by Brian Downing Quig

THE GRAPEVINE

Without a proper chain of evidence no item can be used in a court of law. Here are just a few of the glaring violations of the chain of evidence involving the Caratachea .22 Marlin Model 60 rifle and the shell casings used to identify this rifle as the murder weapon that ended the lives of 9 Buddhists on the far West side of Phoenix in August of 1991.

The Caratachea rifle was confiscated illegally on the 21st of August 1991 on LUKE AIR FORCE BASE by Maracopa County Sheriff's Deputy Terrell. We are told this in a purloined duty report written by a LUKE AIR FORCE BASE MP October 29, 1991. "At this time approx 21:40 hrs Dep Terrell MCSO showed up seized the weapon and told Caratachea to leave the base."

There was no probable cause to stop the teenagers and no probable cause to confiscate the weapon. This alone would invalidate the rifle for use as evidence. Chief Jesse Locksa, head of homicide investigations for the MARACOPA COUNTY SHERIFF's OFFICE stated that Terrell gave the weapon back to the teenagers but could not say exactly when. Was a receipt listing the serial number given when the weapon was returned? Did Rolando Caratachea check the serial number of the weapon when it was returned? The serial number was noted to be absent from the MP's duty report --- a VERY big red flag. This again relates to the chain of evidence. Any of these errors can invalidate the use of the rifle for evidence.

Editors note: The GRAPEVINE repeatedly requested the signed duty reports of the 15 officers involved in this strange incident and although we were always promised these they were never delivered. No original police reports listed the serial number of the gun --- very strange for police reports. The first reference to the serial number appeared only in supplemental reports written months later after a case was being made against the teens. We do not know exactly when the weapon was returned to the teenagers but we are told by the Sheriff's Department that on the 10th of September Deputy Rick Sinsabaugh visited Rolando Caratachea at the restaurant where he worked and made arrangements to confiscate the .22 rifle latter at Doody's apartment. Now another egregious error in the chain of evidence occurs. Kimball states in his October 1993 article in PHOENIX MAGAZINE that the Caratachea rifle was brought in to the TEMPLE MURDERS TASK FORCE headquarters at 12:20AM after the property room was locked and that for more than a month the rifle sat behind a door in the office of Detective Patrick Riley. At any time this rifle could have been switched by confusion or by plan. This again is a fatal breech in the chain of evidence.

The GRAPEVINE learned that Detective Riley was run over by a truck and killed during the most intense period of the Temple Murders trial (while the convicted Doody awaited sentencing). Riley was noted as the deputy most concerned that all evidence was preserved in this bizarre case. An in depth probe of this matter will be addressed in our next issue.

Editors note: Another key Temple Murders detective was found shot to death along with his girl friend in what was called a murder/suicide. How neat and tidy!

The Crime Lab Report clearly states that it was only through the match of the shell casings found at the murder scene that an identification of the murder weapon was possible. Some experts even dispute this. The operative issue with the shells was the failure of Sergeant Kimball to seal the envelope containing the shells when they were originally sent to the Crime Lab! The shells were placed unmarked in the coat pocket of a detective and taken to the TEMPLE MURDERS TASK FORCE HQ and then to the crime lab. This was again a breach of chain of evidence that in-and-of-itself was more than sufficient to render the shell casings invalid for use in the trial. Without the rifle and the shell casings it is doubtful that County Attorney Rick Romley could have obtained a guilty verdict against Jonathan Doody.

Does the reader notice any difference between the legal representation given O.J. Simpson and Jonathan Doody?.

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DE-CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
P.O. Box 58,
Tempe, Arizona 85280

e-mail: Quig@dcia.com