3.Christopher Kincaid — Direct/Cross/Redirect
127 linesMS. LEWIS: The defense calls Chris Kincaid.
THE COURT: Mr. Kincaid.
COURT CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID, called as a witness by the defendant, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Please state and spell your full name.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Christopher Kincaid, C-h-r-i-s-t-o-p-h-e-r K-i-n-c-a-i-d.
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Kincaid. You can be seated, sir. And it will be important for you to pull up your chair and to adjust that microphone so that you can speak clearly. And there is water there on your left.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Thank you.
THE COURT: Ms. Lewis, you may proceed.
MS. LEWIS: Thank you.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. LEWIS:
MS. LEWIS: What is your name?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Christopher Kincaid.
MS. LEWIS: How old are you?
MS. LEWIS: And where do you live?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: 235 Monterey Boulevard in San Francisco.
MS. LEWIS: That's in California?
MS. LEWIS: And where do you currently work?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I work at Room & Board, a furniture store in San Francisco.
MS. LEWIS: How long have you worked there?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: It's been about three months at this point.
MS. LEWIS: OK. What did you do before that for work?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I worked for a chi tea company for a short period of time, and then before that I worked for a mattress company and managed their flagship store for seven years.
MS. LEWIS: OK. What is your educational background?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Currently I'm working on my associate's degree and hoping to transfer to State or UC. I am a psyche major.
MS. LEWIS: Are you familiar with Ross Ulbricht?
MS. LEWIS: OK. And how are you familiar with Ross?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I was living with Ross for a couple of months roughly 15 or 16 months ago.
MS. LEWIS: OK. And that was until his arrest?
MS. LEWIS: OK. So from about August to September -- I'm sorry, August to October?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That sounds right.
MS. LEWIS: And that is 2013?
MS. LEWIS: And do you see Ross in the courtroom today?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Oh, yes.
MS. LEWIS: And can you identify him by an article of clothing that he is wearing?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Yeah. He's got a gray sweater on and a white collared shirt.
MS. LEWIS: And how did Ross come to live with you?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: A room in our house opened up and we posted a Craigslist ad, and there were several people who came to look at the room. We had a good feeling about Ross from the first conversation that we had with him. He was actually trying to decide between two places to live, and ultimately he decided to move in with us and we were happy to have him.
MS. LEWIS: When you say "our house," who is that?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That was myself, my wife and our other roommate Alex.
MS. LEWIS: OK. And so how many people were living at the house at that time?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Including Ross, there was four of us.
MS. LEWIS: How big is the house?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: It is a three-bedroom.
MS. LEWIS: Did you ever know him by any other name besides Ross Ulbricht?
MS. LEWIS: Did you socialize with him while he was living with you?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
MS. LEWIS: And in what ways did you socialize?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: It was common for us to hang out in the living room, and he would play on his djembe, his drum, and I would play my bass guitar and, you know, talk about random life events. And there was a time he had a gathering of people out at the beach and we all just kind of hung out and celebrated. I mean, he accompanied me to a friend's birthday one time, as well. And we ended up leaving and going on this long walk to the city and ended up food shopping and eating some crepes. And it was good times.
MS. LEWIS: Did he ever bring people over to the house?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. His childhood friend Rene and his girlfriend came by for dinner one night, and Ross and them and my wife and I all sat down in our living room and had dinner together. And we shared childhood stories about Ross, and we all kind of laughed at some of the peculiar things that he shared. Yeah.
MS. LEWIS: And did you ever meet anyone else -- anyone else come over to the house?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. His family came and stayed with us for a couple of nights. I think they were on a road trip and his parents --
MR. HOWARD: Objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: Overruled.
MS. LEWIS: You can continue.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: His parents stayed with us for a couple of nights, and I was fortunate to meet his brother during that time as well.
MS. LEWIS: OK. So which of his family members did you meet then?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: It was his mother Lynn and his father Kirk and his brother Travis.
MS. LEWIS: Around what time was this that they came to visit you or came to --
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I want to say it was like somewhere between two and three weeks before Ross was arrested.
MS. LEWIS: OK. And where exactly did his family stay?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: They slept in his bed and he slept in the couch in the same bedroom even though he was too tall for the couch and his legs were hanging off the side.
MS. LEWIS: OK. And if you know, how much time did Ross spend with his family during that visit?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I don't know exactly because I was working at the time, but every time I was home he was there with his family. I think they stayed for a few days beyond that as well, if I remember correctly.
MS. LEWIS: Thank you. No further questions.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Mr. Howard.
MR. HOWARD: Thank you. I will be brief.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. HOWARD:
MR. HOWARD: So, Mr. Kincaid, you said on direct examination you only knew the defendant for a couple of months before he was arrested, correct?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Yes, that's right.
MR. HOWARD: And you weren't with him on the day that he was arrested, were you?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: No, sir. I was at work.
MR. HOWARD: You sublet a room to him through Craigslist, right?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?
MR. HOWARD: You sublet -- you leased a room in your house to him through Craigslist, correct?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That's right.
MR. HOWARD: And he paid for the first month with a money order, isn't that right?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That sounds right.
MR. HOWARD: You had no idea what he was doing for a living at the time, isn't that right?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I didn't.
MR. HOWARD: And now on direct examination you described you had a social relationship while you lived with him, is that right?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That's right.
MR. HOWARD: Do you remember meeting with an FBI agent in late October, a couple of weeks after the defendant's arrest?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That sounds right.
MR. HOWARD: And do you remember telling -- isn't it true that you told him that you barely spoke with the defendant during the two months you lived with him?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: I don't recall.
MR. HOWARD: Your Honor, may I approach the witness?
THE COURT: You may.
MR. HOWARD: Would you just take a look at that document and let me know when you've finished reading it?
MR. HOWARD: Does that refresh your memory?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Where would you like me to start, from the top --
MR. HOWARD: I am not asking you to read it.
THE COURT: Don't read it out loud.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Oh, OK.
MR. HOWARD: Does that refresh your memory about whether you told that to the FBI agent?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: It doesn't.
MR. HOWARD: No further questions.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
Ms. Lewis, anything further from you?
MS. LEWIS: Just a couple of questions, your Honor.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. LEWIS:
MS. LEWIS: Just to be clear, the activities you described, did you do all these things with the defendant while you were living together?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Which activities? Sorry.
MS. LEWIS: The ones you spoke about in your direct examination, the parties you went to when you went to eat crepes, you know, hanging out in the house playing the djembe drum, going on that long walk together.
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Yes. And there were times we went out to eat together as well.
MS. LEWIS: He lived with you for two months, right?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: That's right.
MS. LEWIS: Were you working during that time?
MS. LEWIS: OK. About how many hours a week were you working?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: Probably 45 to 50 hours.
MS. LEWIS: And was just on weekdays?
CHRISTOPHER KINCAID: No. I worked weekends and then I'd have two days off during the week.
MS. LEWIS: Thank you. No further questions.
THE COURT: Thank you. You may step down, sir.
(Witness excused)
THE COURT: All right. Would the defense like to call its next witness, please?
MR. DRATEL: Yes. Thank you, your Honor.
I call Bridget Prince.
THE COURT: All right. Ms. Prince, please.
COURT CLERK: Please raise your right hand. Stand. Please raise your right hand.