Following the latest round of investigations into the 1999 shooting of Irvin Landrum Jr. by two Claremont police officers, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office released a statement on September 27 concluding that Landrum's gun was not planted by the officers.

"There is no merit to the conjecture that either [policeman] planted a gun at Landrum's feet in order to justify their shooting," the statement reported.

The investigation came as a response to community concerns, raised after it became public knowledge that the gun Landrum allegedly pointed at the officers was last registered to Wayne Campbell Simmons, former Chief of Police of the city of Ontario.

Irvin Landrum Jr.was shot three times on January 11, 1999 by Claremont Police Officers Hany Hanna and Kent Jacks after having been pulled over by Hanna for speeding and possible intoxication. Hanna and Jacks alleged that Landrum pulled a gun out from the waistband of his pants when asked by Hanna to step away from his car to be patted down. At that point, both officers opened fire, fatally wounding Landrum.

Both Hanna and Jacks allege that Landrum said something along the lines of "I'm gonna kill you," when he pulled out the gun. While neither was able to get a full view of the firearm in his hand, both saw "a flash from what they thought was the muzzle of the gun." According to the officers, a fully loaded .45 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun was found on the ground next to Landrum's body by supervising investigators just minutes after the shooting. The gun had not been fired. An early question raised by the shooting was whether Landrum did actually have the gun in his possession before being shot.

The initial district attorney's report states that "we believe there is convincing evidence that Landrum had a fully loaded gun and that he pointed it at officers Hanna and Jacks." In addition to this a holster, which Jacks said he saw in Landrum's pants, was found on the ground five feet from Landrum's body. Nine rounds of live ammunition appropriate to the Smith and Wesson were also found in Landrum's pockets.

Public outrage at the shooting arose quickly. A press conference was held on January 14 in which family members and a local reverend requested the "truth" as to "why [Landrum] was shot." The first of many protest marches took place on January 27 1999.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's report of the shooting was made public on April 7, 1999. It stated that no charges need be filed against the two officers. The investigation then went to the Los Angeles Country District Attorney's office for a final report. The report, issued October 25, 1999, stated that the investigation, conducted by the Special Investigations Division of the office, was conluded and that neither officer was found to be criminally culpable for Landrum's death.

On November 27, 1999 a report in The Claremont Courier stated that the gun found by Landrum's body was previously owned by Wayne Simmons, former Chief of Police of Ontario. Simmons died in 1988, and had last registered the gun in that year. This new information led to allegations that the gun may have been planted by one of the two officers at the scene in order to justify their shooting. The district attorney's office eventually re-opened the investigation.

The District Attorney's office questioned Wayne Simmons' former wife, Joann Simmons-Walker, and daughter, Stacey Simmons, in order to determine what happened to Simmons' gun after his death. Simmons-Walker alleged having given the gun to Stacey Simmons, her stepdaughter, as a gift, shortly after Wayne Simmons' death. Stacey Simmons denied having received the gun, but two witnesses, provided by Simmons-Walker, testified having knowledge of the exchange.

Investigators further questioned Ontario Police Detective Byron Lee, who had assisted Simmons-Walker in selling her husband's guns in 1998, and reviewed an inventory taken by Wayne Simmons in 1987. Lee testified that he had never seen the Smith and Wesson revolver before, nor was it listed on the 1987 inventory. The district attorney's office confirmed that it was not listed on either year's inventory. Finally, Detective Lee said that he had never sold any firearms to either Hanna or Jacks, though he knew them both.

These interviews concluded the re-opening of the investigation, as the District Attorney's office stated, "Our investigation has uncovered no evidence, either through our independent efforts or from the Grand Jury examination [of Joanne Simmons-Walker and Stacey Simmons], that would suggest or prove that either Hanna or Jacks somehow obtained this weapon from either Chief Simmons, his wife Joann, or Stacey Simmons. Nor have we discovered any evidence that would establish that either officer planted this weapon at the feet of Landrum after he was shot."

The report also included "substantial" evidence that Landrum did have a gun at the time of the shooting. A statement made by Landrum's former girlfriend, Teresa Ramirez, that he carried a gun in his car and that she had seen a loaded gun in a holster under the driver's seat of his car a week before the shooting, was listed as the most "persuasive and incontrovertible piece of evidence."

The report also cited other circumstances of the shooting, including the ammunition found on Landrum, the officer's individual reports that he had a gun, and the fact that he was currently on probation for carrying a concealed weapon.

The Irvin Landrum Jr. Justice Organizing Committee continues to assert Landrum's innocence. They have written to Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, citing the insufficiency of the final investigation, and calling for a investigation of perjury on the part of either Joanne Simmons-Walker or Stacey Simmons. To this date, no further steps have been taken by the city or county.