Opinion ID: 1136073
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The handgun evidence

Text: In its opening statement to the jury, the prosecution acknowledged that the handgun used in Grayson's murder has never been found, but promised to introduce evidence that showed defendant possessed a .38-caliber handgun. Thereafter, in its case-in-chief, the prosecution introduced evidence that Grayson was fatally shot with a .38-caliber revolver. John Hamman, a criminalist employed by the California Department of Justice, testified that, based upon his examination of the spent bullets recovered from the crime scene, an Arminius Titan Tiger was one of several weapons that could have fired the fatal bullets. Gregory Ninnis, a pawnbroker at Federal Jewelry and Loan, testified that on January 5, 1981, an individual who identified himself as Don Ray Hill pawned a .38-caliber Arminius Titan Tiger, and reclaimed the weapon the following day. The same person pawned an Arminius Titan Tiger on January 26, 1981, reclaiming the item from pawn five days later. On February 11, 1981, a Don Ray Hill pawned another .38-caliber revolver, an R.G. Model 40, reclaiming it on February 28, 1981. Jerry Owens, a handwriting expert employed by the Fresno Police Department, testified that, according to police reports he had been furnished, Don Ray Hill and Troy Lee Jones were the same person, a circumstance substantiated by his comparison of handwriting exemplars.