Tuffree Trial Views Gunshot Sequence

A pattern of weblike fractures in Daniel Allan Tuffree’s kitchen window shows the sequence of shots fired by Tuffree during a deadly gunfight with a Simi Valley police officer two years ago, a defense witness testified Thursday.

But on cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that some of the glass splinters upon which the defense has focused its case could have been caused after the Aug. 4, 1995, shooting.

The testimony of John Thornton, a glass fractures expert and a professor of criminalistics at UC Berkeley, provided a new spin on the murder case.

Prosecutors say Tuffree, a 49-year-old former schoolteacher, intentionally shot and killed Officer Michael Clark during a gunfight through Tuffree’s kitchen window.

But defense attorneys say Tuffree shot Clark in self-defense after the officer first fired a round at him.

The issue was left unresolved after a six-week trial that ended in October with a deadlocked jury. Now, Tuffree is being prosecuted again in a nonjury trial before the same judge.

This time, his attorneys are trying to pinpoint the precise sequence of gunshots to prove who fired first.

According to Thornton’s testimony, the first bullet fired from Tuffree’s gun struck the aluminum window frame before hitting Clark in his shooting arm. Aluminum fragments were found on the bullet, he said.

Because Clark emptied his gun and a pattern of bullets was fired into the side of the house, defense attorneys say Clark must have fired at Tuffree before being hit in the arm.

Other witnesses have testified that Clark would have been unable to fire his gun in a consistent pattern after being hit above the elbow.

In addition, Thornton said splinter patterns in the glass, such as a clamshell-shaped fracture near the top of the window, show evidence of two subsequent bullets being fired from inside the house.

But on cross-examination, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia M. Murphy got Thornton to acknowledge that some glass splinters could have been caused by moving the window after the shooting or by being hit by an armored truck that smashed into Tuffree’s house to rescue the fallen officer.

She also challenged his statements about the bullet holes by showing photographs of the crime scene in which the clam-shaped fracture does not appear.