Police Found Gun In Peterson Truck
A detective who investigated Laci Peterson's Christmas Eve disappearance testified Thursday that officers found a loaded .22-caliber gun in Scott Peterson's pickup truck.
It was the first hint that Peterson, accused of killing his pregnant wife and unborn son, owned a weapon. But in his testimony, Detective Al Brocchini made no connection between the handgun and the deaths.
Police have not disclosed how the two were killed, and the autopsy results are sealed.
Brocchini testified on the sixth day of a hearing to determine if Scott Peterson will stand trial on murder charges. Peterson, 31, could get the death penalty.
Brocchini, under questioning from prosecutor Rick Distaso, also said that as the investigation began, Peterson denied having an extramarital affair and worried about his boss learning that he stored his boat in a company warehouse. He later acknowledged an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey.
Before Brocchini's testimony, defense attorney Mark Geragos told Judge Al Girolami that he recently discovered the FBI conducted closed-circuit TV surveillance of Peterson's home after his wife disappeared. Geragos said he will subpoena the FBI for copies of the tape.
Brocchini said he arrived at the Peterson house about four hours after Laci Peterson's stepfather reported her missing to police. The detective described Scott Peterson as cooperative, saying the fertilizer salesman never told him to leave or get out of the house.
Detectives said they took the gun from Peterson's pickup on Christmas Eve before taking him to police headquarters for an hour-long videotaped interview. They said Peterson called police on his cellular phone an hour after being returned home, asking if they had taken the gun. Brocchini said police confirmed that they had.
On Dec. 26, police seized the truck and Peterson's 14-foot boat.
Brocchini also recounted taking pictures of Peterson's boat, stored at a warehouse. He said the boat contained yellow-handled pliers, among other things.
Much of the hearing has focused on a single hair wrapped in the pliers. Prosecutors maintain the strand came from Laci Peterson.
Peterson was arrested in April, not far from the Mexican border. He was carrying $10,000 and his brother's driver's license and had dyed his hair blond.
His arrest came days after the bodies of his wife and unborn son surfaced in San Francisco Bay about three miles from where he said he was fishing on the day before Christmas.