see if the ballistics would match the .25-caliber bullets that were removed from the skull of clifford mercktwo months later, investigators found cliff merck's gun. it was in the possession of a man, whom we'll call dan jones, at the time he was arrested on a drug charge. it was easily identifiable since cliff's initials had been carved into the handle. >> that was cliff. he had his name on practically everything that he owned. he'd take some kind of an etcher and etch his initials on it, you know, just for identification. >> jones denied any involvement in the murder and said he bought the gun from an acquaintance, robert cowan, a man well known to law enforcement. >> he had no occupation and he supported himself by stealing, robbing houses, stealing from people outside of restaurants and that type of thing. he had a long record of robberies and use of narcotics. >> robert cowan also had a partner in crime, his brother gerald. >> the brothers were involved in criminal activity, a lot of small-time stuff, public drunk, a lot of narcotics usage, some assaults. >> forensic scientists tested cl