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4 Co JS 2. The Busch report stated that Wolfer conducted two series of ballistics tests. The first test was conducted on June 6, 1968, with the gun actually seized from Sirhan, and the bullets from this test were used to identify bullets removed from the victims of the crime. The second ballistics test was conducted on June 11, 1968, when Wolfer used a weapon obtained from the’ Property Division of L.A.P.D. (Serial #H18602)}. The Busch re- port, which Wolfer corroborated in testimony in September 1975 before Judge Robert Wenke, states that the use of the second weapon was necessitated by the fact that Sirhan's weapon had been entered into evidence before the Grand Jury hearing on June 8, and that a court order restricted the availability of the original Sirhan weapon. These second ballistics tests were conducted to determine sound characteristics and to verify muzzle distance by examining gun powder pattern. This second weapon was destroyed in July 1969 in accordance with state law. Since this weapon had been originally confiscated by the L.A.P.D. from a suspect in the con- mission of an unrelated crime, state law required that such confiscated weapons, if not introduced as evidence at trial, be destroyed one year from the date of apprehension by law enforcement agencies. However, this weapon had been originally scheduled to be destroyed in July 1968. Subsequent records modified by C.I.I. and the L.A.P.D. showed the gun was actually destroyed in July 1969. The Busch investigation revealed there had been a mislabeled envelope introduced at trial in February, 1969, containing the bullets identified as People's #55. This mismarked envelope had been introduced without objection by the trial court, the prose- ecution or defense attorneys, or the bailiff and other court offi- cials. It should be added, that Grand Jury Exhibit 5-B, containing the original four of the seven test bullets fired by Wolfer on June . ae . : 6, 1968, were correctly identified with the Sirhan gun serial number, and that at the subsequent ballistics examination hearing in the fall of 1975, there was no evidence that any of these seven test fired bullets came from other than one gun. Condition of the Exhibits A new but related problem arose during the course of District Attorney Busch's investigation: the condition of the exhibits. The District Attorney's Office discovered that various questions surrounded the handling of Sirhan trial exhibits by the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office. Additionally, the District Attorney felt that these questions were sufficient to suspend further investi- gative activity into the Barbara Blehr charges pending a grand jury inquiry into the clerk's handling of the exhibits. Among the most Serious of these questions were the violations of continuing Superior Court orders setting forth the manner in which the evi- dence was to be handled. In a letter to the Board of Supervisors dated August 24, 1971, the Grand Jury expressed serious concern about the operations of the County Clerk's Office and stated: - 20 -