Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies with multiple shots from the shotgun in that location during two raids on the house, it is believed that the CHP shotshell was fired in the hallway of the Hoag house and not at the Standard Station location. Furthermore, it is inconceivable that the weapons-savvy Twining would have waited to eject the spent CHP shotshell and make the gun ready with a live round until starting the gun battle with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in the hallway of the Hoag household. He most certainly would have ensured the gun had a loaded chamber at some time during his three-mile flight from the scene, particularly before he used the gun to take the Hoag family hostage. This makes the accidental discharge theory even less plausible and tends to confirm the accounts of witnesses who did not see the accidental shotgun discharge occur.
There is an additional matter that Davis should not have been confused by the operation of the CHP shotgun, which was virtually identical to his own. The location of the button that releases the fore-end and the safety button are different on the Remington 870 and Western Field 550 designs, but it’s unlikely this would have confused the weapons-savvy Davis enough to cause an accidental discharge.
Interestingly, other witnesses claim that Davis fired Officer Frago’s shotgun or revolver at the fallen officer, at contact range, after he had taken them away from him. However, the coroner who performed the post-mortem examination on Officer Frago found no evidence of additional wounds beyond the two gunshot wounds from Twining’s revolver. Additionally, there was no physical evidence that indicated such a shot was taken (spent cases, impact marks on the asphalt, etc.). It is much more likely that these witnesses saw the muzzle blast from Twining’s handgun, which was simultaneously being fired beyond Davis on the opposite side of the Pontiac, and mistook it for fire from Davis. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
30. Interview with Mr. Kness and Officer (Retired) Richard Robinson, who was present when Mr. Kness made his initial statement to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators after the shooting. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html> and personal interview with Richard Robinson.
31. In Mr. Kness’ own words, Officer Alleyn “was dead weight to me” when he attempted to drag him to cover and he couldn’t move him. Because Davis was still firing at them, Mr. Kness tried to shoot him with the shotgun, but when it clicked on an empty chamber he “got a sick feeling.” When the shotgun clicked on an empty chamber the second time, he “really got a sick feeling.” Interview with Mr. Kness. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html>.
32. Mister Kness reported that, when he first picked up the revolver and attempted to cock it, his thumb had a hard time finding the hammer spur. He then grabbed the revolver by the barrel with his left hand, placed his right hand on the grip, and successfully thumb-cocked the revolver. He then mated his left hand to the right in a “two-hand combat position” to fire the shot over the trunk with his elbows resting on the vehicle. Mister Kness later told investigators that he was a little surprised the weapon fired, because after having two dry fires on the shotgun earlier, he didn’t know if the revolver would dry fire, too. Interview with Mr. Kness. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html> and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
33. Several witnesses would recount that Davis clutched his chest or armpit area and spun away like he had been hit, and Mr. Kness said that, “I knew I had him, because he spun around.” Davis was later found to have a 1” long wound under the armpit at the hospital, but it’s not clear if this wound came from Mr. Kness’ shot or from one of Mr. Schwartz’s shots later.
The “wing window” trim on the passenger’s side door of the Pontiac was hit by a bullet at some point during the fight, and bullet core and jacket pieces were later recovered from the vehicle in this location (Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department evidence tag #JW1). A hit in this area would have been in line with Mr. Kness’ position at the right rear of Unit 78-8 and Davis’ position at the front bumper of the Pontiac, and it is possible this is where Mr. Kness’ bullet struck, sending fragments into Davis. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
34. There has been some limited discussion as to whether or not Mr. Kness wounded Davis with his revolver shot, or if the wounds were sustained during Davis’ later encounter with another civilian after he fled the scene. The evidence indicates that the wounds Davis received in the later fight were to his neck and collarbone area. Also, since Mr. Kness was shooting at Davis from a very close distance and saw him spin away as the shot was fired, and since Davis disengaged at this point of the fight, it is most likely that Mr. Kness did indeed hit Davis with a fragment of a bullet, as indicated in the narrative. California Highway Patrol. (1975) Newhall: 1970 [Film]. Sacramento, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/newhall1970-chp1975btv.html> and Anderson, J., & Cassady, M. (1999) The Newhall Incident. Fresno, CA: Quill Driver Books. p.157-158, and Interview with Mr. Kness. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html>.
35. Although he could not have known it at the time, it appears that Officer Alleyn’s gun was not empty and that Mr. Kness actually had one additional live round left in the cylinder.
When the fight was over, Officer Alleyn’s Model 19-2 revolver was recovered by CHP Officer Jack Burniston and placed in CHP Sergeant P.M. Connell’s car, along with Officer Pence’s loaded revolver and Officer Alleyn’s empty shotgun. One live round of .357 Magnum ammunition was recovered with Officer Alleyn’s gun, in addition to five spent cases.
It’s conceivable that Officer Alleyn tried to cock or fire the revolver earlier in the fight, but did not work the hammer or trigger all the way, perhaps because the bloody revolver was so slippery. This short stroke could have advanced the cylinder far enough to line up the next round, but since the hammer was not brought fully back (in either single- or double-action), or the trigger was released forward before the sear tripped, the round under the hammer was not fired. A subsequent trigger stroke or manual cocking of the hammer would have advanced the cylinder again, skipping this live round.
In such a sequence, rounds numbers one through three were fired by Officer Alleyn, round number four was somehow skipped, round number five was fired into the rear window of 78-8, and round number 6 was fired by Mr. Kness at Davis.
It’s plausible that such an action occurred after Officer Alleyn was shot by Davis with the shotgun, at the rear of Unit 78-8. The horrible wounds suffered by Officer Alleyn could have caused him to short stroke or release the trigger as he clung to life and desperately tried to continue fighting. The live round would have been skipped immediately before Officer Alleyn was struck a second time by Davis’ buckshot and before he triggered his final round into the rear window of Unit 78-8.
Alternatively, the round may have been skipped by Mr. Kness himself, who reported difficulty with cocking the gun properly after he picked it up from the ground. After reacquiring a better grip, Mr. Kness
