Crime Scene Investigation, Collection, Reconstruction / Cold Case Expert Witnesses: 11

Adam Bercovici has almost 40 years of experience in the Police and Security field. Mr. Bercovici spent 30 of those years with the LAPD, 20 as a supervisor and manager. He is currently a retired LAPD lieutenant and former security company CEO.

Background: Mr. Bercovici's leadership assignments included the Criminal Investigation Section- Major Crimes Division-The Joint Terrorism Task Force, The FBI Violent Crime Task Force ( where he supervised the FBI Fugitive Task Force), The Special Investigation Section, and Homicide Special Section. 

Since 2012, Mr. Bercovici has worked as a licensed private investigator and subject matter expert and consultant in areas of Police Practices and Complex Police Investigations. His clients have included major law firms, insurance companies and corporations.

In the entertainment industry, Mr. Bercovici has been an on-air talent, producer, and script and story consultant.  He was the Co-Talent on The History Channel Series JFK Declassified-Tracking Oswald. He is currently the Technical Consultant for the ABC Network series Stumptown. His cases have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, and on the CBS Network.

Litigation Support: Adam Bercovici splits his work between defense and plaintiff. He has been retained by major civil rights firms, major municipalities and their legal counsel, plaintiff attorneys, city attorneys, and criminal defense attorneys. Mr. Bercovici accepts work based on the merits of the individual case.

Areas of Expertise: 

Firearms Operability Examination

Microscopic Analysis of Ballistic Evidence

Shooting Incident Reconstruction

Laser Trajectory Analysis of Bullet Paths

Gunshot Residue Distance Determination

Operability and Microscopic Report Review and Evaluation

Trial Preparation and Presentation

Expert Witness Testimony

Witness Interviews and Witness Statement Evaluation

George Schiro is a DNA Technical Leader - Forensic Scientist. His duties include incorporating the DNA Advisory Board (DAB) standards, accountability for the technical operations of the lab, conducting DNA analysis using the 13 STR core loci and Y STR in casework, DNA research, forensic science training and crime scene investigation.

Mr. Schiro has worked over 3500 cases and has qualified as an expert over 175 times in 31 Louisiana parish courts, Arkansas, California, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Texas, West Virginia, federal court, U.S. court-martial, and two Louisiana city courts. Has also consulted on cases in 29 states.

Qualified as an Expert in the Following Areas:

• Latent Fingerprint Development
• Serology
• Crime Scene Investigation
• Forensic Science
• Trajectory Reconstruction
• Shoeprint Identification
• Crime Scene Reconstruction
• Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
• DNA Analysis
• Fracture Match Analysis
• Hair Comparison

R. Paul McCauley, Ph.D. assists plaintiff and defense attorneys in police, security, and jail related issues. He is Emeritus Professor of Criminology and former police trainer, security manager and faculty of the National Crime Prevention Institute and the Southern Police Institute. He has qualified in state and/or federal courts in more than thirty states and Canada. Dr. McCauley was an advisor to three national, presidential and congressional crime committees. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Australia--police security interactions. Dr. McCauley is a noted consultant and published author. 

James (Jim) K. Ellis is a retired FBI Agent with more than 33 years of complex investigation experience.  He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a Private Investigator, and FINRA Arbitrator. 

During his 29-year career as an FBI Agent stationed in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Ellis earned over 20 awards and commendations. He led investigations on hundreds of complex criminal violations including fraud, money laundering, violent crime, homicide and narcotics trafficking.  He served for ten years on the FBI’s highly acclaimed Evidence Response Team before retiring from the FBI on December 31, 2015.

Litigation Support - After retirement, Mr. Ellis became a Private Investigator specializing in complex fraud investigations and expert witness support for attorneys. He has participated as the lead investigator in dozens of trials at both the federal and local levels. He has years of experience actively working all stages of the litigation process. From running investigations, to the filing of a legal action, to the presentation of the matter in a trial before a jury, Mr. Ellis is exceptionally qualified to help attorneys for both plaintiff and defendant deal with the arduous tasks of preparing for litigation. He is located in Texas but is available nationwide.  

Services Include:

Areas of Expertise:

View JKE Texas Private Investigations' Consulting Profile.

Daniel G. O'Kelly has over 40 years of experience as a range instructor, a builder, and collector ofFirearms and Ammunition. Mr. O'Kelly is currently Director at the International Firearm Specialist Academy (IFSA), a guild of award winning experts, former Federal Agents, Investigators, Police Officers, Attorneys, and Medical Doctors, in the firearm and forensics field.

Background Experience - An Armorer for fourteen firearm manufacturers, Mr. O'Kelly has toured and done research at numerous firearm and ammunition factories and firearm reference collections across the U.S., Europe, and Africa. He also served for years as a Compliance Manager for the world’s largest firearm retailer. He regularly presents seminars on firearm enforcement, ID & technology, and ammunition to law enforcement and the firearm industry. He has been a court-qualified expert witness since 1990 on firearms, ammunition, self-defense, use of force, ballistics, trade dress, etc… Mr. O'Kelly served for 11 years as a Police Officer and for 23 years as a Special Agent for the Bureau of ATF where he was Lead Instructor of Firearm Technology at the ATF National Academy, where he co-wrote the firearm lesson plans.

Litigation Support - Daniel O'Kelly has provided litigation support as an Expert Firearm Witness in federal court since 1990. He has testified in numerous trials for over 35 years and has been lauded as an "unshakable witness". A qualified Subject Matter Expert with exceptional knowledge in firearms and investigative protocol, he is recognized as a “go to” person regarding technical firearm issues.

Areas of Expertise:

View Daniel O'Kelly's Consulting Profile.

Global Forensic Services, LLC (GFS) is a Forensic Consulting, Laboratory and Investigative Firm offering over 37 years of experience and training in a wide range of forensic science and private investigation disciplines.

Larry Stewart has personally examined tens of thousands of individual items of evidence from sources such as state, local, and federal agencies (e.g. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Central Intelligence Agency, and others), and foreign governments. On several occasions he has examined cases involving international disputes between governments. 

Mr. Stewart has testified as an Expert Witness in state, federal and military courts of law, as well as in foreign court systems to include; Austria, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sri Lanka and Thailand. He has also testified at The Hague in the Netherlands and three times as an expert before the U.S. Congress. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Foundation Fingerprint Course
• Intermediate Fingerprint Course
• Advanced Fingerprint Course
• Scene Examiner
• Trained as Crime Scene Manager
• FERRT (Forensic Evidence Recovery and Retrieval Techniques) Trained

• Criminal Cases - Perform a comparison of an identified case and offer an independent analysis of the identification. Offer evidence to advise the Defense on related fingerprint matters.
• Immigration - Provide an impartial comparison of sets of fingerprints in dispute and provide an independent report into the comparison.
• Civil Cases - Assist Courts and Tribunals throughout the UK and abroad on issues involving contracts, wills and covenants.
• International Electoral Services - analyze ballot slips for duplicate or multiple thumb impressions.
• Fingerprint Development - developed fingermarks are photographed in line with published guidelines which allow for "cradle to grave" service.

Dr. Ron Martinelli, is a nationally renowned Forensic Criminologist and a federal/state courts qualified law enforcement and premises liability expert who is also a Certified Medical Investigator (physician's level). He is also a Certified Suicide Investigator. 

Dr. Martinelli directs the nation's only Forensic Death Investigations & Independent Review Team of 26 law enforcement, forensic and medical experts and specializes in officer-involved death cases, civilian self-defense shooting cases and premises liability/security cases. He is a forensic/law enforcement expert to the U.S. Department of Justice, several State Attorney Generals' Offices, numerous major municipalities and nationally prominent private law firms specializing in wrongful death, civil rights and premises liability. 

Dr. Martinelli is the prevailing expert in over 90% of his retained cases. He has saved defendants over $300M and earned plaintiffs over $160 million in jury verdicts and settlements since 2004. He is the media's go-to forensic expert for FOX News, One America News Network, CNN, HLN, Sky News, BBC, NPR, and the History & Discovery Channels. Dr. Martinelli is skilled in crime scene reconstruction, forensics, applied sciences, human factors, psycho-medical emergencies and premises liability and security cases. His unique and extensive field experience, combined his academic and scientific credentials, excellent written reports and persuasive testimony, make him a very appealing expert to attorneys and juries alike.

Areas of Expertise:

• Arrests
• Search & Seizure
• Use of Force / Excessive Force - All Levels and Weaponry
• Officer Involved Shootings(OIS)
• In-Custody Deaths
• Criminal Investigations
• Law Enforcement & Corrections Practices, Training & Supervision
• Adult & Juvenile Corrections
• Law Enforcement Negligence
• Civilian Self-Defense, Premises Liability, Security, Foreseeable Harm
• Insurance Cases
• COVID Detentions & Arrests

Francis T. "Jay" Jarvis has over 35 years of experience as a Forensic Scientist, specializing in Forensic Ballistics and Firearms Analysis.

During his career, Mr. Jarvis either performed casework in or was a supervisor for most of the forensic disciplines. Between 1982 and 1997, he wore a multitude of hats, performing casework in:

Following his retirement from the Georgia State Crime Lab, Jay Jarvis started Arma Forensics to provide personalized, timely and unbiased forensic services for clients. He has testified as an expert in Federal Court and the courts of Georgia and several other states over 750 times. Mr. Jarvis' specialty is firearms identification and ballistics but he also has casework experience in trace evidence. Mr. Jarvis has extensive experience in crime laboratory accreditation, having served as an accreditation assessor and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), including one year as the Board Chair.

View Jay Jarvis' Consulting Profile.

Steven Howard provides a wide range of Consulting and Expert Witness Services to the legal professional in an ample variety of Firearms, Ammunition, Knives, Blades, Explosive Devices and many other related subjects. His Primary Area of Experience is Gunsmithing and Certified Police Armorer. Mr. Howard has a college degree in Gunsmithing and is a licensed attorney in the state of Michigan. He is a former Federal Agent with the U.S. Border Patrol and a former Federal Police Officer with the Department of Defense. He has 50 years of Gunsmithing experience and is a Certified Police Armorer.

Services Include:

• All Standard Firearms
• Firearms & Ammunition Failures
• Accidental Discharges
• Almost all Machine Guns
• Silencers
• Testing
• Shooting Scene Reconstruction
• Crime Scene Reconstruction
• Knives
• Explosive Devices
• Assistance in Trial Preparation
• Firearms Identification
• Gunshot Residue Interpretation & Cross Contamination