The judge in the case of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard The defamation trial was temporarily left over for words on Wednesday after the court was shown the pre-recorded filing of a janitor who was driving and smoking e-cigarettes while speaking.
A stunned Benny Azcaret called Alejandro Romero’s testimony a “first” and ordered the court to take an early break for lunch after playing the video.
Jury laughter can also be heard during the recording, as Romero, who works in the Los Angeles apartment building where Depp and Heard lived together, described the moment he investigated a potential intruder who he believed was just a dog.
Romero described a home inspection after Heard reported a scratch on the door that she thought might have been an intruder.
“They were talking about someone trying to get into their unit, and in my head I was like ‘Do you really think someone is trying to get into your unit?'” Romero said. There are dents four inches above the floor on your door. This was a dog trying to get into your unit.
“They were so scared—I was already gone. They asked me to go into the unit just to check room by room to make sure no one was really there.”
Romero added that he did the research because it was part of his job, but he “didn’t understand why they wanted to do it.”
At one point, he also expressed his frustration with the affair, saying he was “too nervous” and “didn’t want to deal with this anymore”.
When the video ended, Azcaret told the court it was “a good time to break for lunch.” Then she took off her glasses, raised her eyebrows, and shook her head from side to side.
After a long pause, she added, “Well…that was the first time, I’m sorry.”
Heard’s attorney, Eileen Breedhoft, replied: “I will tell your honor that this was the strangest testimony…”
Azkaret cut her off, raised her hands and said, “Yeah, well, I must say I’ve never seen that before. I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen that before.”