meinbruder
Member
Expert Testimony??
I don’t get something at this point. Two suspects, one gun, clean fire ammo. One suspect (err, witness) has GSR on his hands, the other does not: the second suspect leaves DNA on the gun, the first does not. If this were a riddle, I would have to say that both suspects fired a different gun.
What’s next? .38 caliber and five cases recovered “near” the weapon, was the gun reloaded? Was there more than one gun?
So the expert could identify the cartridge cases as WinClean type but couldn’t identify it as WinClean Brand? I have some Plus Ones around here if it will help him read the head stamps. If I scratch my head long enough I can find a pair of 1.25’s. He even stated that no study could prove that lead from the interior of the bullet wouldn’t escape. Was the jacket intact? Are they sure the expert works for Winchester?!?
I didn’t go to law school, but I’m pretty sure I could drive an 84-passenger school bus through the holes in this testimony.
I’m sorry if this post isn’t on topic for a hand loading thread but the story in the paper just doesn’t make any sense. :
Mike
Portland, Or.
halvey said:Massad's big argument concerns GSR and with handloads that cannot be duplicated. Point to consider. Yet, in the following case, sounds like factory ammo doesn't really answer a lot of questions either.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/13654907.htm
Vick trial: Ammo expert tries to bolster state's case
A ballistics expert testified this morning that the bullet lodged in slain St. Paul police Sgt. Gerald Vick's body was a special kind of ammunition that didn't produce gunshot residue when fired.
Prosecutors called consultant Paul Szabo to the stand to try to explain to jurors why police found no gunshot residue on defendant Harry Evan's hands, but did find traces of the substance on the hands of star witness Antonio Kelly.
Evans, 33, is on trial for first- and second-degree murder. Vick was fatally shot in an alley outside of an East Side tavern around 2:20 a.m. on May 6. Vick and his partner had been working undercover investigation prostitution at bars that night when they confronted Evans and his companion Kelly outside Erick's Bar.
Evans has pleaded not guilty and has accused his friend Kelly of pulling the trigger.
Prosecutors told the jury during an opening statement that Evan's DNA was found on the murder weapon, but defense attorneys countered that Kelly had lead and barium particles — or gunshot residue — on his hands, proving Kelly fired the gun.
Szabo, who works for the Winchester ammunition division of Olin Corporation, said the Winchester .38-caliber bullet recovered by the medical examiner, labeled Exhibit 2, is a WinClean type that is designed to eliminate airborne lead when fired.
"This is a brand intended for target shooting at indoor ranges," said Szabo.
Szabo said that bullet, which uses a lead-free priming mix and is sealed, would not produce gunshot residue. But under cross-examination by defense attorneys, Szabo testified that while the interior of a WinClean bullet is sealed, it still contains lead. Szabo said he knew of no study that proves that interior lead couldn't escape upon firing.
Police recovered one of the three bullets that struck Vick and five shell casings near the murder weapon.
Szabo examined the shell casings and said he could not tell just by looking at the casings whether all the ammunition found by police was WinClean.
I don’t get something at this point. Two suspects, one gun, clean fire ammo. One suspect (err, witness) has GSR on his hands, the other does not: the second suspect leaves DNA on the gun, the first does not. If this were a riddle, I would have to say that both suspects fired a different gun.
What’s next? .38 caliber and five cases recovered “near” the weapon, was the gun reloaded? Was there more than one gun?
So the expert could identify the cartridge cases as WinClean type but couldn’t identify it as WinClean Brand? I have some Plus Ones around here if it will help him read the head stamps. If I scratch my head long enough I can find a pair of 1.25’s. He even stated that no study could prove that lead from the interior of the bullet wouldn’t escape. Was the jacket intact? Are they sure the expert works for Winchester?!?
I didn’t go to law school, but I’m pretty sure I could drive an 84-passenger school bus through the holes in this testimony.
I’m sorry if this post isn’t on topic for a hand loading thread but the story in the paper just doesn’t make any sense. :
Mike
Portland, Or.