How Do the Police Use Guns in Evidence in Minnesota Criminal Cases?
There is an old line that says that “every firearm tells a story.” If that’s the case, it is generally the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who does that analysis here in Minnesota to tell the story. They have the ability to analyze the interior and exterior of weapons, look at ammunition, ballistics and more. The question is, exactly what story can a firearm tell? The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the evidence the BCA may be able to provide from a gun including alleged perpetrators, victims, the crime scene, and more. If you are facing serious criminal charges involving guns, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.
“It is critical to remember that every gun, even a ghost gun, has unique ballistic characteristics. The barrel leaves distinct markings on a round. The breech mechanism does the same to a cartridge case. So, if the weapon has been used before or if spent rounds or cartridge cases are found, law enforcement may have the ability to walk that evidence back to the original gun.”
How Do Minnesota Police Identify a Firearm?
The first step to identifying a particular firearm is to determine the unique identifiers to trace it. The five key identifiers are:
the make;
the model;
the calibre;
the manufacturer; and
the serial number (unless it is a ghost gun).
Other characteristics including year of manufacture and other markings may also be helpful in more exotic weapons.
While this sounds easy, there can be multiple complications. There are some weapons that are manfactured under license in various countries so they have the same name and general design but may be much different. A perfect example is the AK-47 or Kalashnikov which has more than 30 varietals and there have more than 80 million weapons manufactured thoughtout the world.
While identification is important, a good defense attorney should also look at whether the BCA bothered to determine:
Whether the firearm is capable of firing live ammunition as it may be important;
Whether the firearm has been modified in any way to change its characteristics;
Whether the firearm may malfunction, which may be critical to the defense in a case such as mistake or accident. The BCA may forget to do this and this may be critical.
How Does Minnesota Trace a Firearm?
The purpose of a successful firearm trace in Minnesota is to identify the manufacturer and the first buyer of the firearm, using the records of sale from the manufacturer. If the firearm is resold, it should be able to track that weapon from seller to buyer through the record of sale, etc. all the way up to its current legal owner. This could then potentially narrow suspects. Therefore, the tracing process can be decisive. This being said, there are times when this can be complicated by circumstances. If the firearm in question is a ghost gun, there is no registration requirement so law enforcement may hit a black wall. If the gun was stolen, it can also be more complicated.
What is Ballistic Analysis and Comparison in Minnesota?
The most frequent approach in identifying a gun is though spent bullets and cartridge cases. These are more frequently left at a crime scene than a traditional gun with a serial number or a ghost gun. Law enforcement can usually determine the type of weapon that fired the round or ejected the cartridge case.
More importantly, it is critical to remember that every gun, even a ghost gun, has unique ballistic characteristics. The barrel leaves distinct markings on a round. The breech mechanism does the same to a cartridge case. So, if the weapon has been used before or if spent rounds or cartridge cases are found, law enforcement may have the ability to walk that evidence back to the original gun.
Looking at a spent bullet, spent cartridge or firing residues may also help identify kind of ammo, kind of weapon, trajectory of the spent round and more. In the end, not only can it be helpful in dealing with a current case but also other cases in which this firearm may have been involved.
How Can a Gun Tell You Where a Crime was Committed?
Firearms and their surrounding area at a crime scene can furnish a variety of evidence. The crime scenes can include, but are not limited to any place where:
A complaining witness may have been injured and left DNA;
Damage to surrounding property may provide evidence of ballistics;
A person of interest may have left DNA or other identifying evidence at the scene;
A firearm may have been fired which left residue at the scene;
A firearm, components, ammunition, magazines, cartridge cases may be discovered at the scene.
How Can a Gun Link Itself to a Crime or to Multiple Crimes?
The benefit of firearm analysis for the State is that it can provide more evidence than simply the fact they have a gun. Proper analysis and tracing may:
Confirm source of shots fired;
Exclude the firearm as a weapon of interest;
May link it to persons of interest either through possession, DNA, latent finger prints, serial numbers, etc.;
Connected to additional crimes because ballistics and other forensics..
From a Defense perceptive, confirming rather than just guessing about possible connections can certainly have an upside and a downside. If you are facing serious criminal charges in Minnesota involving guns, contact an experienced Minnesota criminal defense attorney.
Can the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Restore a Serial Number Even if it has been Obliterated?
Sometimes, firearms used in crimes have the serial numbers obliterated or modified in an attempt to make tracing them very difficult, if not impossible. A firearm and tool mark examiner may perform a serial number restoration if this number has been obliterated through means such as filing, grinding, or peening.
The most frequently used methods for serial number restoration are the magnetic particle method, chemical etching, the electrolytic method, and heat treatment. Once the serial number is determined, identification can become much easier.
Contact an Experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney
If you are facing serious criminal charges in Minnesota, St. Paul based Criminal Defense Attorney Jack Rice is here to help. He is a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist, former prosecutor, former U.S. Federal Agent, and Founder of Jack Rice Defense. Check out his references, reviews, articles, appearances, work and what others say about him. Then, and only then, contact Jack Rice Defense for a free confidential consultation or call 651-447-7650 or 612-227-1339.