REPEATEDLY VIOLATED IN TEMPLE MURDERS CASE

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 Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Terrell. We are told this is a purloined duty report written by an 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 MARICOPA 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 big red flag. This again relates to the chain of evidence. Any of these errors can invalidate the use of the rifle for evidence.

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 Caratachea's home. 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 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. This again is a fatal breech in the chain of evidence.

The GRAPEVINE learned that Detective Riley run over by a truck and killed during the most intense period of the Temple Murders investigation. 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.

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! This was again a breach of chain of evidence that in-and-of-itself was more than capable of rendering the shell casings invalid for use in the trial. Without the rifle and the shell casings it is doubtful that the County Attorney could have obtained a guilty verdict against Jonathan Doody.

THE THREE STEPS A RETAIL STORE MUST TAKE WHEN SELLING A GUN

The Federal Fire Arms Laws and Regulations administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) set rigid guidelines for firearms transactions records.

Step 1) A manufacturer ships guns to a retail dealer. These guns must be accompanied by an invoice bearing the serial number of each gun being shipped on the invoice. Upon arrival at the retail store the dealer is required to check the serial numbers of each gun against the shipping invoice. The retail gun dealer is required to complete the BTAF form Gun Receipts Record wherein each serial number from the shipping invoice is transcribed to the Guns Receipts Record. (See form below left.)

Step 2) When a person purchases a rifle from a retail dealer he is required to fill out a BATF Fire Arms Transaction Record (See this form that was filled out by Mrs. Caratachea on front page of GRAPEVINE.) The purchaser is required to provide personal ID and the gun sales clerk is required to take the gun in hand and copy the serial number directly off the gun on to the BTAF Fire Arms Transaction Record and both the purchaser and the sales clerk must sign the form at this time. This is the form that the BTAF considers the primary documentation of gun ownership.

Step 3) The retail gun clerk is then required to complete the Gun Disposition Record. This must be completed by the end of the shift and is generally prepared from the BTAF Firearms Transaction Record. The clerk must enter the date of sale, name and address of purchaser and driver's license, the price of the gun and the signature of the clerk must be written in the numbered column that corresponds to the serial number and model of the gun. These forms must be stored in a bound book and are rigidly controlled by the BTAF. (See form below right.) Failure to follow these procedures may result in a $10,000 fine.

(When the gun sales clerk in the Tolleson K-MART was asked "How often are mistakes made in the gun store ledger she responded, "Never. If anything is scratched out it had to have happened after the gun was purchased.")

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