Cartridges and Casings

As the drama churns on in the case of the eight‑year‑old child accused of double homicide, the lack of forensic evidence is perplexing.

In the dual homicide that took place on 5 November, 2008, in Apache County, Arizona, St. Johns Police decided that the eight‑year‑old child used a 22 caliber youth rifle to gun down his father, Vincent Romero, and another adult male, Timothy Romans, with five bullets each.

At the show cause hearing on 7 November, 2008, St. Johns Police Sergeant Lucas Rodriguez testified about casings and ammunition found at the scene. He said that casings found near the bodies were from a 22 caliber cartridge. Photographs were presented to document this. The type of 22 caliber bullet was not given, but based upon released photographs, the casings appear to be from a 22 LR cartridge. Sergeant Rodriguez was one of the two lead investigators*.

Rodriguez testified that unspent 22 caliber ammunition that appears similar to the casings was found on a box of ammunition. No unfired 22 caliber rounds were found anywhere else. Later in the testimony, Rodriguez only stated that the box had rounds in it; that he did not look inside the box; and that the box rattled when he shook it.

He found the box on a downstairs stand near the stairway and a sofa. Rodriguez had the box bagged as evidence. A photo shows it to be a box of Hornady 17 HMR cartridges. The casings of these shells are distinctively different from the photos of casings found at the scene.

The 17 HMR ammunition has a 22 caliber magnum casing that is necked down to accommodate a 17 caliber bullet. The casing for a 22 LR is 15.0 mm in length. The casing length for a 17 HMR is 26.9 mm. The casing diameters are also different with the 17 HMR at 6.0 mm and the 22 LR is 5.7 mm.

The only 22 caliber weapon that was found was the youth rifle. It was located on top of the dog’s cage near the entrance. Other weapons were in the home, but they were not identified as 22 caliber.

Rodriguez testified that the rifle was in an upstairs bedroom closet before the shootings. He based this claim upon a statement of the grandmother who did not live in the home. The stepmother who did live in the home was not asked.

If the youth weapon were chambered for a 17 HMR cartridge, then it would be dangerous to fire a LR cartridge with it. If it were chambered for LR ammunition, the 17 HMR would not fit.

It is possible that the box contained a mix of shell types, but the Apache County prosecutor has been unable to produce even basic forensic evidence so far.

Rodriguez also spoke of casings as bullets at times. His lack of precision is troubling. Is it possible that he mistook the 17 HMR cartridges for 22 LR cartridges?

In a discovery hearing, Detective Debbie Neckel, the other lead investigator, theorized that the child carried ten cartridges in his hand and used these to kill the men. There was no unspent 22 caliber ammunition found on the floor or ground, nor was there any unspent cartridges of any kind in the child’s pockets.

Autopsies were conducted the day after the murders, but the results have not been released yet, not even to the defense attorney. Prosecutors have been instead attempting to bulldoze a plea deal.

Officers involved in the initial investigation were certain that the wounds visible on the clothed victims were from a 22 caliber bullet. But, from testimony, it appears that police were unfamiliar with some basics.

St. Johns Sergeant Webb Hogle testified at the initial hearing that 22 caliber ammunition is subsonic in an attempt to explain why shooting was not heard during a cell phone conversation or perhaps by one of the victims. The speed of the bullet is, however, dependent on propellent and bullet weight. Depending on the ammunition design and other factors, supersonic velocity is certainly possible for a projectile fired from a 22 caliber rifle.

The speed of sound is variable depending on altitude and temperature. At fifteen degrees Celsius and at sea level, the speed of sound is 1125 fps.

The speed of a 22 caliber LR can be from subsonic to supersonic dependent upon design. And, Hornady gives a muzzle velocity of 2375 fps for their 17 HMR GR XTP and 2250 fps for their 17 HMR GX V_Max.

When police testified that the wounds of the clothed victims appeared to be from a 22 caliber bullet, I’m not sure how accurate their guesses are. Can they really determine if the wounds were from a 22 caliber or a 17 caliber bullet?

Hopefully, better information will be forthcoming. So far, it appears that the prosecution is delaying the release of evidence other than dribbles that benefit the State.

* The St. Johns Police Chief Roy Melnick, interfered with the investigation by prematurely ordering the bodies removed.