Gun released by mistake to suspect in Cape murder

A gun returned by Cape Girardeau police to a man convicted of beating his girlfriend apparently was used in a murder last week.

By following the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's authorization, police appear to have inadvertently violated a 1996 federal firearms law that bars people convicted of domestic assault from possessing a firearm and prohibits government agencies from transferring firearms to anyone convicted of that crime.

Gregory Allen McNeely is now charged with using his returned pistol to murder Terry Lynn on Nov. 1 outside Players Lounge at 632 Broadway.

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle signed an evidence release form June 17 authorizing police to return the gun. He said he takes responsibility for the error.

"If I signed that form, then I made a mistake in releasing that gun to him," Swingle said.

Members of Lynn's family are outraged and believe his death could have been avoided.

"The bottom line is that this is the gun that killed my son," said Lynn's mother, Theresa Steagall of Scott City. "He would not be dead if they hadn't given it back."

"Nothing's going to bring him back," Steagall said of her son. "If there's a loophole and it can happen again, then they need to fix it."

Assistant U.S. attorney Larry Ferrell said he couldn't comment on whether his office would pursue the apparent violation of federal gun laws. The penalties for violating the federal law include a fine, up to 10 years in prison or both, according a penalties provision of the U.S. Code's Title 18.

Police records show McNeely picked up his silver Larson .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol on June 23, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic assault against his live-in girlfriend. He served five days in jail and was put on probation.

Police had confiscated the gun in April when McNeely was arrested.

The gun should never have been put back in his hands, said police chief Steve Strong. But he explained that the evidence technician who released the gun followed department procedure exactly. No evidence is released by police without written approval from the prosecutor's office.

"We have that system because they are the ones who know," he said. "In this case we didn't even know that charges were ever filed. The information has to come from the prosecutor. We are not privy to whatever agreements they've entered into."

Both Strong and Swingle said there is a communication problem between their offices concerning convictions, and it needs to be corrected before a similar tragedy occurs.

"What we had in place -- that we thought would prevent a mistake from happening -- didn't work," Strong said.

Strong said it is possible there have been other guns mistakenly released. He intends to review the department's procedures for releasing evidence and learning about convictions. Swingle said he intends to do the same.

"I need to come up with a policy in writing that explains how we handle this every time we are asked to release a firearm from evidence," Swingle said.

To get around the federal gun law, many firearms owners who are convicted of domestic assault transfer ownership of the weapon to a relative, lawyer or friend, Swingle said.

Police departments are sometimes left not knowing what to do with such guns, he said.

"The complication is that you can't forfeit the gun from them unless they were convicted of a felony," Swingle said. "But in the misdemeanor assault you can't give it back. You can't hold on to it forever."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160