FRIDAY DECEMBER 11 1998

[WND Exclusive ]

Who fired fatal shot?

Second autopsy, photos spell discrepancies in Taft shooting death

By Sarah Foster

© 1998 WorldNetDaily.com

TAFT, Calif. -- Any one of the four bullets found in his body could have caused the death of Taft gun store owner Darryl Howell killed in a federal raid, according to independent pathologist Richard Siegler, M.D., of Santa Cruz, Calif., who performed a second autopsy on the body of the deceased at the request of attorneys retained by the family.

Though not disproving the official finding of suicide, Siegler's report inspires a deeper questioning of the government's account of the fatal shooting that occurred during an October raid on Howell's Alpha-Omega Surplus and Supplies, located near Taft, California -- a small community 37 miles southwest of Bakersfield.

In that scenario, Howell, 45, took his own life by shooting himself in the mouth with his own weapon to avoid being arrested on federal weapons law violations.

As retold by those present at the scene, two agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms entered Howell's store about 10:15 a.m., Oct. 7, accompanied by senior deputy Robert Bendel of the Kern County Sheriff's Department and Taft police Sgt. Ed Whiting. Howell was to be charged with selling machine guns on two separate occasions, to an informant about two years ago.

The ATF agents had federal search and arrest warrants. A large group of ATF agents and sheriff deputies waited outside.

Those who planned the raid had decided against a "dynamic entry," and the arrest was to be "low-key," since Howell was recognized as being a non-violent person.

Indeed, he made no effort to resist the officers' intrusion into his store, and stood quietly with his hands on his head while Whiting did a pat-down search for weapons. But when ATF agent Larry Williams attempted to handcuff him, Howell broke away and stepped into the narrow, crowded space behind a counter, government officials say. Williams tried unsuccessfully to stop him by wrapping his arms around him, but was no match for the much heavier Howell, who weighed over 300 pounds. Despite Williams hanging onto his back, Howell managed to grab one of his own guns, a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic colt pistol he kept on a shelf, according to the official version.

Williams said he realized what was happening and yelled "Don't do it! Don't do it!" But Howell, who assumed a crouching position, put the barrel in his mouth -- covering the gun with both hands -- and pulled the trigger.

Whiting, fearing Williams had been shot, immediately pumped three rounds from his .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol into Howell's back and right side. Carbon residue indicates one of the shots was a contact shot fired at extremely close range.

The entire incident was over within minutes.

The sheriff-coroner's office performed an autopsy. Forensic pathologist Donna Brown, M.D., found Howell's death to have been instantaneous and ruled it a "suicide." Brown reported the shots fired by Whiting occurred "post-mortem" (after death) -- hence the police officer was not responsible for the death.

A two-member shooting review board, comprised solely of Taft Police Chief Bert Pumphrey and Taft police Lt. Ken McMinn exonerated Whiting, finding his shots to be "justifiable."

That account of the tragedy has been adamantly rejected by Darryl Howell's family and friends. No one who knew him believes he would have committed suicide. His deeply held religious convictions would make that extremely unlikely. Howell, a devout Christian, believed suicide to be a sin.

To probe deeper into the matter, Howell's family hired Faulkner and Faulkner, a Bakersfield legal firm specializing in what James Faulkner calls "government abuse cases."

The first step in the investigation was to have a second autopsy performed. This took time, and the results were only recently sent to the attorneys. Kathleen Faulkner made a copy of the autopsy report available to WorldNetDaily.

Dr. Siegler presented his findings with an important disclaimer: namely, that the first autopsy after death "sees the condition of the body most similar to what it looked like while alive." At a second autopsy, the pathologist must work with a body that has been dissected, tissues cut, and relations altered.

Nonetheless, Siegler was able to determine that any of the bullets could have caused Howell's death.

In a summary Siegler writes that the three bullets (fired by Whiting) were fired "at very close range into the right side and right back. ... The organs had been previously dissected during the first autopsy; however, based on the location of the external wounds, any of them would likely have been fatal as they disrupted vital chest organs, including the heart, lungs and aorta (a major artery). ... All three projectiles came to rest within the body, and there were no exit wounds of the chest."

Describing the bullet from the gun reportedly fired by Howell, Siegler notes: "A single larger bullet entered the brain, fired through the back of the mouth. This wound also would have been fatal by itself. It's location is compatible with having been fired by the deceased. ... This projectile also came to rest within the skull. ... The overlying scalp, however, was not torn, and exerted sufficient elastic pressure to retain both the fractured portion of bone and the projectile."

So, despite the bullet being a large .45 caliber, it stayed within Howell's head, a finding that confirmed that of the county's pathologist.

"Each or any of these bullets would have caused death," Siegler concludes. "It is important to emphasize that, according to police reports, all shots were fired within a few seconds of each other. This information, together with the conclusion that death occurred immediately, indicate that no single bullet can be regarded as the one which produced death. There are no tissue changes I saw, grossly or histologically, which would indicate to the contrary. Bullets entering the chest producing entry wounds ... have a faint pink heat flash or track at their periphery. I interpret this to be due to direct heat effect of the skin which would have been independent of any action of the heart or necessity for blood pressure. For this reason, I believe that it is impossible to determine which single bullet caused death."

"If that is so," Kathleen Faulkner observes, "how can we be sure Whiting didn't shoot first, killing him, then Darryl's gun was fired into his mouth to cover up a botched raid? We simply don't know. It's one of several possible scenarios."

That, of course, is the question that's been on the minds of Howell's family and friends from the beginning. The new autopsy -- while not resolving the matter -- at least opens up possibilities.

Other evidence has come to light that serves to call into question the official account. Sitting at her desk, Kathleen Faulkner ponders over a set of photos obtained from the county -- some taken at Howell's store in Taft, others from the coroner's office. So many questions arise -- all crying out for answers.

There's the matter of the clean gun. According to the Kern County Regional Criminalistics Laboratory, the bullet fragments retrieved from Howell's brain came from a colt .45 Mark IV handgun, serial number B20661. This was found on the floor beside his body. [See photo 1] Instead of pointing down -- which might be expected if it had been dropped by the victim himself -- it faces towards his head.

Even more significant, the gun -- which Howell had presumably held tight in both hands, then placed in his mouth as he pulled the trigger -- has absolutely no blood, saliva, and apparently no fingerprints on it. Swabs were taken of the muzzle and slide area of the gun. According to lab tests, "No saliva was detected on any of the swabs received for examination." And "although a very small amount of cellular-like material was microscopically present on the swabs ... this material did not give a positive human response."

"I don't see how this is possible," remarks Kathleen Faulkner. "How could the gun be so clean, unless it was wiped down?"

Sgt. Glenn Johnson of the Kern County Sheriff's Dept. explained that this is not extraordinary.

"It happens," he later told WorldNetDaily.

"Depending on the incident, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't have blood on the weapon," he said. "It depends a lot on the gun itself as far as how tight the gun is held when it's discharged. The tighter the gun is held and forced up against the point of contact, you'll have a bit more blowback [of blood] than you will if the gun is not held real tight."

This response is not likely to satisfy critics. Especially, when -- as Kathleen Faulkner points out -- there's not only a lack of blood and saliva, but the safety catch is on, as can be seen in the photo.

But the condition of the gun isn't the only problem the Faulkner's find with the official account.

"What about this wound over Darryl's eye," Kathleen Faulkner asks, studying another photo, this one from the county's autopsy.

Howell's head, shaved, shows a head injury of some kind.

"Did someone hit him during a struggle?" she wonders. "It looks like it could be from a gun butt. Or perhaps it happened when he fell. Whatever it was, it certainly looks like it was inflicted externally, and we'd like to know what caused it."

More photos.

"Here, look at these." she says, then challenges, "Do you see anything funny about these pictures?"

In the first, Howell is shown lying on the floor in front of his desk -- there's a space between the desk and a small safe. In the next shot the safe has been pushed up against the desk.

"Someone's moved furniture," she points out. "They're not supposed to do that. So the question is, why did they? Who did it? How much more furniture was moved about like this?"

Asked about the apparent furniture moving, Sgt. Johnson told WorldNetDaily he'd have to review the photos, but "everything in them would be as it was when the investigators got there. We'd search for expended rounds and casings, but as far as the photographs showing the body still there, nothing was moved."

Johnson said that the search for spent casings would not be conducted until after the body was removed.

"It'll take a long time to get to the bottom of this case," Kathleen Faulkner says. "We're waiting to hear back on some tests. We've found definite holes in the official account, some things just don't make any sense -- these are just a few of them -- we have to sort everything out and put it together."

Main

Incidents

• Executive Summary
• Suggested Cover Letter to BATF
• Govt Response to NRA Washington Post Ad
• Strange Things BATF Agents Do
• Gun-Shy Judges
• CATO Policy Analysis 109

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