Forensic testimony raises fresh questions in 2013 Acadia Drive police killing trial

No gunshot residue was detected on the hands of the three men fatally shot by police on Acadia Drive in 2013, and tests on shirts linked to two of the men were also negative, a retired forensic analyst told the court yesterday.

The witness said she examined swabs taken from Matthew Lee, Mark Allen and Ucliffe Dyer. According to her evidence, a trace level of nitrates appeared in only one of five samples from Dyer, while all five samples from Lee and Allen showed no gunshot residue.

Asked what she could infer from the results for Allen and Lee, she said, "One conclusion could be that they did not fire a firearm."

She explained that nitrates alone do not establish gunshot residue, noting that residue also involves lead, barium and antimony. Given the tiny quantity found and other factors considered in her analysis, she said the finding was not enough to conclude that gunshot residue was present.

The court was told that investigators collected five samples from each man, including one control sample, and that nitrate appeared only in the swab taken from Dyer’s right palm.

The analyst further testified that nitrates are common in the environment, including soil and fertilisers, and can be transferred from other sources.

On clothing exhibits, she said testing found no gunshot residue on a red shirt identified as Allen’s and a black shirt identified as Lee’s. Both shirts were identified in court and entered as exhibits.

She added that the black shirt carried earth stains and vomit and had 74 holes, while the red shirt contained vegetable matter and had 12 holes.

Attorney Hugh Wildman, however, objected to both garments being tendered.

Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and Constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose and Richard Lynch are before the court in relation to the deaths of the three men.

Earlier in the trial, a government ballistic expert testified that just one spent cartridge recovered at the Acadia Drive scene matched the two guns recovered after the incident.

That expert also said all 11 service weapons taken from the six police personnel on trial were consistent with having been fired.

A superintendent of police, giving expert evidence, told the court that each firearm sent for testing showed signs of discharge. Addressing the two 9mm weapons, he said one held 14 rounds and the other 13.

He said one spent 9mm cartridge was recovered, and the lab also received 11 live 9mm rounds along with other ammunition. The live 9mm rounds, he said, could be chambered in either of the two 9mm guns.

He had previously stated that while the two 9mm firearms were not in ideal condition, both remained capable of firing lethal shots, and that the service weapons were in good working order.

The case is set to continue tomorrow with the government analyst. The ballistic expert, whose evidence was interrupted due to other duties, is to resume testimony next Tuesday.