1 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION 2 3 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 4 vs. 5 RUSSELL G. BELLAR, 6 Defendant. 7 ___________________________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Cause No.: 3:04cr00068-AS South Bend, Indiana January 4, 2005 9:30 a.m. 8 9 10 11 12 13 TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT OF JURY TRIAL (TESTIMONY OF: RONNIE DUNN AND RUSTY CAMP) BEFORE THE HONORABLE ALLEN SHARP APPEARANCES: For the Government: MR. DONALD J. SCHMID Assistant United States Attorney M01 Robert A. Grant Courthouse 204 South Main Street South Bend, Indiana 46601 For the Defendant: MR. DENNIS E. ZAHN MR. JAMES H. VOYLES Voyles Zahn Paul Hogan & Merriman 141 East Washington Street Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MR. C. JOSEPH RUSSELL Krieg DeVault LLP One Indiana Square Suite 2800 Indianapolis, Indiana Joanne M. Hoffman United States Court Reporter 119 Robert A. Grant Courthouse 204 South Main Street South Bend, Indiana 46601 (574)246-8038 Joanne_Hoffman@innd.uscourts.gov 46204 2 1 INDEX 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 RONNIE DUNN DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: Page 3 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. RUSSELL: Page 13 REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: Page 19 RECROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. RUSSELL: Page 19 RUSTY CAMP DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: Page 20 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. RUSSELL: Page 35 REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: Page 48 RECROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. RUSSELL: Page 50 FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: Page 51 * * * DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 1 2 (Transcript of prior proceedings not requested herein.) 3 4 3 MR. SCHMID: Your Honor, the government calls Ronnie Dunn. 5 RONNIE DUNN, 6 having been duly sworn, was examined, and testified as follows: 7 DIRECT EXAMINATION 8 BY MR. SCHMID: 9 Q. Good morning. 10 A. Good morning. 11 Q. Could you tell us your name, please. 12 A. Ronnie Dunn. 13 Q. Where do you live, sir? 14 A. Nashville, Tennessee. 15 Q. What is your profession or occupation? 16 A. Singer/songwriter. 17 Q. How long have you been a singer/songwriter? 18 A. For about 15 years. 19 Q. Are you part of a particular country music duo? 20 A. Yes, sir. 21 Q. What is the name of that group? 22 A. Brooks & Dunn. 23 Q. You've won a number of awards in the country music area 24 over the years; is that correct? 25 A. We have. DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 4 1 Q. Is it true that you were recently named Vocal Duo of the 2 Year? 3 A. Yes, sir. 4 Q. And you have received that for ten or so years in the past? 5 A. I believe so. 6 Q. Have your albums with Mr. Brooks sold over 25 million 7 copies all over the world? 8 A. Yes. 9 10 MR. RUSSELL: I'm going to object to — 11 12 Your Honor, if it please the Court? THE COURT: lesson. We're not going to have a singing Let's get on with the trial. 13 MR. RUSSELL: For purposes of the government's case, 14 Your Honor, we will stipulate Mr. Dunn is a celebrity, and I am 15 a big fan. 16 17 THE COURT: Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get on with the trial. 18 MR. SCHMID: Very good. 19 Q. Did there come a point in time when you heard of Russ 20 Bellar or Bellar's Place? 21 A. Yes, sir. 22 Q. From whom did you first hear about Russ Bellar or Russ 23 Bellar's Place? 24 A. 25 Hank Jones through Charlotte. A friend we had known for years through some NASCAR people, DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 5 1 Q. Did there come a point in time when you spoke to 2 Mr. Bellar? 3 A. Yes, sir. 4 Q. Did he invite you to come visit in Indiana to his hunting 5 facility at Bellar's Place? 6 A. 7 who invited me to come with him. 8 Q. And did you eventually go to Indiana and visit Mr. Bellar? 9 A. We did. 10 Q. When you went there, was it for the purpose to go hunting 11 the first time you were there? 12 A. Yes, uh-huh. 13 Q. Was there snow on the ground? 14 A. It was snowing, yeah. 15 Q. Was that in the fall of 2000 or late fall 2000? 16 A. I believe it was, yeah. 17 Q. Did you go hunting that time? 18 A. We were supposed to, but the weather was prohibitive, so we 19 didn't spend a great deal of time there. 20 day. 21 Mr. Bellar and we toured the place. 22 Q. 23 on the property and what did he say to you? 24 A. 25 high-fenced facility, and we mostly just saw deer everywhere. He did through Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is actually the one Probably a half a Mr. Jones and I were split up, and I rode around with When you rode around with Mr. Bellar, what did he show you He said he had 1,500 acres. He said that it was a DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 6 1 Q. You didn't hunt that time; the weather was bad? 2 A. Yes, sir. 3 Q. Did you come back to Bellar's Place in approximately 4 January of 2001? 5 A. I did, yes. 6 Q. Did you get an opportunity to meet with Mr. Bellar then? 7 A. We did. 8 Q. Was Mr. Bellar the person that you met with and rode around 9 with while you were at Bellar's Place? 10 A. Yes, sir. 11 Q. And he was the person you dealt with there; is that 12 correct? 13 A. Right. 14 Q. When you went back in January of 2001, were you accompanied 15 by anybody in your family? 16 A. I had my son. 17 Q. How old was he? 18 A. He was 17, almost 18. 19 Q. What was Mr. Bellar offering you by way of an opportunity 20 at his place, Bellar's Place? 21 22 MR. RUSSELL: 25 I'm not sure who is testifying, Mr. Schmid, or Mr. Dunn. 23 24 I'm going to object, Your Honor. MR. SCHMID: I'm just asking what opportunity he was offered. THE COURT: That's overruled. DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 1 BY MR. SCHMID: 2 Q. 3 there? 4 A. 5 hunting facility to facilitate hunters from across the country 6 and asked if I would mind using my likeness on a promotional 7 brochure when they got it up and going. 8 Q. And you said it was okay to use your picture and likeness? 9 A. I did. 10 Q. Did he allow you to hunt on the property? 11 A. He did. 12 Q. And kill a deer? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. What weapon or firearm did you use, if you remember? 15 A. I used his rifle. 16 Q. And it was a rifle? 17 A. It was. 18 Q. Had you hunted before the time that you went to Bellar's 19 Place? 20 A. No, I did not. 21 Q. You had not been a hunter prior to this? 22 A. No. 23 Q. Your son, had he been a hunter prior to this? 24 A. I believe this was his first time. 25 Q. Who accompanied you while you did the hunting at Bellar's What opportunity did Mr. Bellar offer you when you were At the time he said they were developing a huge commercial I'm not sure what caliber it was. I didn't hunt, no. 7 DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 8 1 Place? 2 A. Mr. Bellar. 3 Q. Did he point out the deer that he wanted you to shoot and 4 kill? 5 A. He did. 6 Q. What words did he use when you saw the deer? 7 A. Well, there was a herd of deer, and I was instructed to 8 shoot — I don't know — like the second one from the front. 9 Q. And you actually did the shooting? 10 A. I did. 11 Q. Did you have a hunting license from the State of Indiana of 12 any kind when you did this? 13 A. No, sir. 14 THE COURT: 15 BY MR. SCHMID: 16 Q. Answer? Did Mr. Bellar tell you — 17 THE COURT: Wait a minute. 18 to the hunting license question. 19 THE WITNESS: 20 THE COURT: I didn't get the answer I did not have one, no. No. Okay. 21 BY MR. SCHMID: 22 Q. Did Mr. Bellar tell you that you needed a hunting license? 23 A. No. 24 it was handled like a ranch. 25 Q. We were told that it was a private facility and that And he told you that you didn't need a license? DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 9 1 A. Correct. 2 Q. When you went hunting, how did you arrive in Indiana? 3 you fly in, take a bus in? 4 A. 5 the plane, a commercial plane, and I felt bad about not meeting 6 Mr. Jones, so I leased a plane and flew up. 7 Q. So you leased a plane to come up to Bellar's Place? 8 A. I did. 9 Q. The first time that you just visited and didn't hunt, who Did How did you get there? The first time in all of the years that I traveled I missed 10 took you around the property? 11 A. Mr. Bellar. 12 Q. The second time, how did you get up to Indiana? 13 A. We flew commercial. 14 Q. Okay. 15 deer while he was there? 16 A. Did your son get an opportunity to hunt and kill a He did. 17 MR. SCHMID: 18 THE COURT: Your Honor, may I approach the witness? You may. 19 BY MR. SCHMID: 20 Q. 21 have been marked as a group exhibit, Government Exhibit 16. 22 Mr. Dunn, I would like to show you several photographs that I just want to ask you, Mr. Dunn, to take a look at 23 these photographs that make up Government Exhibit 16, and ask 24 you if you recognize yourself in each of those five 25 photographs? DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 10 1 A. Yes, sir. 2 Q. Are those photographs taken with the deer that you shot and 3 killed on Bellar's Place at Mr. Bellar's direction? 4 A. Yes, sir. 5 Q. Okay. 6 7 MR. SCHMID: Your Honor, I would move the introduction of Government Exhibit 16. 8 MR. RUSSELL: 9 THE COURT: No objection, Your Honor. 16 is admitted. 10 BY MR. SCHMID: 11 Q. 12 Exhibit 13, the brochure. 13 A. It is. 14 Q. — on the front with the picture of the deer that you shot 15 and killed? 16 A. Yes, sir. 17 Q. Now, you had agreed to allow your picture to be used in the 18 promotional materials and Mr. Bellar did not charge you money 19 for the hunt; is that correct? 20 A. Correct. 21 Q. Did you eventually get the deer and deer head back to 22 Tennessee where you live? 23 A. I did. 24 Q. Let me show you what's marked as Government Exhibit 14. 25 you recognize this (indicating), sir? Let me also show you what's been marked as Government Is that your likeness — Do DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 1 A. It looks like it. 2 Q. Okay. 3 the deer that you shot and killed at Bellar's Place 4 (indicating)? 5 A. It seems to be, yes. 6 Q. 11 Okay. 7 8 Is this the mounted deer antlers and deerskin from MR. SCHMID: Your Honor, I would move the introduction of Government Exhibit 14, please. 9 MR. RUSSELL: 10 MR. SCHMID: 11 MR. RUSSELL: 12 THE COURT: 13 MR. SCHMID: 14 THE COURT: May we take a look at it, Counsel? Sure. No objection. What's the number again? Number 14, Your Honor. 14 is admitted. 15 BY MR. SCHMID: 16 Q. 17 the mounted antlers and deerskin from the buck that your son 18 shot and killed at Bellar's Place on the same trip with you 19 (indicating)? 20 A. 21 22 Mr. Dunn, let me show you Government Exhibit 15. It looks like it, yes. MR. SCHMID: Your Honor, I would move the introduction of Government Exhibit 15. 23 MR. RUSSELL: 24 THE COURT: 25 MR. SCHMID: No objection, Your Honor. Number again, Mr. Schmid? Number 15, Your Honor. Is this DUNN - DIRECT EXAMINATION 1 THE COURT: 12 15 is admitted. 2 BY MR. SCHMID: 3 Q. 4 you saw, some high fencing? 5 A. It was. 6 Q. Did you measure the size of the area that you hunted in? 7 A. No, I didn't. 8 Q. Did Mr. Bellar tell you how large the enclosure was while 9 you were there? The area that you hunted in, was that a fenced-in area that 10 A. No. We were told there was, I think, a total of 1,500 11 acres. 12 Q. 13 total land area for the whole place, correct? 14 A. 15 end of it from where we were. 16 Q. 17 at the other? 18 A. Correct. 19 Q. Okay. 20 pushpin, if you will, on this map of the United States where 21 you live and where the deer head antlers and skins were shipped 22 to you (indicating). 23 A. Well, Nashville (indicating), without glasses. 24 Q. Thank you very much. 25 A. The deer head was delivered to me by Mr. Jones, Hank Jones. But the pen you were in was quite a bit smaller than that Yeah. The pen you're referring to, you couldn't see the So you saw fencing at one part but couldn't see the fencing We went through a gate. One last thing, Mr. Dunn. I would like you to put a DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 13 1 Q. Hank Jones? 2 A. In Charlotte, North Carolina, during a show. 3 Q. Okay. 4 Tennessee? 5 A. It did, yes. 6 Q. Mr. Hank Jones is the NASCAR person that you mentioned that 7 first told you about Mr. Bellar? 8 A. Correct. 9 10 And eventually did it make its way over to MR. SCHMID: Your Honor, that concludes my questions. 11 Thank you. 12 THE COURT: 13 We get a new lawyer cross-examining here? 14 MR. RUSSELL: 15 THE COURT: 16 Yes, Your Honor. Welcome to the fold. remind the jury of your name. Fame is very fleeting, you know. 17 MR. RUSSELL: 18 Mr. Dunn, my name is Joe Russell. 19 You might want to Thank you, Your Honor. I'm one of the lawyers for Mr. Bellar. 20 Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Joe Russell. 21 CROSS-EXAMINATION 22 BY MR. RUSSELL: 23 Q. Welcome back to Indiana, Mr. Dunn. 24 A. Thank you. 25 Q. Mr. Dunn, when you were at Bellar's Place the first time DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 14 1 and drove around with Mr. Bellar — is that correct? 2 A. Yes, sir. 3 Q. — he showed you the place and told you all about the place; 4 isn't that correct? 5 A. Yes, sir, he did. 6 Q. You said that you saw lots of deer. 7 hundreds of deer, did you not? 8 A. I believe so, yes. 9 Q. Those deer were all sizes and ages? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. In fact, Bellar's Place, from your view — the first and the 12 second times — was a rather large and well-maintained place, 13 was it not? 14 A. It seemed to be, yes. 15 Q. Did the deer seem to be cared for? 16 A. Yeah. 17 Q. In other words, they weren't malnourished? 18 A. No, not a bit. 19 Q. You didn't notice a lot of sick deer around, did you? 20 A. No. 21 Q. All right. 22 Mr. Bellar, gave you every indication that that was a private 23 hunting farm, did they not? 24 A. Yes, sir. 25 Q. And, in fact, when you spoke with Mr. Bellar upon your In fact, you saw They were very big. The people at Bellar's place, including DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 15 1 visits, he did admit to you or say to you that those were his 2 deer, did he not? 3 A. Correct. 4 Q. And, in fact, I believe you testified that someone at 5 Bellar's Place — I assume that was Mr. Bellar — told you that 6 you could shoot what you wanted to shoot because it was his 7 private property; isn't that correct? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Now, Mr. Dunn, you've testified that someone told you you 10 did not need a license, hunting license. That was not 11 Mr. Bellar, was it? 12 A. I believe it was, yes. 13 Q. You do believe it was? 14 A. Uh-huh. 15 Q. Are you sure it wasn't Mr. Jones? 16 A. It could have been Mr. Jones. 17 implication was that it was not necessary. 18 as we were driving around in the truck. 19 about the legality of the issue and stuff, and he said, "No, 20 since it's a private facility, it's not necessary." 21 Q. He told you they were his deer, right? 22 A. Correct. 23 Q. With respect to the pen that the prosecutor asked you 24 about, it's a fact that you told federal agents that that pen 25 was approximately 30 acres large, did you not? I know the strong No, Mr. Bellar did I remember talking DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 16 1 A. That's a guestimation. 2 Q. Okay. 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. Did Mr. Bellar tell you that he provided veterinarian care 5 for his deer that were on his farm? 6 A. I don't recall that conversation. 7 Q. Did he also tell you that he also paid Indiana state 8 property tax on those deer? 9 A. I don't recall that. 10 Q. You don't recall him telling you that? 11 But 30 acres would be more accurate than 10, say? Do you know whether or not Mr. Bellar was licensed 12 by the State of Indiana to possess those deer? 13 A. No, sir, I don't know that. 14 Q. Mr. Bellar talked to you about his breeding activity, did 15 he not? 16 A. A little bit, yeah. 17 Q. Did you get a chance to look at the lodge while you were 18 there? 19 A. 20 in its development stages. 21 Q. So you didn't look at or stay at the lodge? 22 A. No, there was no lodge. 23 Q. At any time during your first or second visit to the farm, 24 did Mr. Bellar guarantee you that you would be able to shoot a 25 deer while you were there? There was no lodge. It was prior to that. I think it was DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 17 1 A. Yeah. 2 Q. He used the word "guarantee"? 3 A. He said, "You'll get a deer if you come here." 4 Q. Okay. 5 shoot a deer? 6 A. Well, the first time we went we didn't, so — 7 Q. So apparently the guarantee didn't hold on the first time, 8 right? 9 A. No. 10 Q. And I believe you testified that the second visit, that was 11 your first deer that you had killed; is that correct? 12 A. Yes, I believe it was. 13 Q. Have you killed deer since then? 14 A. I have. 15 Q. With respect to the weapon you used, the prosecutor asked 16 you about the weapon, and you said it was a rifle but you 17 weren't sure of the caliber. 18 Mr. Dunn? 19 A. A little bit. 20 Q. But you don't have any idea what the caliber of that was? 21 A. No, huh-uh. 22 silver scope. 23 Q. A silver scope? 24 A. Uh-huh. 25 Q. Mr. Dunn, at one point I believe you told the federal Did you take that as a guarantee that you would Are you familiar with firearms, Not a lot. I know it was a black composite gun with a DUNN - CROSS-EXAMINATION 1 agents that Mr. Bellar told you that this was a private deer 2 farm and shooting deer on that farm was like slaughtering 3 cattle; is that correct? 4 A. 5 yeah, like that. 6 Q. 7 cattle"? 8 A. I don't know that. 9 Q. Well, did he give you the idea of killing cattle? 10 A. Yes, it was the same principle. 11 Q. All right. 12 that they believe you've committed wrongful acts; is that 13 correct? 14 A. No. 15 Q. They've never indicated to you that they believe you may 16 have committed a criminal act by shooting that deer with a 17 rifle on Bellar's Place? 18 A. No. 19 Q. Well, what have they said indirectly? 20 A. I was asked what we did when we went there to hunt. 21 Q. Have you been assured that you won't be prosecuted? 22 A. No. 23 Q. They seized your deer. 24 back? 25 A. I don't know if I used the word "slaughter," but it was, You don't know if that was your word, "slaughtering Mr. Dunn, the government has indicated to you Not directly, no. I don't know. Are you going to get those deer 18 DUNN - REDIRECT/RECROSS-EXAMINATION 1 Q. So they haven't even talked to you about that? 2 A. 19 No. 3 MR. RUSSELL: 4 THE COURT: 5 (Brief pause in the proceedings.) 6 MR. RUSSELL: 7 MR. SCHMID: 8 9 Excuse me, Your Honor, just a moment? Sure. Nothing further. Just a question or two, Your Honor. REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SCHMID: 10 Q. Your son, did he use a rifle, as well? 11 A. He did. 12 Q. What caliber was that, do you remember? 13 A. It was a .30-06. 14 Q. Thank you. 15 MR. SCHMID: 16 MR. RUSSELL: 17 THE COURT: 18 Nothing further. Follow up, Your Honor? Sure. RECROSS-EXAMINATION 19 BY MR. RUSSELL: 20 Q. Mr. Dunn, how do you know your son's rifle was a .30-06? 21 A. That was my rifle. 22 Q. So you brought it to Indiana the second time? 23 A. Yes, I did. 24 Q. So you know that was a .30-06? 25 A. Uh-huh. I brought it down. CAMP - DIRECT EXAMINATION 1 MR. RUSSELL: 2 MR. SCHMID: 3 Thank you. 4 THE COURT: 5 MR. SCHMID: 20 6 Nothing further, Your Honor. You're excused. Your Honor, the government calls Rusty Camp. 7 8 Nothing further, Your Honor. THE COURT: Stand by the witness chair and be sworn, please. 9 (The witness was duly sworn.) 10 THE COURT: Be seated there and be sure to talk into 11 the end of that because I have a hunch we're going to have a 12 little problem hearing you. It will help you and help us. 13 RUSTY CAMP, 14 having been duly sworn, was examined, and testified as follows: 15 DIRECT EXAMINATION 16 BY MR. SCHMID: 17 Q. Could you tell us your name, please. 18 A. Rusty Camp. 19 Q. Where do you live, sir? 20 A. Aberdeen, Mississippi. 21 Q. What is your current occupation or employment? 22 A. Minor league baseball. 23 Q. How long have you been a professional baseball player? 24 A. Five years. 25 Q. What organization are you currently assigned to or under