Crime Scene Investigator Network Newsletter

Background
A review of the literature indicated some disparity in the opinions of crime scene investigators concerning the position of casings related to shooting incidents.

Ogle notes that the “location of fired cartridge cases may be valuable in a reconstruction attempt of the shooting incident. The location(s) of the shooter(s) may be determined by the analysis of the locations of the fired cases”. Gardner writes that firearms examiners conduct, on occasion, ejection studies with the purpose of determining the distance and direction that a casing will eject when the weapon is held in any given orientation. He continues by noting that ejection studies have limited value, because casings will roll when they hit the ground or ricochet from walls or objects.

Garrison conducted a study on the position of casings dropped from a moving vehicle. He posited that some of the variables that can affect the final location of ejected casings are speed, road surfaces, vehicular traffic, crowds that might move the casings, and cartridge types. One of his observations was that, under similar circumstances, rimmed casings tend to travel less distance. Other research suggests that depending on many variables, extracted casings can end up virtually anywhere.

Case History
A patrol officer observed a black Cadillac with expired license plates driving on the city streets. The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle fled, the officer began to pursue the vehicle and, within a few seconds, the suspect lost control of the Cadillac, which jumped a curb and came to rest in the yard of a residential neighborhood. The officer stopped behind the vehicle and exited his cruiser to make contact with the driver. The suspect exited his vehicle and fired two shots from a handgun. The officer took cover between the two vehicles and returned fire. (The officer later said that he thought he had fired his weapon four times.) The suspect then ran from the scene, entered a trailer park, turned, and fired three more shots in the direction of the officer. The officer radioed for assistance. A second officer observed a person matching the suspect’s physical description running through the trailer park. The second officer identified himself, ordered the suspect to stop, and gave foot chase. The suspect was subsequently taken into custody, and was later identified by the initial officer. Neither the suspect nor the officer was injured during the shooting. The suspect was intoxicated, had narcotics on his person, and had six live .357 caliber rounds in his pocket. During a search of the area, a .357 caliber Ruger 6-shot revolver was located on the ground between the initiating officer’s cruiser and the location of arrest. One live round and five spent shell casings were located inside this handgun.

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