Criminalist shows fatal bullet's path

Gardner and three friends were returning home to Pacifica along Interstate 380 when an SUV carrying the men opened fire. Three other bullets struck the two cars carrying Gardner and three friends but they escaped injury. The trio drove Gardner immediately to Kaiser Medical Center in South San Francisco but he was pronounced dead hours later.

French also outlined how another bullet hit the driver's side door of the Infiniti and theoretically might have struck the driver if not for a piece of metal which blocked the slug.

During French's testimony, murder defendants John Navarro and Tito Sedeno, both 22, watched intently. Behind them, family members and supporters also watched without visible emotion as French explained the direction from which the bullets originated

Prosecutor Sean Gallagher needs to convince jurors that the bullets came from where Navarro and Sedeno were sitting in a Chevy Tahoe. Defense attorneys are trying to show that another passenger, Richard Sedillo, is the actual shooter.

French positively identified gun powder residue on all three men but could not conclude who fired a weapon. She also recovered 13 shell casings from the Tahoe but admitted under cross-examination she is not a firearms expert.

Each defendant faces roughly 90 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, causing great bodily injury, evading police and using a firearm. Sedeno, who was on parole at the time of his arrest, is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Sedeno and Navarro remain in custody on no-bail status. The prosecution continues its case today. The trial, estimated to take four weeks, is in recess every Friday.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.