Hi All,
An article in Friday's St. Albans Messenger related the following information regarding Richard Warren's testimony in the trial which ended up in a mistrial after the jury deliberated for 9 hours and could not reach a verdict:
Ballistics tests have shown the bullet that killed Lussier match shell casings found in the area that came from Viens’ .270 Winchester Short Magnum. That weapon was equipped with an AccuTrigger.
That specific trigger is designed with extra safety measures, but the rifle is powerful, said Richard Warren, who testified for the defense after Hughes rested his case.
Warren is a former U.S. Marine who was a manager at Bob’s Gun Shop in Georgia for eight years, is an avid hunter, and a former hunter safety instructor.
The defense retained Warren to test fire Viens’ rifle after the state crime lab examined it. Immediately, Warren noticed the scope was loose – and not well aligned.
Most of his rounds hit the target upwards of 9 inches to the left. His testimony was an attempt by the defense to bolster its theory that perhaps Viens’ gun was not aimed directly at Lussier’s tractor when he fired it.
“Could you have hit the target, assuming the target to be the window on the tractor?” Ledden asked Warren.
“No,” Warren said.
Also, the trigger pull – the pounds of pressure needed on the trigger to fire the weapon – was set somewhere between 1.56 and 2.15 pounds during various tests on Viens’ gun, after Lussier’s death.
For hunting, the trigger pull should have been set between 4 and 8 pounds, witnesses said.
To read the complete article, you can click on the following link:
http://www.samessenger.com/102006y.html
At 9 p.m. Friday, the jury announced it could not come to an agreement -- Check the following St. Albans Messenger Article:
http://www.samessenger.com/102006.html
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This morning's Burlington Free Press carried the story on the hung jury at:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061021/NEWS/310210010