Legal Case Study: Robert Crook Robbing a Gas Station

Christopher Simmons who was attending high school and eighteen years old at the time was arrested. He was transported to the Fenton police station in Missouri. Simmons was read his Miranda Rights by an officer and he waived his right to have an attorney present during questioning. Simmons agreed to speak with investigators. After being interrogated for nearly two hours Simmons confessed to the murder of Mrs. Crook and agreed to allow the police to videotape him reenacting the murder at the initial crime scene.

Forensic ballistics and firearm investigation begin when the bullets, cartridges, a weapon, or any combination of the above found at a crime scene. With the evidence, a crime laboratory will explore for clues on some things that might cause a suspect or possible to prove that the things were used in the crime. By contrast, the markings on the bullets or cartridges found at the scene with those discharged from the suspect’s weapon, a ballistics expert will typically confirm if the rounds came from a similar weapon. Just the act of cycling a cartridge through the weapon without firing it will leave permanent scratches on the case that is distinctive to the weapon.

Not only was the gun used in the murder found in a location found pretty much impossible for Butler to walk to (nine and a half miles away from the hotel where the murder was committed), but they did not test the gun for evidence once it was recovered. So with all that being said let us just recap.

Criminals will find just about anything to use as a weapon. Guns are not the only thing used for a homicide or any other crime. Guns are definitely an option, but if a criminal wants to commit a crime they will find a way to do it even if it is not with a gun. There is so many weapons out there that can cause greater damage than a gun that are free to buy with little or no registration at all.

In deadly crimes, the type of weapon used has no effect on the fact that someone is still dead in the end. Many people have access to weapons, but few will ever actually use

On June 26, 2015, Mr. Steve Gerecke, an Albuquerque, New Mexico resident, confronted six youths allegedly attempting to burglarize his home after gaining access through the garage with a remote control removed from his wife’s car. The group of youth appeared to have been the same roving mob reported earlier to the police. Witnesses and police reports complained of burglarized homes and cars with the removal credit cards, cellphone, keys, and other valuables. In addition to the burglaries, the group allegedly committed grand the auto. Upon the confrontation of Mr. Gerecke and the youth, an escalation of bravado ensued. At this time, one of the youth armed with pistol, shot Mr. Gerecke multiple times killing him in the driveway of his home. Well

Recently in Alabama a man by the name of Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated from death row after already spending thirty years in prison. Hinton was convicted of two separate fatal shootings of fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham, AL. One on February 25, 1985 shooting a John Davidson, and the second occurrence was on July 2, 1985 making Thomas Vason the second deceased. The evidence brought against him was a revolver that somewhat matched the one Hinton had in his home. There was no physical evidence, no fingerprints and no eyewitnesses linking him to the crime. Also, the revolver was questionable at best due to the fact the gun belonged to his mother who he lived with. Ballistics could not accurately tell if the gun Hinton had was even the weapon used in the shootings because they could not tell if his gun had been fired out of recently. They also could not conclusively say that all the bullets used in the two shootings were fired from the same gun. All in all, Hinton was convicted by a possible bullet match to his gun; and an eyewitness’s testimony from a person who was present at a similar, but different crime that Hinton was never accused of. Hinton coming from an underprivileged area only had a $1,000 to hire a ballistics expert to disprove the allegations. Thus leading to a person whose proposed allegations were questionable. Hinton was found guilty and put on Death Row. After sitting in a jail cell for thirty years he was released after firearms experts

In the scenario, three individuals, Joe, Larry, and Bob, were convicted criminals and who were speeding in a stolen vehicle, when they saw a group of rivals. Joe was in the passenger seat warning the others that he was going to shoot at the rival members with a weapon he concealed it in his waistband; Larry the driver, drove the vehicle closer to the opponents. At the stop sign, Bob, who was in the back seat, left the car because he was on parole and didn’t want to go back to imprisonment. Afterwards, Larry drove past the adversaries as Joe discharged a few shots; one individual was murder and the other was shot in the leg.

While patrol officers were clearing the residence to make sure there was no one left in the house there was a assault type rifle located in the bedroom located in the East end of the residence.

However, according to a documented FBI ballistics test carried out on October 12, 1975, the AR-15 rifle found in Robideau's car didn't match bullet found on the scene; even if it is assumed to be Peltier's gun, the gun cannot be linked to any bullets found in the crime scene (Incident). The FBI also did another, less effective form of test on the bullet that showed that the bullet might have come from the damaged gun. (Incident) However, since the second method of testing was more prone to fault, error, and interpretation of the agents, it should not be used in light of the first. The best the FBI could prove from the test was that the bullet came from

Several weeks later, McCleskey was arrested in connection with an unrelated offense. He confessed that he had participated in the furniture store robbery, but denied that he had shot the police officer. At trial, the State introduced evidence that at least one of the bullets that struck the officer was fired from a .38 caliber Rossi revolver. This description matched the description of the gun that McCleskey had carried during the robbery. The State also introduced the testimony of two witnesses who had heard McCleskey admit to the shooting.

As Mr. Crook's lawyer, explain the advice you will give him both pre-arrest and post-arrest.

Several minutes after the shooting, a local police officer discovered a Remington 30-06 rifle along with a wealth of physical evidence, as follows: an overnight bag containing assorted toiletries, two unopened cans of beer, a portable radio with the number “00416” scratched on its side, (later discovered to be James Earl Ray’s inmate number while a prisoner at Missouri State Penitentiary), a pair of pliers with “Romage Hardware” stamped on the handle, a Memphis newspaper dated April 4, 1968, a brown paper bag on which “Homestead” was printed and men’s underwear. Also found was a cardboard box that contained Bushnell binoculars and a paper bag and receipt from York Arms Company dated April 4, 1968, along with cartridge and some ammunition.

Richard’s first arrest, the beginning to his extensive criminal history, occurred at age 13 for trespassing and was followed by numerous other arrests over the better half of a decade. When he was 21 years old, Richard was found guilty of forging a fellow co-worker’s

The bank robbery occurred in Slidell, LA., where the population is 76% white. It is very possible that if the perpetrators were of any other race than white, there would be difficulty in identification (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Studies show that witnesses are more apt to correctly identify their own race than any other (Rankin, 2011). In this case, both of the perpetrators brandished weapons, even holding them out. According to studies, such as one conducted at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, when a weapon is brandished during the commission of a crime, the weapon effect occurs. This is the state of witnesses or victims being so intently focused on the weapon that it impairs the memory of