By Tom Grace
NORWICH _ Evidence from a GPS unit shows George Ford Jr.'s pickup truck descended a hilly seasonal road under control on July 8, 2007, slowly decelerating before it reached the spot where 12-year-old Shyanne Somers was run over, a witness testified at Ford's murder trial Monday.
For about three hours, from midnight to nearly 3 a.m., the unit was in the vicinity of a deserted house on Will Warner Road in the town of Otselic, according to Steven Moehling, vice president of Land Air Sea Systems.
Land Air Sea makes the global positioning system "Tracking Key'' device that was in Ford's truck.
The unit records time and geographic position.
Shortly before 3 a.m., it showed, the truck left the abandoned house, first traveling up the hill as fast as 22 miles per hour. Then, it turned and went downhill, moving even faster, Moehling testified in response to questions from Joseph McBride, Chenango County district attorney.
Moehling, the seventh witness at Ford's murder trial in Chenango County Court, operated a laptop computer inside the courtroom. The computer was linked to a projector, which displayed images on a large screen so everyone could watch as an animated vehicle moved around a map of Chenango County roads.
McBride had Moehling show where Ford allegedly traveled on July 7 and July 8, 2007. At about 11:40 p.m. July 7, he allegedly left his house to take the girl home. Shyanne had been asked to baby-sit earlier that night by Ford.
Ford lived on state Route 26 in South Otselic, and so did Shyanne, but the GPS unit detoured up Stage Road at about 11:42 p.m., said Moehling. By 11:47 p.m., it had reached the intersection with remote Will Warner Road.
The unit moved down Will Warner Road to the abandoned house by 11:50 p.m., the witness said Monday, as the courtroom grew quiet.
Ford, in an orange jumpsuit and orange slippers, had his hands clasped together and appeared to watch intently.
GPS data show the truck was near the abandoned house until about 2:56 a.m. July 8, Moehling testified. From there, it first traveled east, then apparently made a U-turn and moved west and downhill as fast as 26 mph.
It slowed while approaching the seasonal residence, but continued past it, Moehling told presiding Judge Joseph F. Cawley of Broome County. By 3:01, it was moving about eight mph; by 3:02, 5.9 miles per hour; and by 3:03, just 2.49 mph.
Then, the unit recorded a stop for 10 minutes. It moved slightly and stopped for another 12 minutes before leaving the back road and beginning a meandering trip to the city of Norwich, said Moehling.
At 4:41 a.m. July 8, the unit entered the Chenango Memorial Hospital parking lot, where witnesses have said Ford brought the girl's body in his large, white truck.
Under questioning from Ford's attorney, Randel Scharf of Cooperstown, Moehling acknowledged that his company's website has displayed information about this case to tout LAS products. Moehling also said he was being paid to testify, in addition to having his airfare to and from San Diego paid for.
McBride said the payment, at most $5,000, conforms to what is authorized by law.
Scharf questioned why the GPS evidence in this case is sometimes off by more than 40 feet, indicating the truck was off the road in places where it couldn't have been.
Moehling said the GPS, which operates by interpreting signals from satellites, can be affected by trees, hills, even the placement of the unit within a vehicle. The unit is most accurate when in motion, he said, and it provides a new reading every second.
County police official testifies
Also testifying Monday was Lt. James Lloyd of the Chenango County Sheriff's Office. Lloyd said the GPS records contradict Ford's statement to police that Shyanne's death was accidental and happened when he was turning the truck around.
Police know where the girl died because they found ``a 12-inch circle of blood near the edge of the road and a pool of blood near the middle,'' Lloyd said.
Scharf asked Lloyd if he used a tape recorder or video camera to record Ford's alleged statements, and Lloyd said his department did not have the appropriate equipment in 2007, and he does not like to use a tape recorder.
The defense attorney then asked why Ford's statements about the routes he traveled were not specifically outlined in Lloyd's notes, when Ford's lunch menu was. Lloyd said he didn't detail everything Ford told him, because the defendant had already told much of the same thing to Det.-Sgt. Richard Cobb.
Ford, 43, a contractor from Piscataway, N.J. and seasonal resident of South Otselic, is charged with second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25-years-to-life in prison.
