The Gun, Bullet
& Casings
They had NO warrant. A suppression hearing was held to determine if the search was legal. The car and the gun were in the curtilage and the home was back a drive with evergreens throughout the yard to "protect it from public view". The car was suppressed but the gun was not.
Evidence Highlights
The following are examples of the numerous curiosities' surrounding the evidence,
Casings
No casings were found that evening at the supposed scene.
Deputy Sanholtz, Deputy Glanz and K9 Andy all searched and didn't locate any casings!
Kyle states "they didn't travel far enough down the road" (pg 30 line 2) despite Deputy Sanholtz saying he "went back 800 yards at the most" (pg 59 line 8). This is close to a .5 mile therefore, significantly past where Kyle found a casing. That evening, 7 casings were found on the road at the cul-de-sac by K9 Andy approximately .75 miles away.
Kyle Found Evidence
On 9/7, Kyle found the only
casing that was found at the supposed scene. Deptuy Wymer stated that this was located
1/2 mile down S3 on the south side of the road. This area was
searched by Deputy Sanholtz, Deputy Glanz and K9 Andy,
why didn't they find it? Even though the police report states
that the casing was
photographed, no photo was
ever provided.
Search and Seizure Without a Warrant
The sheriff and the deputies searched not once, but twice, without a warrant. They were asked if they had a warrant and also were asked to leave the property! The gun was found under a tree while looking in the car with a flashlight. The gun was found with "the hammer locked back... magazine and chamber were found to be empty". The car was suppressed but the gun was not, even though the search of the car resulted in finding the gun.
Gun DNA
There was a mixture of DNA on the gun. Cullen's DNA was found on the gun, but it was Cullen's gun!
More importantly, who ELSE'S DNA was on the gun? There was suffient sample left to compare but no further investigation was done!
WHY?
Gun & Casing Fingerprints
There was not sufficient ridge detail for comparison on the gun or the casings!
The Gun & Casings
Photo 1
Car Photos
No casings were found that evening at the scene! The scene was searched by at least 2 deputies, Deputy Sanholtz, Deputy Glanz, and K9 Andy. They all searched the supposed scene and didn't locate any casings! Kyle states "they didn't travel far enough down the road" (pg 30 line 2) despite Deputy Sanholtz saying he "went back 800 yards at the most, just real quick,...to see if there was anything that jumped out at me..." (pg 59 line 8). This is close to a .5 mile therefore, significantly past where Kyle found a casing a week later.
Deputy Glanz met with Kyle Kern that evening.
Summary from Deputy Glanz supporting narrative:
Kyle gave the general area of the supposed incident as the south side of Rd S3, 25-75 yards east of Rd 3B. K9 Andy walked up and down the south side of Rd S3 several times but failed to locate any shell casings. Deputy Glanz and Andy attempted to enter the bean field but he was not able to walk through the beans which were just about waist high on Deputy Glanz. K9 Andy and Deputy Glanz then went to the cul de sac of Rd 4 on the north side of US RT 24. K9 Andy showed interest in several objects laying just on to the road. Sgt Walker and Deputy Glanz checked these shell casings and they were .45 caliber. The shell casings were labeled, photographed and collected by Deputy Saneholtz. (Photo 1)
In addition, Kyle stated that he "could see the barrel of a firearm sticking out of the car when it passed him" and testified that Cullen shot "back at me", therefore Cullen's hand would have been out the window and for the last several shots, shooting back toward Kyle. Cullen is right handed and his gun, a 1911 Regent R100, ejects to the right, the casings would have been on the road, NOT in the car. Deputy Sanholtz supporting narrative states "the car went down the road, turned around, and then went south on Rd 4. The road is a dead end road and 30-45 seconds later he (Kyle) saw the vehicle travel back north on Rd 4". That evening, 7 casings were found on the road at this cul de sac by K9 Andy approximately.75 miles away from the supposed scene. The Henry County Sheriff Departments conclusion states "the casings were found grouped together, as if the suspect had collected them all and thrown them out the window". Their theory was that Cullen drove the the culdesac ( approximately .4 mile each way) found the 7 casings in the car, a very messy car, and threw them on the road, all in 30-45 seconds including drive time. (Photos of car to the left)