One to the Wolves, On the Trail of a Killer by Lois Duncan Page B

for stolen cars. A cop
     friend of Nolan’s told him that one of the I.A. reports contains information that
     Vietnamese were stealing getaway cars for Griffin, which were later dismantled at
     that shop. That isn’t as crazy as it sounds, because one way the fraud rings operate
     is by stealing cars to use to stage hit and run accidents.
    “If it’s true that members of Dung’s bunch were working for Griffin, then it’s likely
     they have inside knowledge about the Klunck shooting. If that includes the fact that
     cops planted an alibi gun at the scene, it would put that group in a position to blackmail
     those cops.”
    “Can APD be forced to release the Internal Affairs files?”
    “A judge has ruled that they must, but they continue to refuse to,” Michael told me.
     “My guess is they plan to hold out until it’s too late to prosecute. The statute of
     limitations on criminal prosecution runs out on January 27.”
    In February, Don and I made a trip to Albuquerque to visit Donnie. While there, we
     went to the library to see what we could find out about Matt Griffin.

    We started by pulling up articles from the time of the Klunck shooting. According
     to the Albuquerque Journal, police Chief Sam Baca told reporters that Peter was shot twice in the chest — when in reality he was shot three times in the back. The Journal also had somehow obtained a confidential report that disclosed that the three officers
     who fired at Peter gave conflicting statements. Matt Griffin, whose bullet was defined
     as the one that killed Peter, refused to give a statement at the scene. Officer Robert
     Valtierra said Peter had a gun in his left hand. Sergeant Paul Heatley said he clearly saw a gun in Peter’s right hand. Officer Steve Nakamura, who did not fire at Peter, reported that Peter was
     unarmed.
    The gun that Peter allegedly had been carrying was not found until seven hours later
     when a derringer turned up fifteen feet from where Peter fell. It tested negative
     for prints.
    Griffin then gave a statement that he had fired in self-defense. The grand jury, who
     weren’t aware of the conflicting statements of the police officers, found them not
     criminally liable, although they did raise questions about the delayed appearance
     of the derringer. Peter Klunck’s parents had questions about that too, and in January
     1990, they filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights suit against the police
     chief and several officers. The city settled out of court for $325,000, which the
     Kluncks placed in trust for Peter’s son, born twenty days after his death. The settlement
     contained no admission that Peter’s civil rights were violated.
    The Klunck family refused to give up on the civil rights issue and contacted the FBI
     in Washington D.C. In December 1993, a federal grand jury subpoenaed APD’s Internal
     Affairs files, which APD still refused to release.
    An editorial in the January 10, 1994, issue of the Albuquerque Journal gave an update on the case:
    “Five years later, Klunck’s death is still haunted by troubling questions ... Now
     thanks to investigations by federal prosecutors, a startling possible link between
     Klunck and the officer who fired the fatal shot — Matt Griffin — has been included
     for the first time in public records. Prosecutors say they have developed evidence
     that Klunck and Griffin were engaged in criminal activity together and Klunck was
     in the process of making the officer’s criminal activity known on the day he was killed
     ... Could a policeman who had possible criminal links with Klunck have a compelling
     personal reason to want to silence Klunck— a personal motive for firing bullets into
     the man’s back?”
    I phoned Peter’s mother, Renee Klunck, and asked if she would talk with me. She said
     to come right over and the moment we met we bonded into instant sisterhood.

    “When I read your book, I went out of my tree!” Renee told me. “I sat there,