GUILTY IL - Keith Blumenberg, 19, shot to death, Chicago, 30 Sept 1995

A bullet from a 9mm handgun crashed into Keith Blumenberg's skull on Sept. 30, 1995, killing the 19-year-old factory worker.

The bullet was fired from a passing car into a crowd outside 9244 S. Blackstone. But in a neighborhood where the fear of gangs trumped willingness to help the police, none of the witnesses could describe the shooter.


For the ATF, which had launched the Integrated Ballistics Information System in 1995, solving the long-cold mystery was a sweet victory. "This is the oldest unsolved murder case in Illinois that has been solved by IBIS," said Thomas Ahern, an ATF spokesman.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bullet31.html

The whole story shows how ineffective gun laws are at curbing violent crime and criminals. Here is a guy who cannot legally buy a firearm because he is a convicted felon. He simply has someone buy it for him. The police were able to solve this crime through a LOT of hard work as indicated by the story. Any break in the continuity of the history of the gun might have meant that this criminal would walk once again. When you read this story, you might begin to see that these criminals do not care what the law is regarding firearms. They get them one way or another - no matter what anti - gun laws are passed. The only people affected by such laws are law abiding persons - not the criminals. It would be interesting to know what the cost of this ballistics program is, and how many crimes have been solved because of it. And how many are still unsolved.



quote ... Investigators spoke to the woman in October 2004, and she admitted she had driven to the store with Samuel Coggs, who was banned from buying firearms because of his felony record, police said. He allegedly picked out the pistol he wanted and she bought it for him with her valid state firearm owner's identification card. ...

Coggs is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. His next court hearing is June 8...

"It was sweet to catch Coggs because he was still involved in a lot of illegal activities," said Rotkvich, the Chicago Police detective. "Without that hit, this investigation would not have gone anywhere." ...



Coggs has been convicted of aggravated battery, having a sawed-off shotgun in a car and unlawful use of a weapon, court records show. He was shot in March during a home invasion at his residence, police said. Coggs could not be reached for comment for this story. Unquote

"One of the men in the Town Car bought the gun from a drug user, who had stolen the gun from a family member, who had bought it from a gun trafficker, who had obtained the weapon after Coggs got rid of it following the killing, police said."


this is just crazy.
I also wonder why they are not charging the woman???
she's bought several guns, more than likely, for other people.

sharon25 said:

this is just crazy.
I also wonder why they are not charging the woman???
she's bought several guns, more than likely, for other people.

Click to expand...

Exactly. What is the reason for having such laws as the ones mentioned in the story? Is Coggs going to be charged with illegally possessing a handgun? Are any of the others? And why are they not charging the woman with supplying a handgun to a known felon? What nonsense. They don't enforce the laws already on the books, yet just watch how some legislator uses this as a reason to propose MORE ineffective anti gun laws.

I'm not that familiar with the ballistics database. Can anyone tell me more about this, such as --- are ballistics from unsolved murders involving guns entered into this database routinely --- are confiscated weapons entered routinely --- are ballistics from slugs entered as well as from the weapon itself --- is it used nationally --- are there any sort of standard protocols and do they differ by state --- any additional info is appreciated.

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/news/24458

Gun Tracing Convicts Another Murder Suspect, a Chicago Gang Member

22 August 2007Chicago Sun-Times

A gun confiscated in a traffic stop led to the conviction Monday of an alleged gang enforcer who killed a man in 1995 but escaped arrest for nearly 10 years. Samuel Coggs was convicted in a bench trial Monday by Judge Dennis Porter and faces sentencing Sept. 26, prosecutors said. The 9mm handgun that Coggs used in the 1995 murder of Keith Blumenberg was seized in a 2003 traffic stop. A federal database, the Integrated Ballistics Information System, matched the gun to...