Michael W.
07-08-2010, 08:54 AM
By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
11:31 p.m. EDT, July 7, 2010
If you bought a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson Sigma series pistol in 2004 or 2005, Daytona Beach police want your personal information.
They think it could help them catch a serial killer.
Daytona Beach police Chief Michael J. Chitwood sent letters to gun shops across Central Florida asking for the names, addresses and phone numbers of customers who purchased that type of gun during that time frame.
Police think a serial killer shot three prostitutes — and possibly another woman — to death using that weapon. It's the newest lead they are following aggressively in the stalled six-year investigation.
"Forensic tests revealed that all of the victims were killed with the same type of weapon …," reads a follow-up letter from Chitwood that one of the gun-shop owners shared with the Orlando Sentinel. "These weapons were shipped to you by Smith & Wesson or a gun wholesaler during the period of 01/01/2004 through 12/31/2005. This information would greatly assist in the investigation of these homicides."
Gun advocates are blasting the initiative, saying the information police are seeking is illegal to collect in Florida, but serial-killer experts applaud it for invigorating a cold case.
"Working with the gun shops [to catch a serial killer] seems to be a brilliant move," said criminal-justice professor Tod W. Burke of Radford University in Virginia. Although Burke is not familiar with the case, he said the move shows "police will follow the lead and do what they can within the legal realms."
The problem is that Florida law prohibits law enforcement or any other government agency from requesting and compiling the personal information of gun buyers. And that's why the move by police is enraging gun advocates, such as those at the National Rifle Association, who have fought for strong laws that prohibit the creation of a gun registry in Florida.
"What are they trying to do? Show up on someone's doorstep and ask to see their gun?" asked Marion Hammer, a National Rifle Association lobbyist in Tallahassee. "This is exactly what the law was intended to stop. They [police] need to read the law."
Chitwood wouldn't explain his request to gun shops because the serial-killer case is "an active criminal investigation," a Police Department spokesman said in an e-mail to the Sentinel. Its not clear how many shops he sent the letters to or how many responded.
Several gun-shop owners contacted would not comment about Chitwood's initiative or whether they had cooperated with the request.
But Scott Buckwald, co-owner of Buck's Gun Rack off International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, said the Smith & Wesson police think is linked to the four slayings is a popular, full-sized weapon used for personal protection and target practice.
Buckwald said he received the request from Chitwood sometime in 2009 and allowed investigators to review his records because it was not a "fishing expedition."
"For the most part, I'm going to always help law enforcement if they are working on a case and have specific requests. My records are open to them," Buckwald said. "But I do think they are looking for a needle in a haystack."
Laws barring gun registry
The hundreds of gun shops in Central Florida and the thousands of firearm licenses issued are enough to make the search for the serial killer an uphill battle.
As of June 30, more than 121,634 concealed-weapons permits and other firearm licenses have been issued in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard and Volusia counties, according to the licensing division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
There are about 444 gun shops across the region, and that still doesn't account for the guns reported stolen to law enforcement every day — or those sold at gun shows.
Complicating Chitwood's initiative is the lack of a comprehensive national system of gun registration, something law enforcement has long pushed for.
Although Hawaii and the District of Columbia require registration of all firearms, nine states — including Florida — prohibit a gun registry, with some exceptions. California and Pennsylvania only require gun owners to register long-barrel guns.
Federal law prohibits the use of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to create any system of registration or database of firearms or gun owners. However, gun shops across the country keep records of customers who buy guns.
"Police can ask the gun shops if they can be allowed review the information [on gun owners] and inspect it, but not compile or copy it," Hammer said.
Stalled case
Some experts think Daytona Beach investigators have run into a dead end in the case because the serial killer has not struck in several years.
"When they [serial killers] stop, you're kind of stuck," said Jay Corzine, chairman of the University of Central Florida's sociology department.
Corzine points to the case of notorious serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader, known as the BTK strangler for his method of binding, torturing and killing his victims. Rader's reign of terror in Kansas started in 1974 and ended in 1991. The case went cold because police had few clues to follow.
Rader told police in Wichita after his 2005 arrest that he had stopped killing because he was bored and his children had grown up.
"Serial killers sometimes get bored, move out of the area or die," Corzine said. "It would be an easier case to follow if there were more recent killings."
Although he supports police for following the lead of the Smith & Wesson possibly linked to the serial killer, Corzine admits it will be a tough lead to chase.
"It's definitely a sign to follow up on, but once a gun is purchased, you lose track of it [because there is no registry]," Corzine said. "That's certainly true in Florida."
Henry Pierson Curtis of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Walter Pacheco can be reached at wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6262.
Serial killings?
A .40-caliber Smith & Wesson firearm was used in the killings of these four women, who Daytona Beach police think are victims of a serial killer:
•LaQuetta Mae Gunther, Dec. 26, 2004. •Julie Ann Green, January 2006 . •Iwana Patton, February 2006. •Stacey Gage, January 2008.
According to an FBI report on serial killings, the four Daytona Beach killings are among 19 deaths along the I-4 corridor that are unsolved and connected to serial killings that the bureau suspects were committed by truckers.
Gun shops in Central Florida
Orange: 81 Osceola: 16 Seminole: 32 Lake: 45 Brevard: 112 Volusia: 76 Polk: 82
SOURCE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
11:31 p.m. EDT, July 7, 2010
If you bought a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson Sigma series pistol in 2004 or 2005, Daytona Beach police want your personal information.
They think it could help them catch a serial killer.
Daytona Beach police Chief Michael J. Chitwood sent letters to gun shops across Central Florida asking for the names, addresses and phone numbers of customers who purchased that type of gun during that time frame.
Police think a serial killer shot three prostitutes — and possibly another woman — to death using that weapon. It's the newest lead they are following aggressively in the stalled six-year investigation.
"Forensic tests revealed that all of the victims were killed with the same type of weapon …," reads a follow-up letter from Chitwood that one of the gun-shop owners shared with the Orlando Sentinel. "These weapons were shipped to you by Smith & Wesson or a gun wholesaler during the period of 01/01/2004 through 12/31/2005. This information would greatly assist in the investigation of these homicides."
Gun advocates are blasting the initiative, saying the information police are seeking is illegal to collect in Florida, but serial-killer experts applaud it for invigorating a cold case.
"Working with the gun shops [to catch a serial killer] seems to be a brilliant move," said criminal-justice professor Tod W. Burke of Radford University in Virginia. Although Burke is not familiar with the case, he said the move shows "police will follow the lead and do what they can within the legal realms."
The problem is that Florida law prohibits law enforcement or any other government agency from requesting and compiling the personal information of gun buyers. And that's why the move by police is enraging gun advocates, such as those at the National Rifle Association, who have fought for strong laws that prohibit the creation of a gun registry in Florida.
"What are they trying to do? Show up on someone's doorstep and ask to see their gun?" asked Marion Hammer, a National Rifle Association lobbyist in Tallahassee. "This is exactly what the law was intended to stop. They [police] need to read the law."
Chitwood wouldn't explain his request to gun shops because the serial-killer case is "an active criminal investigation," a Police Department spokesman said in an e-mail to the Sentinel. Its not clear how many shops he sent the letters to or how many responded.
Several gun-shop owners contacted would not comment about Chitwood's initiative or whether they had cooperated with the request.
But Scott Buckwald, co-owner of Buck's Gun Rack off International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, said the Smith & Wesson police think is linked to the four slayings is a popular, full-sized weapon used for personal protection and target practice.
Buckwald said he received the request from Chitwood sometime in 2009 and allowed investigators to review his records because it was not a "fishing expedition."
"For the most part, I'm going to always help law enforcement if they are working on a case and have specific requests. My records are open to them," Buckwald said. "But I do think they are looking for a needle in a haystack."
Laws barring gun registry
The hundreds of gun shops in Central Florida and the thousands of firearm licenses issued are enough to make the search for the serial killer an uphill battle.
As of June 30, more than 121,634 concealed-weapons permits and other firearm licenses have been issued in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard and Volusia counties, according to the licensing division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
There are about 444 gun shops across the region, and that still doesn't account for the guns reported stolen to law enforcement every day — or those sold at gun shows.
Complicating Chitwood's initiative is the lack of a comprehensive national system of gun registration, something law enforcement has long pushed for.
Although Hawaii and the District of Columbia require registration of all firearms, nine states — including Florida — prohibit a gun registry, with some exceptions. California and Pennsylvania only require gun owners to register long-barrel guns.
Federal law prohibits the use of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to create any system of registration or database of firearms or gun owners. However, gun shops across the country keep records of customers who buy guns.
"Police can ask the gun shops if they can be allowed review the information [on gun owners] and inspect it, but not compile or copy it," Hammer said.
Stalled case
Some experts think Daytona Beach investigators have run into a dead end in the case because the serial killer has not struck in several years.
"When they [serial killers] stop, you're kind of stuck," said Jay Corzine, chairman of the University of Central Florida's sociology department.
Corzine points to the case of notorious serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader, known as the BTK strangler for his method of binding, torturing and killing his victims. Rader's reign of terror in Kansas started in 1974 and ended in 1991. The case went cold because police had few clues to follow.
Rader told police in Wichita after his 2005 arrest that he had stopped killing because he was bored and his children had grown up.
"Serial killers sometimes get bored, move out of the area or die," Corzine said. "It would be an easier case to follow if there were more recent killings."
Although he supports police for following the lead of the Smith & Wesson possibly linked to the serial killer, Corzine admits it will be a tough lead to chase.
"It's definitely a sign to follow up on, but once a gun is purchased, you lose track of it [because there is no registry]," Corzine said. "That's certainly true in Florida."
Henry Pierson Curtis of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Walter Pacheco can be reached at wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6262.
Serial killings?
A .40-caliber Smith & Wesson firearm was used in the killings of these four women, who Daytona Beach police think are victims of a serial killer:
•LaQuetta Mae Gunther, Dec. 26, 2004. •Julie Ann Green, January 2006 . •Iwana Patton, February 2006. •Stacey Gage, January 2008.
According to an FBI report on serial killings, the four Daytona Beach killings are among 19 deaths along the I-4 corridor that are unsolved and connected to serial killings that the bureau suspects were committed by truckers.
Gun shops in Central Florida
Orange: 81 Osceola: 16 Seminole: 32 Lake: 45 Brevard: 112 Volusia: 76 Polk: 82
SOURCE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives