Al Stauch: Direct Examination, Part 1
Al Stauch is Gannon’s father. He was in Oklahoma training with the National Guard when Gannon was killed. He was called as the prosecution’s first witness to give the jury background on Gannon, Letecia, the family dynamics, and the day that Gannon was reported missing.
First prosecution witness: Al Stauch.
- He is crying. Exhibit 1 is a school picture of Gannon. "That's my boy."
About Gannon:
- Gannon's birthday: September 29th, 2008.
- He was four months premature. He weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces.
- Landen Bullard is Gannon's mother.
- Al and Landen were married when Gannon was born.
- Gannon has a little sister, Laina.
- October 20th, 2008: Al got to hold Gannon for the first time.
- "The last time I ever got to hold him he was in a box about that big as well, six months after he died."
- Gannon had a lot of medical issues as a baby, including a collapsed lung.
- He required a feeding tube.
- Gannon had ADHD and stomach issues, but everything else from birth he overcame.
- He was held back one grade to allow him to catch up but you couldn't tell the difference between him and other 5th graders in 2020.
- Al was stationed in Alaska. Letecia and the kids moved to Colorado a month or two prior to Al's arrival.
- Gannon wanted to be a YouTube gamer. He has one video on YouTube. He loved Sonic. Mario was his favorite. Those were some of Al's favorite things he ever got to do with Gannon.
- They lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina before moving to Colorado.
About Laina
- Exhibit 2 is a photo of 6 and a half year old Laina in 2018 at their home in Myrtle Beach.
- Laina was also born early.
- "She actually tried to come out a little bit before Gannon, they were always competitive with each other."
- As much love as a sister and brother could have.
- "I'm just gonna miss getting on his nerves" Laina said after Gannon died.
- They always made sure he looked after his little sister, not even letting her walk the three houses home from the bus stop alone.
Al and Letecia - Background
- Al and Landen were married ten years, dating/together for about twelve.
- Al and Letecia were married for 4 or 5 years. They met playing softball. They really got to know each other in January of 2014. They began dating.
- Al was still married to Landen but they were separated when he met and started dating Letecia.
- Letecia has a daughter, Harley.
- Exhibit 3: Is a photo of Harley from 2019. A high school graduation photo. She finished high school online at a school in South Carolina.
- Al and Letecia were married in January 2015.
- Al Stauch points out the defendant as Letecia Stauch.
Al’s Job, Living Arrangements
- Al is a full time officer in the Colorado National Guard.
- He served one weekend a month and summer duty. He has been in "AGR" his whole career. Active Guard. He was a recruiter for twelve years and then took his commission as an officer and moved to Alaska. He was there for two years and has been in Colorado since 2019. His main duty is missile defense.
- The trip with Laina and Gannon to (Alaska?) was one of the most memorable trips of his life. They never moved there with him, just visited.
- During Al and Landen's separation, they took turns living in the home. The kids stayed in the home the whole time.
- Landen initially had more custody and was living with the kids at her mother's home.
- In March 2018, when Al was in Alaska, is when they separated.
- The kids would spend the summer with Al in Alaska and then fly back to Landen's for school during the year.
- Al was in Colorado in February 2019. Letecia and the kids were there in January.
January 25th and 26th
- On January 25th and 26th, 2020 (Friday and Saturday) Al worked the day shift and had to leave town on Sunday.
- He had two weeks of training in Oklahoma.
- After work, at 6 PM, he went home and ate dinner with the family including his mother. Then he drove his mother around 8PM to Denver Airport because she was flying home and he had to fly to Oklahoma. He slept on the floor at the airport.
- Gannon (11), Laina (8), Harley (17), and Letecia were still at the home.
- Late on Sunday the 26th or early on the 27th, Letecia told him, via text or phone call, that there had been an accident on the carpet and a candle had spilled.
- The carpet was not damaged when Al left.
Lorson Ranch, Colorado Springs
- Exhibit 4: A map of Lorson Ranch. Their old house on Manden Drive is highlighted.
- Al still calls Letecia "Tecia" and is having trouble remembering to call her "the defendant".
- He and Laina moved out of the Lorson Ranch home in February of 2020. The landlord allowed them to break their lease due to the circumstances.
- The home had a main floor and a finished basement. A furnace room and a closet under the stairs were unfinished. They stored boxes and luggage in the furnace room.
- Gannon initially had the basement room and Laina had the main floor room. They switched at some point.
- There are two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a laundry room, a bathroom, and garage access on the main level.
- Downstairs was a closet, Gannon's room, a living space, a bathroom, and Harley's bedroom.
- Exhibit 5: Is the exterior of the home, a front view.
- Exhibit 6: A view immediately inside the home, looking at the living room.
- Exhibit 7: A view further inside, of the living room and kitchen.
- Exhibit 8: Closer up view of the kitchen.
- Exhibit 9: A view from the back sliding door, with the patio behind the photographer. It shows the stairs down to the basement as well as the living area.
- Exhibit 10: A view of the master bedroom from just inside the door.
- Exhibit 11: A view of the laundry area.
- Exhibit 12: The garage.
- They had a family dog named Chance.
- A Volkswagen 2018 Jetta was parked in the garage in Exhibit 12.
- It belonged to Harley.
- One side of the garage was for woodworking supplies. In the photo is a table Al was working on building for his mom. He likes to build cutting boards.
- Exhibit 34: A photo of a table Al built for Gannon so he had a place to use his Legos and such. He made it Mario colors for him.
- Exhibit 13: A view of the stairway to the basement.
- Exhibit 14: A view of the basement entryway.
- Exhibit 15: A view of the basement living area. Al watched a lot of movies with the kids in that room. There's a Nintendo Switch in the living area, Gannon's "pride and joy."
- Exhibit 16: A view of the living space from the other direction. There is a black square visible on the carpet.
- A piece of the carpet was cut out.
- Exhibit 17: Another view into the basement.
- Exhibit 18: Another view of the furnace room/unfinished closet.
- Exhibit 21: A view of Gannon's room. You can see the bed and the table that Al built.
- Al says Gannon's bed would typically be pushed all the way into the corner, against both walls, not pulled away for any reason.
- Exhibit 22: A view of the master bathroom and Letecia's closet.
- Exhibit 23: A view into the closet.
- Exhibit 24: A view of Letecia's clothes and shoes.
- Exhibit 25: Another view of the master closet, Letecia's closet.
Gannon’s Disappearance
- Al learned that Gannon was missing when he was in Oklahoma. He had finished his first day of class and gone for a run. Back at his hotel, he received a text from Letecia that Gannon wasn't home when the streetlights were on. It was abnormal but it wasn't worrisome.
- Al says he was relying on trusting Letecia and his knowledge of the situation came from what she told him since he was in Oklahoma.
- On the 27th, Gannon did not go to school because he was having stomach issues. Al was surprised that he went to a friend's house but not to school. It wasn't normal for Gannon to have stomach issues that kept him from school.
- In the morning of the 27th, Letecia sent Al pictures of Gannon showing he had stayed home.
- Letecia claimed that Gannon had gone to a friend's house and not come home.
- Al got back to Colorado as soon as he could. He was worried because he had called Gannon's friends parents and none of them had seen him. Letecia also told him about some new friend on the school bus and none of the other parents knew of them. It was multiple things that made Al become more worried.
- Al also called Landen and her family before he left Oklahoma.
- Al called Landen as soon as he figured out there was a legitimate issue and Gannon wasn't just out late.
- Al was back in Colorado on the 28th. Letecia picked him up from the airport.
- Letecia had her own car, a black Volkswagen Tiguan. She got a rental vehicle when they were at the airport, which Al found odd.
- Landen stayed with Al and Letecia for a few nights when she first arrived in Colorado. She went straight to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office from the airport
- There was tension between Al and Letecia due to him allowing Landen to stay in their home while they searched for Gannon.
Lorson Ranch Home, Post Disappearance
- Letecia then moved out of the house, within the first week of Gannon being missing.
- Exhibit 26: An empty closet, the master closet. Al's belt is one of the only items remaining.
- Exhibit 27: Another view of the empty closet. Al's sweater and sheets from the bed remain.
- Exhibit 28: A view of Harley's room.
- Exhibit 29: A view inside of Harley's closet, her shoes and clothes are inside.
- Exhibit 30: Another view of the closet, Harley's clothes still inside.
- Exhibit 31: Another view of the closet from after she and Letecia moved out.
Vehicles and Cell Phones
- Al, Harley, and Letecia all had phones. Laina and Gannon had a shared phone.
- Al had a red 2016 Nissan Frontier. Letecia also drove it.
- Harley had a 2018 Jetta.
- Letecia had a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan that was leased.
- At the airport, she said she needed a rental car because they were going to be doing a lot of searching and didn't want to go over the mileage allotted on her lease.
- They ended up driving Al’s truck instead of the rental car.
- She said she parked her car at a school and a co-worker dropped her off at the airport. Al drove past the school, French Elementary, and didn't see it.
Relationships with the Children
- Gannon and Letecia's relationship was trusting. He had love in his heart for her. He wasn't afraid of her. "One of the things about Gannon that is special is he absolutely loved his mom. He had some of that same love for Tecia too."
- Al and Letecia would both discipline Gannon and Laina.
- It was a fun and loving relationship at the beginning. It was fresh, it was new. He had a good time. He didn't have custody of the kids at that point. They were more free and had more things they could do. The kids were 2 and 5 when they met.
- Al first met Harley in 2014 but he had seen her at softball games before actually meeting her.
- He helped her with her vocabulary homework the first time he talked to her.
Al and Letecia’s Relationship, Alaska, Colorado, Issues
- Al took his commission June 9th 2016 and changed his duty assignment.
- In 2017 when Al was leaving for training, he and Letecia got into a verbal argument because he had taken a job in Alaska.
- Letecia did not like Alaska and said the US should just give it back to Russia.
- Al says Letecia was manipulative during their relationship.
- There was a manipulative incident that Al says led to him leaving Alaska. Defense objects and judge has them approach.
- Taking a break for twenty minutes.
- Continuing outside of the presence of the jury.
- Letecia made an allegation of sexual assault involving Al's coworkers. This led to him being uncomfortable and switching duty stations.
- The sexual harassment claims involved a captain and a lieutenant colonel.
- The claim led to Al leaving Alaska and moving to Colorado.
- The Captain had been drinking when Al and Letecia arrived to join them for dinner. There was a comment he made to Letecia.
- Letecia went to pick Al up from work and the Lieutenant Colonel was leaning over into the truck talking to Letecia when Al arrived in the parking lot. When the Lieutenant Colonel saw him, he left.
- Letecia made a complaint of sexual harassment directly to the national guard.
- Letecia texted Al that she was pregnant with twins. She sent him a picture of an ultrasound. As far as Al knows, she was never pregnant.
- This was struck from the record.
- Letecia filed two burglary claims. One in the fall of 2019. There was a hammer hanging from a string in the garage. She said it was a squatter in the attic space. An ammo can kept in the bedroom was open dumped out on the floor. A laundry hamper was dumped out and the mattress was pushed off the bed frame a tiny bit. This was all "proof" Letecia claimed she fired a weapon up the storm well at the intruder.
- Al had a Smith and Wesson 9mm compact, another small gun, an AR type gun, a youth shotgun, and a 12 gauge shotgun, a S&S 380 compact [some missing info here].
- There was no shell casing from any gunshot after the claimed burglary.
- Letecia eventually admitted she had made up the burglaries. It was after Al had told her the stories didn't make sense.
- In 2019, Gannon and Laina entered counseling. Both kids had struggles with the back and forth custody. Letecia told him that Gannon was "coming after her". Counseling was meant to uncover any disdain Gannon had toward Letecia.
- Al never witnessed any behavior that confirmed Gannon "had it out for" Letecia, or anyone. Period.
- In early January 2020, Al and Letecia went on a vacation alone to celebrate their anniversary. A cruise out of southern Florida.
- Al has a passport. He got it stamped in Mexico and Canada. He doesn't remember if Letecia got her passport stamped. He says she does have a passport.
- In late 2019/early 2020, Letecia was employed at Widefield School District at French Elementary School.
- She did not enjoy working there.
- She had a conflict based on her educational status with the principal. She was more educated than the principal and wanted more of a leadership role.
- Letecia claimed she was injured at the school - she fell and a bookshelf hit her in the head. Al saw no signs of injury and felt it was Letecia trying to get out of work.
- Letecia always talked about wanting to be a flight attendant. She started pursuing that in late 2019 with Spirit Airlines. She went to Orlando, FL for training just after Christmas 2019. It was a short trip.
- In January 2020 Al's mom was in Colorado Springs for about a week, staying at the house. During this time, Al and Letecia were not getting along well but he thinks she got along well with his mom.
- Al remembers the last time he saw Gannon like it was yesterday.
- Exhibit 220A or 228 is a picture of the phone Gannon and Laina shared.
- Al, Letecia, Laina, Gannon, and Harley went to Hawaii on a vacation in 2018.
- Exhibit 50(?) is a Facebook video of Gannon from Hawaii.
- Letecia claimed that Gannon threatened herwith a knife. Al says "no threats ever out of Gannon, knife or no knife." This is why they put Gannon in counseling in 2019.
- Letecia loved to travel and go to Disney. He is unaware of any trip to Australia, or Bogota Colombia, or Jamaica but knows she went on trips to the Caribbean including cruises.
- He is unaware of contact with cartel members.
- Letecia wanted to be like Kim Kardashian. "That was kind of her main thing she looked towards." She wanted to live above their means. This caused tension between Al and Letecia.
- Letecia accused Al of cheating on her.
Chaos Before Disappearance
- Exhibit 32 is multiple text message threads between Al and Letecia. They start on January 26th 2020 around noon.
- January 27th, 2:48 AM: Letecia texted Al
- Letecia claimed that Gannon lit a candle to cover the smell from the bathroom.
- There was also an incident during a hiking trip with Laina and Gannon where he had an accident. She seemed frustrated. She didn't like to clean it up and "deal with that part of Gannon."
"He is in the bathroom again and blood coming out butthole and he is crying about going to school tomorrow like this. He is still upset about the candle accident. I told him it's fine and as long as he's ok not to worry about something minor that we can fix and to worry about feeling better for school in the morning" (end in italics is not verbatim).
A Green Suitcase
- Al is describing suitcases and luggage they kept in the furnace closet. An extra large green one was Landen's aunt Veronica's. One of the handles was broken. It ended up staying with Al when they divorced.
- This is the suitcase that ended up under the bridge in Florida.
- Exhibit 48 is a picture of the suitcase in or from the storage room.
Candle Incident
- Exhibit 33 is a video Letecia filmed of Gannon after the "candle accident." He is crying, he pinky swears he didn't "do it on purpose." She told him they needed to figure out what to sell so that "the lady doesn't get mad at us and kick us out of the house." He whimpers and says "I'm just worried about my burn" and Letecia says "Shh" and begins to talk about their plan for tomorrow. Laina is also in the video.
- "Those are the last words I ever heard Gannon speak."
January 27, 2020
- Exhibit 19 and 20 are two different pictures of Gannon in his bed. Letecia sent Al at least one, if not both, on the morning of January 27th, 2020 in a text.
- Gannon did not generally sleep with blankets piled up on top of him. The red blanket may not have even been on Gannon's bed before, it wasn't Gannon's, and there was something large like a pillow wedged under the blanket. Gannon's hands are in a different position in the two different exhibit photos and Gannon's bed was pulled away from the wall in one of the photos.
- Exhibit 50 is a Facebook video of Gannon in Hawaii.
Days After Disappearance
- When Al got back to Colorado, there was a story going around that Gannon ran away. There was another possible sighting at a gas station. Al and Letecia drove to that gas station in his truck and met an officer there. They watched surveillance footage but it wasn't Gannon. He would also just drive around the neighborhood and other places like Walmart and Gamestop randomly and see if he could see Gannon. This is when he drove past French Elementary (three times) to try and find Letecia's car.
- Al watched surveillance footage from a neighbor's home and didn't see Gannon leaving the home to never return.
- Many things made Al suspicious of Letecia but her car not being at French Elementary was when it clicked in his mind.
- Immediately upon realizing Letecia's car was not at the school, he called officers and told them something was wrong, and headed straight to the sheriff's office.
- They slept apart. On January 29th, Letecia told Al she had been raped. She said a man had gotten into the house, raped her, abused her, beat her, then beat and took Gannon. She said he was burned during that. Al asked where the mess was and she said she cleaned it up because she was scared. She said she got rid of the stuff she cleaned with. It was a long string of stories.
- Al only saw the surveillance video of Gannon going to the truck.
- Al talked to Letecia with Mark Riley, a detective; Jess Bethel, a detective; an FBI agent, Mr. Hughes; Amber Cronan, an FBI agent; John G. with the FBI; and possibly others in the room with him, helping guide him on what to ask her and tell her. The call was recorded.
- Exhibit 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59.
- 35 is the recording of that phone call, the rest of these exhibits are recordings but it hasn't been specified what they are.
- Al and Letecia met with detectives on January 28th. Gannon and Laina's phone was given to investigators.
- Letecia's initial story was that Gannon had not come home from a friend's house.
- Al also gave this story initially, because it's what he was told. Eventually he began to suspect Letecia knew more than she was saying.
- When he didn't find Letecia's car at the school, he knew she had been lying. He told investigators her believed he would find Gannon in the car. "The whole point of searching was to find Gannon."
- On January 29th, Letecia was texting Al, who was sleeping on the couch, asking him to come talk to her in the bedroom. This is when she "started telling the first rape story"
- The first story was she had been raped and beaten up, Gannon had been beaten up, and burned, and Gannon was taken by this person. She claimed it happened in Gannon's bedroom. She cleaned up the mess.
- She "seemed a little frantic and all over the place" when he went into the bedroom to talk to her. She was not crying but her speech was rushed and she "was freaking out".
- Al left the room and told his mom and sister to get their things out of Gannon's bedroom, where they had been staying, because it could now be a crime scene. He then got all the weapons in the home and locked them in his truck. A 12 gauge shot gun and a pistol were in Letecia's name. His 9mm compact S&W was given to Landen's brother. He called authorities and told them about the sexual assault Letecia told him about.
- Al believed "it was a bullshit story" and that something else was going on. He wanted all the weapons out of the house and somewhere safe.
- Letecia claimed that there was blood everywhere - both hers and his - from the rape and beating, but that she cleaned it up.
- When Letecia wanted to get her belongings, Al made sure a deputy was there because the situation was "very volatile" by then. Letecia came with Harley, her mother, and her brother.
- Harley was acting "very reserved" during this time.
- Al's brother, Landen and her aunt, a deputy, Al, Laina, and Al's sister were all at the home when Letecia went to get her things from the home.
- Al never saw that extra large green suitcase leave the home.
- Letecia brought up two specific names – "Eguardo" and "Quincy Brown" – in relation to the sexual assault.
- Al is having trouble with the multiple stories, trying to keep them straight. They've mixed up in his mind.
- One story was that Letecia let a man inside the home - maybe by giving him the garage code - that was a construction worker. This was the first person she claimed sexually assaulted her.