Why not leave the rifle in the gutter, although I don’t see how he could disguise the nearly 40”+ weapon while jumping down... how did he reconnect it? How to disconnect it... Does taking it apart and putting it together change the shooting profile?
I should have added, they are setting this up for a guilty plea, no real trial, case closed.
According to the text messages he sent to his furry homo lover, he had to ditch the rifle to get away. He really wanted to get away with the rifle and leave nothing behind. But then things got too hot and he had to abandon it.
He claimed it was supposed to be a secret he would only reveal on his death bed. Also, the rifle was important to his dad, and he had been wanting it back... it belonged to the killer’s grandpa.
I think he really wanted to get away with the whole thing. If he hadn’t have hidden the rifle for later, he may have. The FBI seems to have had slim pickings to catch him.