5.
5: Impressions made on primer cap from above model, #4.
tract” information based on multi-
ple cartridges that may be recovered
from a crime scene, further obviat-
ing the need for complete character
legibility all of the time. He added
that other, unintentional tool marks
(showing pin size and location, ex-
tractor marks, etc.) provide addi-
tional forensic information never-
theless. He compared the situation
to having partial license plate infor-
mation from a vehicle observed at
a crime scene: even without a com-
that “there was an officer there and
said, ‘well, this can just be defeat-
ed; I can take a file (to remove the
number).’ I pulled the pin out [of a
Smith & Wesson Model 4006] and I
gave it to him and I said, ‘here, and
here’s a file.’ He went at it, and then
I said, ‘look; I’ll give you something
that common criminals don’t have:
here’s diamond paper.’ I let him file
it down and I gave him a loupe, and
I said, ‘take a look—think you did
it?’ He said yes.
Lizotte compared the situation (partial legibility) to having par-
tial license plate information from a vehicle observed at a crime
scene: even without a complete license number, it is neverthe-
less possible to glean some, albeit incomplete, trace information.
plete license number, it is nevertheless possible to glean some, albeit
incomplete, trace information.
Lizotte also questions the results
on the reported ease with which the
firing pin was defaced.
Describing a meeting during
which he’d been discussing the
technology with California Highway Patrol personnel, Lizotte said
“So we reloaded it and gave it to
the range officer, and fired off four
rounds, brought them back, and
guess what: the code was still there
and still legible… I mean the points
on it were legible, so you could ex-
tract it.”
As an addendum to the story,
Lizotte related that the officer never
