Dallas authorities have executed five search warrants since the fatal shooting of Botham Jean, yet none of them were on the home of the accused shooter, Officer Amber Guyger.
Guyger, 30, shot and killed an unarmed Jean in his South Side Flats apartment earlier this month. She claims she mistook his apartment for her own and, thinking he was a burglar, she fired her weapon into the dimly lit unit, only to realize her mistake moments later.
Dallas station ABC 8 reported that investigators with the district attorney’s office have since seized the door locks from both Jean and Guyger’s apartment and “downloaded data” from those locks. The station also obtained copies of five search warrants signed by a judge last Tuesday, Sept. 11, the discoveries of which were returned to the court on Friday.
Two of the warrants allowed investigators to remove the front doors of Jean and Guyger’s apartments, while a third gave them the go-ahead to search the victim’s apartment and collect additional evidence. The search sparked outrage, especially after the cops released documents showing marijuana, along with several other items belonging to either Jean or Guyger, were found inside the apartment.
Many saw the revelation as an attempt to smear Jean’s character and somehow paint the shooting as justified.
“I think it’s unfortunate that law enforcement begin to immediately criminalize the victim — in this case, someone who was clearly was the victim that has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he was shot in his home,” Jean family attorney S. Lee Merritt told FOX 4. “I would love to see more information coming out about the warrants executed on the home of the shooter who lived just below him. I haven’t seen any of those.”
An inventory return from the third search also showed that investigators took photos and videos of Jean’s apartment, conducted “laser measurements of firearm trajectory,” and collected gunshot residue from the kitchen wall and door frame, according to ABC 8.
For the fourth warrant, investigators seized footage from the surveillance camera system inside the apartment management’s office. A fifth and final warrant gave investigators permission to collect “all communications related to the incident in the possession of property management,” along with surveillance video and all entry and access logs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the night Jean was killed.
What they seized was a USB drive containing the video, an “elevator access door lock” report, an event log report for “linear access doors and gates,” and a “lock audit report for both apartments.”
Considering the evidence collected, it seems authorities are trying to prove or disprove Guyger’s claim that Jean’s door was ajar when she arrived. However, inconsistencies in the officer’s story have raised red flags. For one, witnesses recalled hearing someone pounding on the door, shouting “let me in!” before shots rang out.
According to an arrest affidavit, Guyger, who had just finished a 15-hour shift, said she saw a “large silhouette” in what she thought was her apartment. That’s when she drew her weapon and “gave verbal commands,” which she claims Jean ignored. She fired twice, hitting the young man inside.
The 26-year-old was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Guyger, 30, is now facing manslaughter charges.
Watch more in the clip below.
