Murder suspect Brad McGarry awaits a past appearance in Belmont County Common Pleas Court.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Prosecutors are waiting on the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to determine whether a gun found along Ohio 7 this week is the one they believe was used to murder Brad McGarry in his Bellaire home in May.

Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry confirmed Friday that a gun was found on the west side of Ohio 7 near Shadyside. However, he said there are discrepancies between the weapon’s location and information provided by suspect David Carl Kinney during a police interrogation.

Kinney has maintained he shot McGarry in self-defense, according to investigators.

“We found a gun that resembles what the defendant said was used, but it was found in a location that was a distance away from where he said he disposed of the gun … ,” Fry said. “It matches, at least generally, the description of the type of gun he said was used. Whether it’s relevant or not, we don’t know that yet.”

Fry said the weapon recovered is a .22-caliber derringer that holds two rounds — but when it was found, it had one live round still in the chamber.

“The deceased in this case was shot twice. Even if we assume that this is the gun that was used, it would have had to be reloaded at least once,” Fry said.

In a statement released late Friday, Kinney’s defense attorney, Christopher Gagin, said he wants to ensure the facts about the gun found along Ohio 7 are not misrepresented.

“The government found a gun. The government has no evidence that it found the gun,” Gagin said. “Forensic testing has not been conducted, and given the state of the bullet recovered, I seriously doubt the government will be able to prove that the gun found was the actual gun involved in the shooting. In fact, we deny the gun found was the gun involved in the shooting. … Mr. Kinney looks forward to proving this point, and that he acted in self-defense, after having a gun pulled on him, at trial next month.”

Gagin added that he believes attempts to connect the gun found along Ohio 7 to McGarry’s death “can only be interpreted as the government’s attempt to improperly taint the jury pool in a case where the forensic evidence does not support the government’s assertions.”

Kinney, 30, of Brilliant is charged with murder with a firearm specification. Kinney reported finding McGarry’s body to police on May 7, saying he found the remains while visiting the home with his wife and daughter.

Days later, law enforcement interviewed Kinney, leading to his arrest after he allegedly gave several conflicting stories under questioning and eventually claimed to have shot McGarry in self-defense.

Investigators believe that a romantic relationship existed between Kinney and McGarry.

Kinney remains in custody, with bond set at $1 million.

Officials have been searching for the weapon used in the shooting throughout the investigation of McGarry’s death. BCI is testing the gun found this week for fingerprints and DNA, as well as ballistics.

Fry said his office has requested expedited testing in light of Kinney’s Jan. 29 trial date, but he does not have a timetable for when results may be available.

“The gun that we found, while it fits the description given by the defendant, he’s given us three or four different versions how it happened in the first place, so we have to take that into consideration,” he said. “And the gun was found on the opposite side of the road he said he had disposed of it, and probably a good 5 or 6 miles south of where he says he discarded it out his car window, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”