Testimony continues on second day of murder trial against Austin Altomare

ELYRIA — A Lorain police detective went into extensive detail describing the interior of Austin Altomare's apartment Wednesday during the second day of the murder trial against the Lorain resident. Altomare, 25, is accused in the March 26, 2020, fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Cyarah Vince, inside the East 29th Street apartment they shared. During questioning by Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre, Detective Christopher Kovach described the contents of a series of photographs he took inside the apartment while processing the scene. In addition to the still photographs and the pieces of evidence shown in them, he answered the prosecution's questions about images of the apartment made with the FARO 3D scanner, a technology that can be used to produce panoramic images of areas such as crime scenes. "It takes points, but it takes pictures, just continuous pictures," Kovach explained to jurors. "And it gives you a 3D view horizontally of that area, and also 360-degree vertical coverage of that particular area." He said four different scans were taken in Altomare and Vince's apartment, pointing out specific details while Assistant Prosecutor Daniellela Bearden controlled the scans from a computer. The scans showed the kitchen, where the entrance was to their upstairs apartment, in addition to other spaces including the living room where Vince was found after she was shot. Also Wednesday, forensic scientist Kevin Kramer from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to testify about his testing of a Glock pistol that was recovered from the scene of the shooting. In a report he completed, Kramer determined cartridges submitted by Lorain police matched the pistol that was recovered from the scene. However, when asked by Defense attorney Anthony Nici, Kramer said he could not eliminate the possibility that the bullets from the scene could have been fired by another Glock. "These bullets were poorly marked. Generally, the individual detail that I normally look for to make the identification, these bullets were lacking in that regard," Kramer testified. During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors said Altomare told the first Lorain police officer on the scene that he had just shot Vince. Nici said Altomare doesn't remember the night of the shooting or events the following morning and would prove using evidence that he was given adulterated recreational drugs. The trial is set to resume Thursday morning. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.