Questions over whether alleged killer of rookie cop should have had gun
NEW YORK -- Investigators are trying to determine if the man suspected of killing a rookie Virginia police officer should have been prevented from owning a firearm, a source tells CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues.
Law enforcement officials are said to be angry because "he was not the kind of person who should have had access to guns."
Ronald Hamilton allegedly shot and killed the 28-year-old officer, Ashley Guindon, on Feb. 27, as she and two other officers responded to a domestic violence call at Hamilton's home. Guindon had been sworn into the job the day before.
Now, investigators want to know if a 2006 "road rage" charge should have disqualified Hamilton from owning the rifle he used to kill her, according to sources.
Law enforcement officials say warning signs of the sergeant's erratic behavior should have kept him from owning the deadly weapon and they are trying to figure out whether some kind of procedural mistake made it possible for Hamilton to keep a gun.
They are concerned that "this is another case that may have fallen through the cracks," according to a source.
The 2006 arrest stemmed from an incident in a Clarksville, Tennessee parking lot. A man allegedly accused Hamilton, an Iraq veteran, of driving too close to his girlfriend.
Court records show that Hamilton then reached into his vehicle and pulled out a silver handgun. When the man asked Hamilton if he was going to shoot him with a pellet gun, investigators say Hamilton replied: "It ain't no pellet gun," and inserted a magazine into the weapon.
The man allegedly backed away, asking Hamilton if "he was going to ruin his life by shooting him," which is when, sources say, he drove off.
A warrant was issued for Hamilton's arrest on Dec. 30, 2006 and he was booked on Jan. 2, 2007. Hamilton, who was serving in the U.S. Army at the time, eventually pleaded the charge down to a simple assault and was given a pretrial diversion.
The probe into Guindon's death is sensitive for local and federal law enforcement officials because it involves "one of their own" and a suspect who worked at the Pentagon.
Police point out that Hamilton, who was an employee of the Pentagon's Joint Staff Support Center, not only killed Guindon, but also killed his wife.
Two other officers who responded to the scene were also shot and wounded when Hamilton fired a rifle as they approached the front door, investigators say. The injured officers are expected to make a full recovery.