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BySadieGurman The Associated Press DENVER DetectivesinDen- ver were on the hunt for an increasingly brazen shooter. A burglar fired through a woman's dining room win- dow when she threatened to call police. Ten min- utes later and a mile away, someone broke into another home and shot a Bernese Mountain Dog before es- caping into the night. Officers scooped up the bullet casings and won- dered where he would strike next. Their break came when a witness said he was fired upon in a street fight two days later. Police gath- ered six more casings that were quickly entered into a national ballistics data- base and matched all three crimes. The evidence helped police take Anthony Dennis off the street and keep him behind bars. In many U.S. police de- partments, that evidence might have been shelved in an overworked crime lab, where analysts would only run it through the database to prepare a case for trial. But authorities in Denver are leading a national trend to put ballistics evidence into the hands of investiga- tors much more quickly — before leads dry up and sus- pects disappear. "Police are beginning to understand that if you don't quickly respond and address gun violence it can spread over space, and it can escalate much like a measles outbreak," said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Cen- ter for Gun Policy and Re- search, which is studying whether these efforts cre- ate sustained reductions in gun violence. Matched shell casings have helped lead to at least 35 arrests in more than 50 shootings in the two years since Denver began oper- ating its Crime Gun In- telligence Center. At least 13 other suspects were charged with federal gun crimes, and five more had their parole revoked, ac- cording to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire- arms and Explosives. The goal is to stop "active shooters," people who "have already proven they have no qualms about pulling the trigger multiple times," said Jeff Russell, supervi- sory special agent in the Denver ATF office. "The ur- gency is there to stop that person before they commit the next shooting." In Denver, Chicago, Mil- waukee, New Orleans and other cities, shell casings are now loaded into the National Integrated Bal- listic Information Network within days of a crime. A machine takes images of the unique, microscopic mark- ings at the base of each bul- let casing. Computer soft- ware then produces poten- tial matches, and detectives and ATF agents study the linked cases for other sim- ilarities, such as suspect or vehicle descriptions. "You've got to be timely," said Greggory LaBerge, who directs the Denver Police crime lab. "If even a week or two goes by, you may lose the advantage of hav- ing those connections." Agencies using the na- tional database have en- tered nearly 2.4 million cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes, produc- ing more than 67,000 "hits" as of February. But there are as many as 400 million guns in circu- lation in the United States, and by law, the federal data- base was constrained from the start to include only bal- listics evidence that comes from crimes. By law, test- fired shells of newly manu- factured guns cannot be en- tered before they are sold. Still, with every new en- try of a shell left behind by a criminal, the database be- comes more robust. And when officers gather shell casingsfromshootingscenes as often as they can, they in- crease the likelihood of find- ing matches that provide clues to a shooter's identity. "It's like the computer you have at home. If you feed it a little, it will do a little work for you. If you don't feed it at all, it's not going to do any work for you," said Pete Gagliardi, a former ATF agent who is now senior vice president of Forensic Technology Inc., a private company that stud- ies ballistics evidence. TECHNOLOGY Police testing bullet casings quicker to solve gun crime BRENNANLINSLEY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Ryan Kent, a forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, demonstrates the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network in Lakewood, Colo. By Julie Pace The Associated Press WASHINGTON Aftermonths of anticipation, Hillary Clin- ton is expected to launch her presidential campaign some- time in the next two weeks with an initial focus on inti- mate events putting her in close contact with voters. Clinton wants to avoid soaring speeches delivered to big rallies, and the risk they'll convey the same cloak of inevitability that contrib- uted to her loss in the 2008 Democratic primaries to Barack Obama. The goal, according to people close to the Clinton organization, is to make her second run for the White House more about voters and less about herself, re- gardless of her place atop a field of candidates that cur- rently looks far weaker this time around. "For Secretary Clinton, it's about being at the level with the people," said Rob- ertGibbs,alongtimepolitical adviser to President Obama. "You're demonstrating to people that you're on the ground ready to work each and every day for that vote." Clinton's initial events are expected to be held in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first states to vote in the presidential primary con- test. Robby Mook, who is slated to serve as Clinton's campaign manager, and Marlon Marshall, a top in- coming campaign aide, trav- eled to both states last week to meet party activists and longtime Clinton allies. Clinton aides have long said her second White House run will look differ- ent from the first, and a fo- cus on smaller, more un- scripted events will be how she tries to make good on that pledge. In 2008, Clin- ton tried to compete with Obama's large rallies, but she couldn't match his rhe- torical skills at the podium or the massive crowds that gathered to see him speak. Some Clinton aides say they regretted trying to match Obama rather than play to her strengths. Friends and advisers have long said she is more at ease in small group settings and one-on-one conversations where she can display both policy expertise and a per- sonal warmth that she some- times struggles to convey in front of larger crowds. POLITICS Hillary Clinton to focus on contact with voters at start of 2016 presidential bid SPRING SPECIAL MODERNCLEANERS 609WalnutSt.,RedBluff•527-4308 20 % off HOUSEHOLDSITEMS, SPREADS, COMFORTERS! Mustbepresentedwithincomingorder.Notgoodwithotheroffers. 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