Sheriff to Review 150 Cases for Possible Errors

The Sheriff’s Department will reexamine more than 150 law enforcement investigations as a result of “potential credibility issues” involving a sheriff’s firearms examiner, according to the district attorney’s office.

The examiner, Dwight Van Horn, “failed a proficiency test” in 1998, according to a letter sent by Assistant Dist. Atty. Michael E. Tranbarger to the public defender’s office. Van Horn is now retired.

“Sheriff’s Department records indicate that Mr. Van Horn conducted firearms comparisons in 153 law enforcement investigations during that period,” according to the letter. It said ballistics evidence had been retested in 51 of Van Horn’s cases and that investigators concluded there may have been errors in two cases. Defense attorneys in those two cases have been notified, the letter said.