Gun that killed Pittsburg officer also used in fatal Modesto shootout

Gun that killed Pittsburg officer also used in fatal Modesto shootout

ASSOCIATED PRESS 12:17 a.m., June 11, 2003 PITTSBURG – The gun that killed Pittsburg police inspector Ray Giacomelli in April is the same weapon his suspected killer fired in a fatal shoot-out with police, according to ballistics tests. Contra Costa Sheriff's Lt. Dan Terry said Tuesday the .40-caliber Glock handgun that killed Giacomelli was the same weapon used by Earl Foster Jr. during the firefight with police in Modesto. Foster fled there after Giacomelli's slaying in Pittsburg on April 15. Investigators found Foster at a strip mall pay phone in the Central Valley city two days later. A shootout ensued after Foster began firing at police, Terry said. Foster died of multiple gunshot wounds; he was hit 22 times, according to an autopsy released Tuesday by the Stanislaus County coroner. Law enforcement officials throughout northern California had launched a massive manhunt to locate Foster. The 46-year-old Giacomelli was killed while investigating the homicide of Eric Louis Huffman, the brother of Foster's girlfriend who was found slain April 7. Both Giacomelli and Huffman were shot in the face. Police have said Foster is the only suspect in Huffman's slaying.