A St. Louis prosecutor ordered Patricia McCloskey’s gun to be dismantled and reassembled, noting that it was “readily capable of lethal use” in charging documents.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley ordered crime lab staff members to field strip the handgun, finding it had been assembled incorrectly, according to the documents filed Monday. The firing pin spring was put in front of the firing pin, which was backward, raising questions about the gun’s ability to fire. Firearms experts then reassembled the gun correctly and found it worked by test-firing it.
McCloskey and her husband, Mark, have alleged that the handgun she waved toward protesters last month was inoperable, claiming it was a prop during a lawsuit they once filed against a gun manufacturer. The couple said they made the weapon inoperable in order to bring it into a courtroom.
Missouri law orders police and prosecutors to prove that a weapon is “readily” capable of lethal use when it’s used in the type of crime for which the McCloskeys have been charged.
“It’s disheartening to learn that a law enforcement agency altered evidence in order to prosecute an innocent member of the community,” Joel Schwartz, the McCloskeys’ attorney, told KSDK of St. Louis on Wednesday.
The McCloskeys are being investigated by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office for pointing weapons at protesters marching through their gated community to demand the resignation of the city’s mayor. They were charged with unlawful use of a weapon on Monday.
The couple, who went viral in the video of the incident, have defended their actions, saying they were acting in self-defense.
