• James Reyerson of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension gave evidence Wednesday afternoon
• Reyerson said both the vehicle Floyd had been in and the cop car were impounded and processed on May 27
• In December, the prosecution requested a search of the Blue Mercedez SUV 
• The defense later asked to see squad 320 in January; it was at that time that the half-chewed pill – a mix of methamphetamine and fentanyl – were found and tested
• Reyerson’s colleague BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson told the jury how she a Suboxone packet – a medication given to adults with an opioid addiction – in the Mercedes 
•  She also told them about two round white pills found in the center console; jurors were shown pictures
• The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Chauvin in the death of Floyd entered its eighth day Wednesday 
• Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter after being accused of pinning his knee down on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes; he has pleaded not guilty, arguing he did only what he was trained to do

Laura Collins and Lauren Freun – Daily Mail April 8, 2021

Derek Chauvin’s defense team searched the patrol car George Floyd was pulled out of and found a speedball pill with his DNA on it – eight months after cops had already searched it, and a forensic investigator who saw it deemed it wasn’t important enough to process.

The jury on Wednesday heard from Senior Special Agent James Reyerson, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officer who was the lead investigator in the investigation into the incident.

Reyerson told the jury both the vehicle Floyd had been arrived at Cup Foods in Minneapolis in and the cop car – referred to as squad car 320 in court – were secured and processed twice – once on May 27, two days after Floyd’s death.

Derek Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter after being accused of pinning his knee down on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds last May 25.

He has pleaded not guilty, arguing that he did only what he was trained to do in his 19 years as a cop. Floyd, 46, was arrested outside a neighborhood market after being accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. 

In December 2020, seven months after Floyd’s death, the prosecution requested a search of the Blue Mercedez SUV – the car he and his friends had arrived in. The defense then asked to see the squad car 320 in January. It was at that time that the half-chewed pill – a mix of methamphetamine and fentanyl – was found bearing Floyd’s DNA and saliva.

In direct questioning, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank appeared to cast some shade on this discovery, noting that when squad 320 arrived back at BCA’s secure garage the crime-scene tape with which it had been secured had been cut and the search conducted.

Later, defense attorney Neslon shut down any room for juror doubt as to any impropriety with regards to the drugs found, noting that the squad car had been in secure storage prior to it being searched.

Reyerson’s colleague BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson told the jury how she had found a crumpled and open packet of Suboxone – a medication given to adults with an opioid addiction – in the driver’s seat footwell as well as an unopened packet on the seat.

She also told them about two round white pills found in the center consol. Jurors were shown pictures of all of these findings.

Anderson and her colleagues had photographed the pills on May 27 when she searched the interior of the car with little sense of what she might be looking for.

The car was searched again on the request of the Attorney General’s office December 9 when the pills and $20 bills stuffed between the passenger seat and center console were found.

It was only after the December search on the request of the AG that the pills were then tested.

Continues …