But change the wording ever so slightly, and the solution comes into view--------------------
1. It is firmly established that multiple witnesses saw a man with a gun go into the alley off Patton.
2. It is firmly established that multiple witnesses saw a man with a gun go all the way down Patton to Jefferson.
Let us draw out the solution:
EVENT 1. A man with a gun, wearing a light-brown jacket, came onto Patton off Tenth, immediately crossed over to the west side and then went down an alley.
EVENT 2. A man with a gun, wearing a gray/white jacket, come onto Patton off Tenth, stayed on the east side and went all the way down to Jefferson.
Event 1 happened shortly before Event 2.
Multiple people saw Event 1.
Multiple
other people saw Event 2.
Only one person saw
both Event 1 and Event 2. His name was Mr. Ted Callaway. He started looking north on Patton shortly before Mr. Sam Guinyard did. By the time Mr. Guinyard came to look north on Patton, Event 1 had already taken place: the man in the light-brown jacket had disappeared down the alleyway.
Let us call the man with a gun seen in Event 1
Tan Jacket Man.
Let us call the man with a gun seen in Event 2
White Jacket ManBy the time White Jacket Man came onto Patton, Tan Jacket Man had already disappeared down the alley off Patton.
White Jacket Man had, from Tenth, seen Tan Jacket Man turn onto Patton. He went in the direction he had shortly before this seen him go. Not knowing, however, that Tan Jacket Man had turned off into the alley off Patton, White Jacket Man assumed incorrectly that Tan Jacket Man had gone straight down Patton for Jefferson. And so that's the way he went himself.
Because White Jacket Man was (as he thought) following in the path taken by Tan Jacket Man.
This makes new sense of the following moment:
Mr. BALL. What did he do when you hollered at him?
Mr. CALLAWAY. He slowed his pace, almost halted for a minute. And he said something to me, which I could not understand. And then kind of shrugged his shoulders, and kept on going.White Jacket Man hadn't come from shooting Officer Tippit. He had come from seeing Tan Jacket Man shoot Officer Tippit.