Welcome to Precision Simulations, the Nationally recognized leader in Forensic Analysis and Visualization. PSI has been in business since 1997, and as one of the oldest firms of its kind in the country with over 700 cases completed, PSI is a pioneer in the fields of Forensic Animation, 3D Laser Scanning and Crime & Accident Scene Documentation and Reconstruction technology. PSI services both the private litigation sector and Law Enforcement and has maintained a 100% admissions rate for our work at trial.
PSI Case Example
The Crime
On June 15th, 2008 Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Antonio “Tony” Diaz was fatally shot after a high-speed pursuit of Defendant Marco Topete. Topete was found guilty in Yolo County Superior Court of First Degree Murder with Special Circumstances, and the Yolo County D.A.’s office asked the jury for the death penalty.
On November 16, 2011, the jury sentenced Marco Topete to death for the Murder of Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Antonio “Tony” Diaz. The verdict was read aloud in Department 3 before Judge Paul K. Richardson.
The Challenge
How to use the physical evidence captured at the scene of a fatal shooting to determine the shooter’s position relative to the victim, the victim’s positioning at key moments during the event and finally reconstruct the event with sufficient fidelity to the forensic evidence to successfully have the resulting 3-D animation admitted into trial.
The Solution
Perform bullet path analysis with sufficient accuracy to locate the shooter’s position through the use of a Leica Geosystems ScanStation 3-D laser scanner. Precision Simulations (PSI) deployed a Leica ScanStation at the request of the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to assist the California Department of Justice with their investigation of the crime scene. 3-D laser scanning enabled PSI to precisely document the crime scene as well as the bullet-riddled patrol car in order to create a 3-D Working Model of the scene. Combining the 3-D Working Model with the audio and video captured from the camera system in the deputy’s patrol car enabled PSI forensic reconstructionist Craig Fries to devise several ground breaking new analyses that clearly showed the defendants claim of self-defense did not match the physical evidence.
3-D Laser scan of crime scene
3-D Laser scan of Deputy Diaz' patrol car with bullet trajectories