Pookey Flashcards
Please introduce yourself to the jury.
My name is Pookey Thomas.
What do you do for a living Ms. Thomas?
I’m the head of the promotions department for El Conejo Brewery.
And what do you do as the Head of the Promotional Department?
Well, I should clarify, I’m actually the entire promotions department, so I do it all. Sometimes I dress-up as different characters, like the Easter Bunny or Santa. I pass out swag bags with our logo, set up promotional events like trivia night. Any sort of thing that gets people drinking our incredible microbrews
Could you tell us a little bit about your educational background?
I double-majored at Acari University in marketing and public relations. That’s where I did an internship for a marketing class my senior year and got teamed up with the founders of El Conejo Brewery, Tito and Tatiana. As soon as I graduated, they gave me the job.
Let’s turn your attention to the facts of this case: Do you know Randy Sudo?
Yeah, you could say that.
How do you know him?
Well, as part of my job, I am often promoting our beer in different establishments throughout Lincoln. I’d seen Randy around on and off, but one night at Geno’s he pushed me over a table! After that, Mr. Esparza issued him a lifetime ban.
How did Mr. Sudo react to being banned from Geno’s for life?
He threatened to kill him and even said he would kill his dog. He said Geno wouldn’t even expect it when he came to kill him.
Now in your experience, were you aware of the rivalry playing out between Geno’s Taco Truck and La Buena Taqueria owned by Ms. Benavidez?
Yes, I knew a lot about the whole rivalry through working with both of them. The two were actually our biggest clients in Lincoln, so we did lots of promotions at both location. I personally thought it was all in good fun.
And did you ever work with Sam Cordova, owner of Old Town Cantina?
Yes, I tried to develop them as a client, but they were always more interested in hard liquor rather than craft beer, and I didn’t hold out much hope for the partnership. Every now and then I’d head over to try to get Conejo behind the counter, especially on days they had been drinking, thought they might be more open to the idea.
And what was your impression of Sam Cordova, in a professional sense?
I think there was more to Sam than met the eye, think they had more to do with the rivalry than people may think.
Why do you say that?
One time when I popped in to talk to them and I saw a stack of Benavidez’s fliers on the bartop, ones promoting specials at the Taqueria. They saw me looking at them and said that the fight was “good for business”. I came back later that week, after the deck fire and Sam told me that they fliers “came in handy”…it just didn’t sit well with me.
Thank you, Ms. Thomas. Let me ask you now, were you present at the Sabor festival on May 18th?
Yes, I was.
Did anything happen involving Mr. Esparza in the time leading up to that event?
The night before the Sabor festivities began, Esparza called me about an emergency meeting to make me an offer, well it was more of a demand. He wanted to be the exclusive seller of El Conejo, and if I didn’t agree to the deal, he would terminate his contract with us. What he wanted was for Benavidez to have his entire selection of beers taken away before Sabor.
And how did you proceed?
Esparza only gave me fifteen minutes to decide, I talked to Tito and Tatiana, and, with heavy hearts, we agreed to the deal.
How did Benavidez take the news?
About as well as you would expect. As I was explaining that we would not be delivering the beer, Alec went silent and zoned out. When Alec saw Esparza later that night, he snapped.
What do you mean they snapped?
They rushed the stage and shouted things like “I am dead!” and “You killed me!”. They left in tears after the speech. I felt terrible about the whole thing.
Now, could you explain you role in the events of Tuesday, May 21st?
Well, I normally go to Geno’s on Tuesdays to settle his account with Conejo. I think I let myself into Esparza’s between 9:30 and 10pm. When I entered the back office, I found Esparza and his dog, Rags, both dead. It was horrible to see.
And upon discovering the body, what did you do?
My Girl Scouts instincts kicked in, I checked for a pulse, but the large amount of blood made it obvious he was already dead…I called 911 and waited for the cops to arrive.
How did you proceed once the police arrived?
A, uhm, Detective Knight, I think…, took my statement at the scene and let me go. I mean I didn’t even get that far before I collapsed in the alley, I mean I was just in a state of shock. The detective came back out a little later and asked for the code for the keypad. They punched it in to the keypad and unlocked the back alley door.
And how did you acquire the keycode for Geno’s back office door?
Esparza gave it to me. One time he accidentally left me out in the rain for half an hour, I was drenched! Anyway, after that, he wrote down the code on a piece of paper for me
What happened to this piece of paper?
You know, I’m so forgetful, I think I must have left it behind at one of the restaurants I visit, probably during the whole pandemic.
