Opinion ID: 1171490
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Defendant's statements to other Rainbow Village residents.

Text: David Bergman testified that he saw defendant around 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. on August 16. Defendant told Bergman that his rifle was missing. Bergman was unsure whether defendant had told him this before or after Bergman learned that a body had been found in the water. Bergman advised defendant to report the theft to the police. Both Thomas Medlin and Tracy Scarborough also testified that on the morning of August 16 defendant told them his rifle was missing. Later that day, Scarborough advised defendant that he had been awakened about 6 a.m. by the slamming of the hatchback door of defendant's car. He asked if it was defendant who slammed the door. Defendant denied it, saying he was not around there at that time but was uptown. The following day, after Greg's body was found, defendant told Scarborough he thought he would be in trouble because his rifle was missing; he was worried that his gun had been used to shoot both victims. Thomas Medlin testified that after Mary's body was found, defendant asked him to hold his gun cleaning kit for a while. Medlin took the kit and hid it in his car. Later, defendant asked Medlin to hide the Tupperware container that defendant used to hold his ammunition, but Medlin refused and gave him back both the gun cleaning kit and the container with the ammunition. [6] Defendant told Medlin he had been dumpster diving (i.e., searching for salvageable items) all the previous night and had been back and forth from the village into town several times.
On August 17, Berkeley Police Inspector Daniel Wolke interviewed defendant at Rainbow Village. The interview was not recorded. Defendant's statement generally agreed with what he had earlier told Detective Eihl, with certain discrepancies. In the August 17 interview, defendant said that Greg was not at the party in Jim Prew's van; in the earlier interview, he had said Greg was present. Additionally, he described his encounter with Mary and Greg near the landfill office somewhat differently to Wolke than he had to Eihl. When he met Mary and Greg about 1:30 a.m. on his way to Ledger's Liquors, defendant told Wolke, they asked him for some marijuana and he shared some with them, smoking it in his corncob pipe. He said he also drank beer with them. Defendant claimed he must have lost his pipe at that time. Defendant said he got his laundry from his car about sunrise. Defendant refused to tell Wolke whether he knew anyone at Rainbow Village who owned firearms. Asked if he owned any guns, defendant said he had a Remington .44 magnum bolt action rifle without a clip. He recited the serial number from memory. When Wolke asked to see the rifle, defendant told him it had been stolen late Thursday afternoon or Thursday evening. Defendant showed Wolke a lidded Tupperware container and claimed that the 10 or 11 bullets he had kept in it were missing. Wolke asked if defendant had made a police report or told anyone the gun had been stolen; defendant said no. Defendant said he had last fired it at Harry Shorman's flag on Thursday evening.