Cell-phone records ruin alibi, court papers say

A witness will testify the suspect was not home the day of the killing.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
Damian Bradford says he was selling drugs near his Beaver County, Pa., home when Dr. Gulam Moonda was fatally shot on the Ohio Turnpike.
But Bradford's cellular telephone records tell a different story.
According to court papers filed in preparation for Bradford's federal trial on charges of interstate stalking and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, Bradford's cellular telephone was used to contact Donna Moonda, the doctor's wife and Hermitage urologist, and others that day. Authorities have contended that Donna Moonda and Bradford were having an affair after meeting in a Beaver County drug rehabilitation program.
Cell tower records show that calls were made initially from Beaver County, then Hermitage, Pa., where the Moondas resided, and then near the Ohio Turnpike.
Objections
Prosecutors revealed that information in court papers filed Wednesday in response to the request by Bradford's defense to keep that evidence from trial. They contend the records are being used like a "tracking device" and violate Bradford's civil rights.
U.S. Attorney Linda Barr, in her response, stated the evidence should remain and is no different than tracking the use of a credit card.
Bradford, 24, was arrested in March and is expected to go to trial July 24 before U.S. Senior Judge David Dowd in Akron.
Prosecutors have been picking apart Bradford's alibi since his arrest. Charlene McFrazier, who has been identified as Bradford's girlfriend, pleaded guilty last month to perjury in U.S. District Court. She had told a grand jury that she was with Bradford the night Dr. Moonda was killed.
In court papers filed earlier this week, prosecutors contend they have a witness who will testify that Bradford directed that person to obtain drugs from Bradford's vehicle at his Aliquippa, Pa., home in the late afternoon on the day of the killing and to leave the money for the transaction because Bradford would not be home.
cioffi@vindy.com