Gun expert says shell casings in Kenneth Dolezsar killing fired from same gun

WEST JORDAN — A weapons expert testified Thursday that five shell casings found near Kenneth Dolezsar's dead body and another shell casing from a gun box found in Eugene Christopher Wright's home were fired from the same gun.

Wright, 35, is on trial for allegedly shooting Dolezsar, 50, to death on Nov. 15, 2007, in the parking lot of a Sandy Village Inn near South Towne Mall.

Richard Grzybowski, who currently works as a firearms expert for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, examined the shell casings and bullets or bullet fragments taken from Dolezsar's body during an autopsy and determined they all were fired from the same weapon.

Grzybowski took the 10-member jury through a short PowerPoint tutorial on how semi-automatic weapons work, how bullets are constructed and how markings are made on shell casings and bullets when they are fired from a gun.

Dolezsar was shot five times in the face and torso, with two of the injuries instantly lethal and the others potentially deadly without immediate medical care. Prosecutors believe the shooter used a Springfield XD 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Grzybowski also examined a sixth shell casing found in a gun box during a police search of Wright's home. Many gun manufacturers fire a test bullet at a small target from the gun that is sold and include those items in the gun case because some states, although not all, require these things be registered.

Grzybowski determined it also was fired from the same gun.

Wright has maintained that he had such a weapon but he and his wife went shooting and it was misplaced or lost.

Grzybowski also examined four of the five bullets taken from Dolezsar's body during an autopsy and found they, too, were shot from the same weapon. The fifth bullet was encased in some "crusty" material that could not be chemically removed, and taking it off with any kind of tool would ruin the markings on the bullet and therefore compromise the evidence.

Wright's trial is set to resume April 26 and is set to run through May 7.

e-mail: lindat@desnews.com