Photo: Shawn Gaston (left) is on trial in the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Alejandro “Alex” Valadez.None of the DNA taken from three weapons recovered in the 2009 murder of a Chicago Police officer matched the man currently on trial for killing him, an police forensic scientist testified Monday.
But that didn’t mean, Illinois State Police forensic scientist Megan Neff testified, that Shawn Gaston never touched any of the weapons. It’s possible, she told jurors, to touch a weapon and leave no DNA behind.
Gaston, 22, is the first of three men to stand trial in the June 1, 2009, shooting death of Officer Alejandro Valadez, 27.
Prosecutors say Gaston and two codefendants fired 15 shots at Valadez in the 6000 block of South Hermitage Street as he and other plainclothes officers were responding to an earlier call of shots fired. Defense attorney John Paul Carroll says the lack of Gaston’s DNA on any of the guns points to his innocence.
Three weapons were recovered from the trunk of Gaston’s mother’s Pontiac G6 found parked nearby — which had been identified as the car carrying the shooters — a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a .357 revolver and a long 9mm rifle.
Valadez, his partner and other officers, all in plainclothes, had been following up on a report of shots fired when bullets pierced Valadez’s left ear and thigh. The earlier shooting had been directed at Gaston and his friend, prosecutors said. Gaston was out for revenge, they said, and minutes after firing shots, he drank tequila and partied at a neighbor’s house.
Neff testified that codefendant Kevin Walker’s DNA was found on the pistol, and the third accused shooter, Christopher Harris, may have left his DNA on the revolver.
Carroll turned to the large easel he’s been using to draw his own maps and illustrations since the trial started on Sept. 20, asking Neff how DNA works and drew its characteristic double helix shape.
“That’s not exactly how it works,” Neff told him.
Carroll continued with the drawing pad, prompting State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who’s trying her first case since her 2008 election, to object to his diagrams.
Throughout the day, officers in uniform and plainclothes filed in and out of the courtroom, filling the back rows. Valadez’s relatives quietly packed the first two rows; Gaston had supporters sitting in the bench closest to him.
Prosecutors are expected to conclude their evidence Tuesday.
