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1 MR. OHLSON: Your Honor, for the record, last —
2 the Friday, April the 22nd, a woman by the name of Toni
3 Fratto came to Mr. Kump’s office with information on this
4 case.
5 THE COURT: Can you spell the last name for us,
6 please.
7 MR. KUMP: I believe it’s F-r-a-t-t-o.
8 THE COURT: Thank you. Proceed.
9 MR. OHLSON: She was identified as the fiancee of
10 the defendant, Mr. Patten.
11 She came to Mr. Kump’s office with information
12 on the case. I participated by telephone. Mr. Kump and
13 Ms. Fratto were present in Mr. Kump’s conference room. And
14 pursuant to my request, a conference was audio
15 tape-recorded. We did this out of an abundance of caution
16 because, quite frankly, we did not know what Ms. Fratto was
17 going to say.
18 She gave us a voluntary statement at that time
19 after Mr. Kump and I very carefully advised her that we
20 were not acting as her lawyer, that we were acting as Mr.
21 Patten’s lawyer. We advised her that she could very well
22 be in trouble regarding what she had to say.
23 Ms. Fratto then discussed with us, and it was
24 recorded, that she was present during this killing and that
25 she participated in the killing and struck what may have
1
1 been deadly blows to the deceased.
2 After this point in time —
3 THE COURT: Stop it out there. All of the head
4 wagging, stop it.
5 MR. TORVINEN: Your Honor, I don’t know if it’s
6 appropriate for counsel to recite this — if there is going
7 to be an investigation, which obviously there is —
8 MR. OHLSON: Is counsel making a motion? Because
9 I’m finished with my explanation. I think the record needs
10 to note why we’re doing what we’re doing.
11 MR. TORVINEN: I don’t have — I understand his
12 need to get this to the appropriate authorities. I just am
13 a little bit nervous about reciting the contents of this
14 evidence on the record at this stage of the proceedings.
15 MR. OHLSON: I have gone as far as I’m going to
16 in that regard. The reason I’m indicating what I am
17 indicating is that it is my belief, and Mr. Kump’s belief,
18 and we have also consulted with other persons who we
19 believe to be authorities on the matter of lawyers’ ethics,
20 that we are obliged to have a possession of this — this
21 tape recording, the original tape recording, to turn it
22 over to the State as evidence regarding this offense. And
23 we are not free to keep this tape or suppress its
24 existence.
25 Now, the tape, the original tape, has been in
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1 the possession of Mr. Kump only since this circumstance.
2 We are prepared to deliver it to Mr. Torvinen,
3 or whatever person at his direction that he wishes us to do
4 so, and I want to do it on the record.
5 THE COURT: This is the single copy?
6 MR. OHLSON: No. There are copies that we made.
7 This is the original tape.
8 THE COURT: Okay. And do you have a copy of it?
9 MR. OHLSON: Yes, we do.
10 THE COURT: I presume you provided copies to
11 counsel?
12 MR. TORVINEN: No. Can I inquire of counsel
13 through the Court, are we talking that this is the original
14 document?
15 MR. OHLSON: This is the original tape.
16 MR. TORVINEN: Are we talking about a mini-tape
17 or —
18 MR. OHLSON: Mini-cassette recorded tape.
19 MR. TORVINEN: Okay.
20 MR. OHLSON: We’ve copied it onto a CD format.
21 THE COURT: And I guess I’m inquiring, would
22 there be a copy provided to opposing counsel in this case,
23 to Mr. Torvinen?
24 MR. OHLSON: If he wants. We are here to provide
25 him with the original. I suspect he can make all the
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1 copies he wants.
2 MR. TORVINEN: If we have that capability. The
3 one other thing I would ask on the record is, if my memory
4 serves, that those — the little tapes have a tab in the
5 back which can be removed, the object of which is to
6 prevent it from being erased. On the back there is a
7 little tab.
8 MR. OHLSON: I don’t know that that has been
9 done.
10 MR. KUMP: I haven’t —
11 THE COURT: Mr. Kump, as an officer of the Court,
12 you’re telling me that the original tape recording that is
13 in your possession, have you maintained it in your
14 possession, not altered it, changed it, erased it, done
15 anything to it in its present form, to your knowledge?
16 MR. KUMP: That’s correct, Your Honor.
17 THE COURT: I would order that that be turned
18 over to the State. Let me also put on record that Mr.
19 Ohlson, I think with permission of Mr. Torvinen, called the
20 Court — I was in Reno last week. I was having a little
21 bit of surgery done last week — but he called and
22 inquired — he indicated he had this tape recording and he
23 indicated it potentially contained — basically it was just
24 talked about in terms of relevant evidence to this case.
25 And that was the only discussion we had.
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1 He inquired as to whether or not the Court
2 believed it should be turned over. The Court opined at
3 that time, over the telephone, that it should be turned
4 over to counsel, but that we should do it on the record in
5 the presence of counsel, with everybody being present;
6 ergo, we scheduled this hearing.
7 Is that a fair representation of what the
8 discussion was?
9 MR. OHLSON: That’s correct. That’s a fair
10 representation, Your Honor.
11 THE COURT: The Court will order it be turned
12 over to Mr. Torvinen.
13 MR. TORVINEN: I have brought Detective McKinney
14 here today because I don’t think that I necessarily should
15 be in the chain of custody.
16 And I don’t have any problem whatsoever, so
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17 counsel understands, that I believe he is doing what the
18 rules of ethics require. My reading of it. So I don’t
19 have any problem with that. I would ask that it be
20 surrendered to Detective McKinney.