Opinion ID: 394829
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Revolver and the Bullet Slugs

Text: 20 Additional testimony indicated that Kearney did have a .38 caliber revolver on the day of the murder, which was the caliber of the gun that killed Officer Silvia. A friend of Kearney's testified that on the day of the murder he saw Kearney with a .38 revolver (Tr. 177-78, 830), and that Kearney told him he had obtained the gun on November 20th and that he, the friend, had unsuccessfully tried to buy the gun from Kearney. Additional evidence tying the gun to Kearney and the murder was presented in the form of three slugs from a .38 caliber revolver. One slug was obtained from a door in the house where Kearney lived. Another was obtained from a log that Kearney had fired the .38 into in the presence of his friend. 3 The other slug was fired into the police officer's stomach and caused his death. An additional .38 caliber unfired bullet was obtained from a dresser in Kearney's room. The slugs were too mutilated to determine positively that they were fired from the same gun, but ballistics tests indicated the slugs bore sufficient rifling impressions to indicate they were all fired from the same type weapon, 4 a .38 caliber revolver. Also, they were all manufactured by the same company and had a unique copper coating, as did the whole bullet retrieved from Kearney's room. 21 The defendant could not seriously attack the positive palm print testimony and he ignored the completely persuasive testimony of Detective Crooke reciting the dying declaration of Officer Silvia as to the shooting and the circumstances leading up to the shooting. (Tr. 901-940). On appeal the testimony must be considered most strongly in support of the jury's verdict and no different rule applies to a § 2255 proceeding.