"BALLISTICS SAVED MY LIFE"-- THAT'S WHAT A MACON MAN TOLD 13WMAZ AFTER THE 4@CHARGES
AGAINST HIM FOR MURDERING 4@HIS
OWN GIRLFRIEND WERE DROPPED.
THAT HOMICIDE HAPPENED IN 4@
BIBB COUNTY, BUT A POLICE
DEPARTMENT NEAR ATLANTA
DISCOVERED THE GUN USED TO
KILL HER.... DID NOT BELONG TO
HER BOYFRIEND. IN
TONIGHT'S '13 INVESTIGATES,'
CHELSEA BEIMFOHR EXPLORES HOW
BALLISTIC IMAGING 4@TECHNOLOGY
IS HELPING SOLVE CASES, LIKE
THIS ONE, A4@CROSS THE COUNTRY.
4@
IS HELPING SOLVE CASES, LIKE THIS ONE, A4@CROSS THE COUNTRY. IN JULY, THE BIBB COUNTY
SHERIFF'S 4@OFFICE RECIEVED THI
MACHINE AS PART OF A GRAN4@T
FROM THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF 4@
JUSTICE. IT LOOKS LIKE A
PRINTER OR A 4@COFFEE MAKER, BU
DANIEL HALL SAYS IT GAVE HIM
HIS FREEDOM AFTER BEING
ACCUSED OF MURDERING HIS
GIRLFRIEND IN 2016. IN 2016.
AT THE BIBB 4@COUNTY CRIME LAB,
ANTONIO LEWIS-ROSS SPENDS
HOURS EVERY DAY LOOKING AT
THESE...4@ EACH INDIVIDUAL GUN
LEAVES DIFFERENT MARKS.SHELL
CASING... AFTER SHELL 4@
CASING... HE UNWRAPS THEM FROM
EVIDENCE BAGS AND PLACES THEM
UNDER A MICROSCOPE. ONE CRIME
SCENE COULD HAVE ONE SHELL
CASING... ANOTHER COULD HAVE
300AFTER FIRST GLANCE, THE
CASINGS GET 4@PUT INTO THIS
MACHINE....... AND UPLOADED IN
THE NATIONAL INTEGRATED
BALLISTICS INFORMATION
NETWOR4@K. NATS: THEY'RE MAKING
THE SAME LINES, 4@SAME UNIQUE
IMPRESSIONS, YOU HAVE THE SAME @
PATTERNS...THE COMPUTER 4@
GENERATES A "GRADE"... THEN
INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE IF
IT'S A MATCH TO A SHELL CASING @
ALREADY IN THE DATABASE. WHAT
WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS TAKE SHELL
CASINGS THAT ARE COLLECTED AT
CRIME 4@SCENES-- OR SHELL
CASINGS THAT ARE DISCHARGED
FROM THE TEST FIRE OF SEIZED 4@
FIRE ARMS-- AND MAKE
CONNECTIONS 4@VERY QUICKLYTHE
LATTER IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT
SAVED A BIBB COUNTY 4@MAN FROM
SPENDING HIS LIFE IN A JAIL
CELL. IF IT WASN'T FOR THE
TECHNOLOGY, THEN I 4@WOULDN'T
HAVE EVER BEEN BELIEVED.IN
AUGUST OF 4@2016, INVESTIGATORS
FOUND KENDRA 4@ROBERTS' BODY
SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES IN THIS
AREA OFF RIVERSIDE DRIVE.4@HOUR
LATER, THEY ARRESTED HER
BOYFRIEND, DANI4@EL HALL... AND
CHARGED HIM WITH HER MURDER.
YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I
HAVE TO BE LOCKED UP? AND THEN
I HAVE TO MISS OUT ON TWO
YEARS OF 4@MY LIFE?HALL SAT IN
JAIL FOR MONTHS. INNOCENT.
UNTIL THE CLARKSTON POLICE
DEPARTMENT, OUTSIDE OF
ATLANTA, ARRESTED4@ A SECOND MA
IN CONNECTION TO ROBERTS'
DEATH-- 4@STERLING BELL. I HAVE
NEVER SEEN THAT MAN A DAY IN
MY LIFE ... 4@SO LIKE I DON'T
EVEN 4@KNOW WHERE HE CAME INTO
THE PICTURE AT.4@IN OCTOBER
2018, MORE THAN TWO YEARS
AFTER ROBERTS' DEATH--
CLARKSTON POLICE FIRED A GUN
SITTING IN THEIR EVIDENCE
ROOM. THEY PUT THE SHELL
CASINGS IN THE NIBIN MACHINE--
AND THE "BALLISTIC
FINGERPRINT" MATCHED THE 4@
WEAPON USED TO KILL KENDRA
ROBERTS. THE GUN BELONGED TO
STERLING BELL. 4@YOU GO FROM
THINK YOU'RE NOT GOING TO 4@COM
HOME, EVER... TO GETTING OUT!
I 4@MEAN OF COURSE YOU'RE GOING
TO BE HAPPY, BUT YOU'RE NOT
HAPPY ABOUT THE SITUATION
ITSELFTHE MACON DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE CONFIRMS
HALL'S CHARGES WERE DROPPED...
BUT HE SAYS THE MONTHS THAT
FOLLOWED WERE "ROUGH." SINCE
THEN, HE'S MOVED AWAY FROM
MACON, T4@O "START OVER." NOW,
HE HAS A 4@NEW JOB... AND A NEW
SON. I'M TRYING TO SHOW MY SON
A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF LIFE...
I'M TRYING TO BASICALLY MAKE A
BETTER MAN OUT OF HIM.4@SINCE
THE INSTALLATION OF THE NIBIN
MACHINE IN BIBB COUNTY, LT.
JASON BATCHELOR, SAYS THE
CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE 4@UNIT HA
MADE OVER 80 "CONNECTIONS"
BETWEEN FIREARMS USED IN LOCAL
CRIMES-- WHICH 4@HOPEFULLY WILL
LEAD TO MORE ARRESTS. 4@WE CAN
MORE EFFECTIVELY RECOVER
EVIDENCE, TARGET THOSE THAT
ARE RESPONSIBLE, AND GO AFTER
THE TRIGGER-PULLERS. THOSE
THAT ARE DRIVING OUR GUN CRIMES
AND PERHAPS ANOTHER LIFE, LIKE
DANIEL HALLS, WILL BE 4@SAVED. @
BALLISTICS SAVED ME, THEY
SAVED MY LIFE... AND I THANK
GOD FOR IT.AMY LEIGH WOMACK
WITH THE MACON DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS
STERLING BELL'S CASE IS
AWAITING TRIAL.
4@ AND TODAY... KENDRA'S
FATHER WILLIE ROBERTS GAVE US
A STATEMENT.. THAT SAYS..4@"I
ALWAYS ASKED 4@GOD TO REVEAL WH
WOULD KILL MY DAUGHTER AND 4@
WHY... TODAY I AM RELIEVED TO
KNOW THAT HE IS BEHIND BARS. I
NEVER GAVE UP, BUT I KEPT THE
FAITH."