A Mark IV Series 80 Colt .45 semiautomatic handgun was stolen from Sam Weiss on 2 June 1988. The weapon has a tendency to pinch or "bite" the hand of a shooter if held in a two-hand grip. This can sometimes take out a small piece of skin.
The gun in question was manufactured in 1986 and sold to a gun shop on Northridge Avenue, where it was later purchased by Weiss. The gun was stolen during a burglary and used for target practice by Roland Mackey, at which time it injured his hand. He later traded the gun to Hillside Prep teacher Gordon Stoddard in exchange for passing grades in his GED classes. Stoddard used the weapon on 6 July 1988 to shoot and kill Rebecca Verloren. Stoddard apparently avoided being injured by the gun.
The weapon was recovered with Verloren's body on 8 July 1988 and logged into evidence by Los Angeles Police Department. It still had a small amount of flesh on the hammer spur, and subsequent DNA analysis matched it to Mackey. This new evidence led to reopening of the Verloren case in 2005.