a registered nurse at Parker Center jail, is read into the civil trial record by counsel because Peratis is unavailable. Peratis describes drawing approximately 8cc's of blood from OJ Simpson on June 13, 1994, and handing the vial to Detective Vannatter. This testimony is foundational to the defense's blood-planting theory, as only roughly 6.5cc's were later accounted for in evidence.

# 1 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury:)

# 2 THE COURT:

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. All right. Let the record reflect that we've been rejoined by all the members of our jury panel. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good afternoon.

# 3 (Brief pause.)

# 4 THE COURT:

Thank you. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Sorry for that short delay. We are now going to present to you testimony from a witness who is presently unavailable, but who has presented testimony in other proceedings. (Reading)

You are instructed that testimony given by a witness at a prior proceeding who is unavailable at this trial will be presented to you both in the form of a videotape of that witness' testimony at the preliminary hearing and from the reporter's transcript of that proceeding. You must consider such testimony as if it had been given before you in this trial. All right. Let's proceed. All right. Which matter do you wish to present first?

# 5 MR. COCHRAN:

Grand Jury.

# 6 THE COURT:

All right. This will be the Grand Jury testimony from June the 22nd, 1994; is that correct?

# 7 MR. DOUGLAS:

Yes, your Honor.

# 8 THE COURT:

And, counsel, Mr. Blasier, you are going to read the part of the witness; is that correct?

# 9 MR. BLASIER:

I am, your Honor.

# 10 THE COURT:

And, Mr. Carl Douglas, you are going to play the part of the examiner, Miss Clark; is that right?

# 11 MR. DOUGLAS:

I'll try, your Honor. Yes.

# 12 THE COURT:

All right. You may proceed.

# 13 MR. DOUGLAS:

First, the oath, your Honor from the Foreperson?

# 14 THE COURT:

Yes.

# 15 MR. DOUGLAS:

(Reading) Thano Peratis, please raise your right hand.

# 16 THE COURT:

Excuse me. Let's start--no. We start with--you don't need to do that. Let's start with, "Miss Clark: People call Thano Peratis."

# 17 MR. DOUGLAS:

Thank you, your Honor. (Reading) The People call Thano Peratis. We have to add him to the list. T-H-A-N-O P-E-R-A-T-I-S. The Foreperson then says: (Reading) Thano Peratis, please raise your right hand. You do solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give in the matter now pending before the Grand Jury of the County of Los Angeles shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

# 18 MR. PERATIS:

I do.

# 19 THE FOREPERSON:

Please be seated. Mr. Peratis, please state and spell your full name, speaking directly into the microphone.

# 20 MR. PERATIS:

Thano M. Peratis, T-H-A-N-O M. P-E-R-A-T-I-S.

FOREPERSON: (Reading) Thank you. You may proceed.

# 21 MISS CLARK:

Thank you. Tell us what you do for a living, Mr. Peratis.

# 22 MR. PERATIS:

I'm a registered nurse.

# 23 MISS CLARK:

Where do you work?

# 24 MR. PERATIS:

Parker Center jail.

# 25 THE COURT:

Excuse me, counsel. Will you gentlemen slow down, please.

# 26 MR. DOUGLAS:

Surely.

# 27 THE COURT:

Thank you.

# 28 (Reading)

# 29 MISS CLARK:

As a registered nurse, do you have some training?

# 30 MR. PERATIS:

Sorry?

# 31 MISS CLARK:

Do you have a hard time hearing me, sir? Can you hear me now?

# 32 MR. PERATIS:

Yeah. That's better.

# 33 MISS CLARK:

What is your training to become a nurse?

# 34 MR. PERATIS:

I went to nursing school.

# 35 MISS CLARK:

Did you receive a degree as a registered nurse?

# 36 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, ma'am.

# 37 MISS CLARK:

As such, are you qualified to remove blood from people in a medically-approved manner?

# 38 MR. PERATIS:

Yes.

# 39 MISS CLARK:

And that part of the duties you perform--

# 40 THE COURT:

Excuse me, counsel. Reread that, please.

# 41 MR. DOUGLAS:

(Reading) question: Is that part of the duties you perform as the nurse at the jail dispensary at Parker Center here in Los Angeles County?

# 42 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, it is.

# 43 MISS CLARK:

And on June 13th, 1994, were you working that day, sir?

# 44 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, ma'am.

# 45 MISS CLARK:

At Parker Center in your usual capacity as a registered nurse?

# 46 MR. PERATIS:

Yes.

# 47 MISS CLARK:

Were you requested to remove blood from the arm of a person by the name of Mr. Orenthal James Simpson?

# 48 MR. PERATIS:

Not quite with that. The initials were OJ Simpson. Yes.

KEY QUOTE

# 49 MISS CLARK:

Did you remove a blood sample from that person?

# 50 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, I did.

# 51 MISS CLARK:

On June 13?

# 52 MR. PERATIS:

Yes.

# 53 MISS CLARK:

I will show you People's 23, and you tell me if that's the person you removed blood from.

# 54 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, it is.

# 55 MISS CLARK:

Can you describe for us what is the method by which you removed blood from Mr. Simpson?

# 56 MR. PERATIS:

I put a tourniquet on his arm, cleaned the sight with aqueous zephiran and put a 10-cc syringe with about a no. 20 needle in the vein in his arm and I withdrew about 8 cc's of blood. And I then put the blood into a test tube that had a preservative called EDTA and then handed it to the officer, to the detective and then put a dressing on him.

KEY QUOTE

# 57 MISS CLARK:

On the arm?

# 58 MR. PERATIS:

Yes.

# 59 MISS CLARK:

Approximately how much blood did you remove?

# 60 MR. PERATIS:

Approximately 8 cc's.

# 61 MISS CLARK:

And the manner in which you removed that blood, did it avoid any contamination of the blood?

# 62 MR. PERATIS:

Oh, definitely.

# 63 MISS CLARK:

And the manner in which you packaged it, was it also sealed to prevent any contamination?

# 64 MR. PERATIS:

Yes, ma'am.

# 65 MISS CLARK:

Did you then put it in some kind of a package?

# 66 MR. PERATIS:

I handed it to one of the detectives who put it into a large gray envelope.

KEY QUOTE

# 67 MISS CLARK:

Did you hand it to Detective Phillip Vannatter?

# 68 MR. PERATIS:

Vannatter, yes.

# 69 MS. CLARK:

I have nothing further.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (3)

Thano Peratis

I put a tourniquet on his arm, cleaned the sight with aqueous zephiran and put a 10-cc syringe with about a no. 20 needle in the vein in his arm and I withdrew about 8 cc's of blood. And I then put the blood into a test tube that had a preservative called EDTA and then handed it to the officer, to the detective and then put a dressing on him.

Establishes the precise amount of blood drawn (8cc's) and the chain of custody handoff to Vannatter — the baseline for the 'missing blood' defense argument.

Thano Peratis

I handed it to one of the detectives who put it into a large gray envelope.

Identifies the point at which the blood reference tube passed out of medical custody and into police hands, a critical link in the chain of custody.

Thano Peratis

Not quite with that. The initials were OJ Simpson. Yes.

Minor but characteristic moment — Peratis gently corrects Clark's phrasing while still confirming the identification.

Evidence (1)

People's 23

Photograph or booking image of OJ Simpson, used to confirm identity of the person from whom blood was drawn

shown to witness for identification

Notable Exchanges (2)

Lance A. Ito•Carl Douglas

Ito twice interrupts the reading to ask counsel to slow down, and corrects Douglas on how to begin the transcript reading (skipping the oath administration).

procedural

Carl Douglas•Lance A. Ito

Douglas asks whether to include the foreperson's oath administration; Ito redirects him to start at Clark's first question, then relents and allows the oath to be read anyway.

procedural

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 7122 • 69 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103