Brown signs bill to count backlogged rape kits in California


​The bill requires that the backlog be tallied and reported by July 1, 2019.​ September 30, 2018 SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown signed one bill and rejected another Sunday that sexual assault survivors have long sought in hopes of forcing California law enforcement agencies to account for backlogged rape kits. Brown signed AB3118 by Assemblyman Davi...

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Ex-Edcouch cop accused in elaborate drug heist gets 39 months


A former police lieutenant with the Edcouch Police Department accused of staging a drug seizure in order to steal cocaine from the agency's evidence room October 4, 2018 McALLEN — A former police lieutenant with the Edcouch Police Department accused of staging a drug seizure in order to steal cocaine from the agency's evidence room was sentenced Tu...

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Sugarcreek police officer David Strubel charged with stealing drugs


The criminal complaint against Strubel says that on or about Aug. 24 to Sept. 27, he took from the State Highway Patrol narcotics that were evidence and narcotics that were police dog training aids. October 4, 2018 "I was shocked and disappointed to learn of this. But this behavior cannot be tolerated. We took swift and direct action, and I commend...

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AG finds 5,000-plus untested sexual assault evidence kits, gets grant for backlog analysis


Attorney general's office has received a $2.8 million Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to process untested evidence October 1, 2018 At least 5,424 sexual assault evidence "kits" remain untested in Missouri, according to final numbers from the attorney general's statewide audit released Monday. In May, the prel...

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After the Verdict: Disposing of Evidence at the CCSO


He stands calmly, evidently accustomed to the smell, between rows of meticulously organized evidence bags. September 28, 2018 Investigator Harry Einfalt, CCSO, shows the double sided lockers used for moving evidence into the vault The smell hits you first as Harry Einfalt, Campbell County Sheriff's Office investigator, unlocks and opens the door to...

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Nevada News: AG Laxalt Announces 95 Percent of Backlogged Sexual Assault Kits Sent for DNA Testing, Resulting in at Least 13 Arrest


AG Laxalt's Office Secures Additional $1,000,000 in Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Federal Grant Funding, Securing More than $10 million in Total Enter Article DATE HERE CARSON CITY, NV – Yesterday, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that 95 percent of Nevada's previously untested sexual assault kits have been sent to labs for t...

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Kern Corruption: A look at the stolen drugs (follow-up)


According to grand jury transcripts unsealed Friday, the former deputies took 34 lbs. of processed marijuana, worth about $34,000 from a KCSO evidence room. September 29, 2019 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Investigators said Logan August and Derrick Penney stole marijuana from KCSO evidence September 18, 2014 -- the same day they confiscated it during a ma...

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Homicide evidence never gets tossed


When you're murdered in Youngstown, they bury you twice – once in a grave and once in a file. September 30, 2018 When you're murdered in Youngstown, they bury you twice – once in a grave and once in a file. In the file, you live forever because under state law, that file and any other evidence collected in a homicide can never be thrown out, except...

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No jail time for police officer who stole drugs from evidence locker; says he has opioid addiction


Flowers became addicted to painkilling drugs over the years because he suffered from chronic back issues and other health concerns September 28, 2019 HARRISBURG — A former Lower Swatara Township police officer who pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the department's evidence locker will not spend any time behind bars. Scott M. Flowers, 39, of Har...

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El Mirage cold case murder solved 17 years later thanks to new technology


Enter Headline here September 27, 2018 EL MIRAGE, AZ - The Arizona Department of Public Safety says they have solved a 17-year-old cold case murder in El Mirage. Richard Cacero Lucero was found dead on Dec. 20, 2001, when a family friend asked officers to conduct a welfare check on the victim. The Arizona Department of Public Safety took over the c...

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A Powerful Database Helps Solve Gun Crimes. Only Two States Require Police to Use It.


New Jersey and Delaware have laws mandating that investigators use an innovative ballistics system called NIBIN. The other 48 states don't — and their reticence makes it harder to ID shooters everywhere. September 26, 2018 Four years ago, before collecting bullet casings became a widely hailed tool for solving gun crimes, New Jersey state legislato...

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Untested Rape Kits Hid 817 Serial Predators In Detroit, Tens Of Thousands More Concealed In Backlog Across U.S.


In Detroit alone, 11,000 rape kits that were slowly tested over the last few years revealed 817 serial rapists—meaning there are likely close to 29,000 repeat rapists, whose identities are hiding in those crime-scene kits gathering dust around the U.S. Enter Article DATE HERE Detroit's recent discovery of more than 800 serial rapists underscor...

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Cold case murder: ECSO makes arrest in 2010 homicide after tip from prison inmate


The case file on the shooting contains Florida Department of Law Enforcement documents that link a DNA profile matching Sangster to swabs of the interior of the vehicle in which Allen was found, according to the report. Enter Article DATE HERE Two men argued in a vehicle. A gun went off. Then the passenger pushed the victim's body aside and to...

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Ex-Smith Township police chief guilty of $10k theft


Guilty on charges of theft in office and grand theft for taking about $10,000 from the police department's evidence locker Enter Article DATE HERE YOUNGSTOWN John Siranovic, former Smith Township police chief, brought shame upon not only himself but all law-enforcement officers, assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Ken Cardinal said Wednesday....

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Weber County Sheriff’s employee accused of using meth on the job appears in court


A former Weber County Sheriff's employee accused of taking methamphetamine stolen from the evidence room appeared in court. Enter Article DATE HERE Candice Follum faces 20 charges of altering a record, a third-degree felony; and 20 counts of drug possession, a class A misdemeanor. Weber County prosecutors said Follum admitted to taking drugs f...

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Bensalem police, FBI seize $1.2M in pills from alleged Lower Bucks pill ring (Stolen From Waster Disposal Facility


$1.2 million dollars worth of discarded pills stolen by employees at a Falls waste disposal facility and resold Enter Article DATE HERE It started with a small-time pot bust, and over months the investigation grew. Now Bensalem police say they and the FBI have shut down a major drug ring and seized $1.2 million dollars worth of discarded pills...

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Ex chief goes on trial over missing 10k


The former Smith Township police chief, was the only person who held the key to the department's evidence room September 25, 2018 Prosecutors said Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that John Siranovic, the former Smith Township police chief, was the only person who held the key to the department's evidence room, failed to show proper doc...

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Warren city worker convicted of theft


The lawn mower, part of evidence Warren police had collected in a series of home burglaries, was discovered missing when police were planning to return it to its owner. September 23, 2018 WARREN – A Warren city employee was found guilty today on petty theft charges involving theft of a lawn mower from the city operations department. Griffing receiv...

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Colorado Springs police arrest man in connection with decades-old homicide (DNA)


Police took DNA samples from semen left by the killer and interviewed several suspects who had seen her early that morning. September 20, 2019 Colorado Springs police have taken one step closer to solving a decades-old cold case with the arrest of a 46-year-old man in connection with the alleged rape and killing of Mary Lynn Vialpondo, police chief...

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Lang arrested in connection with theft, sale of guns


Enter Headline here September 21, 2018 CONYERS — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested former Rockdale County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Lang, 37, Thursday on multiple violations of theft by taking (firearms), a charge of theft of excess of $40,000 in US currency, and one count of violation of oath of office. Lang turned himself in at the Rock...

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Lawyer requests federal investigation into drug lab scandals


Enter Headline here September 21, 2018 A defense attorney has called for a federal investigation into scandals at the state's drug labs in Jamaica Plain and Amherst. The scandals, which first came to light more than five years ago, have led to the dismissal of more than 30,000 drug convictions because of misconduct by state chemists and prosecutors...

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Sleepy Eye Police Moving To Site Of Former Liquor Store


"We used to have the liquor store in the building for years and years when they first built the building in 1984. The new police station will be a much more modern facility with a dedicated interrogation room with video recording equipment, a state-of-the-art evidence room September 21, 2018 SLEEPY EYE, MN - The Sleepy Eye Police Department has bee...

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Madison County Sheriff suspended following recent felony and misdemeanor charges


Photos of the meth and pipe found on the informant were taken, but they were not in an evidence locker where they should have been and were not found in Thompson's office, either. September 11, 2018 Madison County commissioners voted to suspend Sheriff Roger Thompson for three months with pay on Tuesday following criminal charges of tampering with ...

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Defense attorneys worry evidence missing after KCPD warehouse fire


Police Department. Defense attorneys say cases are stalling and they're not sure some evidence can be salvaged. September 14, 2018 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- We're now learning the impact of a fire that damaged an evidence warehouse used by the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department. Defense attorneys say cases are stalling and they're not sure some evidence ...

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Murder charges dropped after gun goes missing before Brighton murder trial


The disarray in Brighton's evidence collection could be why charges were dropped this week in a 2015 murder case September 12, 2018 BRIGHTON, AL (WBRC) - A murder case has been dropped in Brighton after a gun and shell casings come up missing. Court documents say Brighton Police lost the critical evidence. Brighton's chief is reorganizing because o...

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1800 Hits

Miami Police Employees Fired for Taking Items From Storage Units


This was police 'property' that was slated to be destroyed," - "no actual case evidence was tainted or stolen" September 12, 2018 Two civilian employees of the Miami Police Department were quietly fired this week after they were caught taking police "property" from storage lockers and placing it inside their own cars, a Miami Police spokesperson co...

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Westport shooting may be among cases missing evidence after KC police warehouse fire


Cases where evidence may be compromised include a double sexual-assault trial, September 13, 2018 Criminal trials may go on hold and attorneys are worrying about lost evidence three weeks after a fire damaged one of the Kansas City Police Department's evidence storage rooms. Cases where evidence may be compromised include a double sexual-assault tr...

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Ex-Indiana State Police Evidence Clerk Charged With Theft


Enter Headline here September 12, 2018 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A former Indiana State Police evidence clerk is accused of stealing money from the evidence room at the agency's Bloomington police post. Fifty-five-year-old Vera Gardner of Bloomington was charged Monday in Monroe County with one count of theft. Online court documents indicate the cha...

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1947 Hits

Bushwick Man Gets 25 To Life For 2004 Cold Case Murder Of Teenager (DNA)


His DNA was entered into the national database after an arrest in 2014 for armed robbery in Florida September 10, 2018 A 40-year-old man was recently sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of a 17-year-old Bushwick resident. Sharabia Thomas was murdered in 2004 according to a report in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. "Thanks to DNA technology and h...

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1867 Hits

Former California deputy caught in corruption scandal arrested in Idaho


On at least one occasion, Penney and his partner Logan August used their keys to raid a narcotics evidence locker, before selling it, according to court documents. September 12, 2018 STAR — Ada County sheriff's deputies arrested former Bakersfield Deputy Derrick Penney in Idaho after a Kern County Grand Jury handed down more than a dozen felony ind...

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Ex-deputy allegedly sold guns to pawn shops for cash; GBI investigating


Daniel Lang is accused of stealing weapons from the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office evidence room September 11, 2018 The GBI is investigating a former Rockdale County deputy accused of stealing guns from the sheriff's office's evidence room and selling them for cash, Channel 2 Action News reported. "There was a tip received in reference to the han...

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2128 Hits

Reprimand: Deputy seizes marijuana in traffic stop, doesn't report it


How deputy discarded the marijuana isn't disclosed September 10, 2018 BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio -- A Butler County deputy facing a federal lawsuit in connection with withholding and tampering with evidence received a formal reprimand, more than a year prior, for improperly disposing of evidence. The evidence in question? Marijuana. On Sept. 7, 2013, Depu...

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1737 Hits

Madison Co. sheriff charged with official misconduct, perjury


Enter Headline here September 10, 2018 BOZEMAN, Mont. — Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson has been charged with official misconduct, tampering with evidence and perjury, according to court documents filed last week in Madison County District Court. The charges stem from an incident in June of last year involving a missing evidence bag of metham...

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HCSO Deputy terminated for alleged theft from evidence room


Sheriff Christopher added that this is the first time since he's been Sheriff that something like this has happened. September 7, 2018 A Haywood County Sheriff's Deputy has been terminated for allegedly accessing and removing items from the department's evidence room without authorization. According to a press release sent out by the sheriff's offi...

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1964 Hits

Suspect In Decade-Old Serial Rapes Arrested, With Help Of Genealogy Database


"We were able to obtain his DNA and get it off to the state crime lab, and we got a match yesterday," years later!! August 23, 2108 John Somerindyke of the Fayetteville Police Department couldn't stop smiling. "We made an arrest," he told a roomful of reporters on Wednesday. "Finally." For more than 10 years, police In Fayetteville, N.C., had been ...

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Cambridge OPP assessing damage to evidence in vaults after $1M fire (Canada)


Officers are beginning to piece together how much evidence might have been damaged or destroyed in a fire that gutted the Cambridge OPP detachment September 5, 2018 Now that the flames are out, officers are beginning to piece together how much evidence might have been damaged or destroyed in a fire that gutted the Cambridge OPP detachment on Tuesda...

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State forensic lab sees growing demand for drug testing, greater need for resources


The growing number, complexity and safety requirements of drug cases submitted for testing to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science is creating a backlog for the department September 1, 2018 The growing number, complexity and safety requirements of drug cases submitted for testing to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science is creating a b...

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Centralia Police Chief Assures Council Evidence Room Troubles Are in the Past


FINDINGS: Prosecutor Rules No Evidence of Criminal Wrongdoing but Issues Letter Stating Evidence Room Mishaps Could Affect Cases​ August 30, 2018 Centralia Chief of Police Carl Nielsen appeared in front of the city council Tuesday evening to further explain the results of two internal investigations into mishandled and misplaced evidence at the dep...

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Former Cottage Grove Police officer accused of stealing drugs from evidence locker


Federal charges alleging he took drugs from the evidence locker while working as a city police officer. Enter Article DATE HERE EUGENE, Ore. – A Cottage Grove man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges alleging he took drugs from the evidence locker while working as a city police officer. The court unsealed the criminal complaint agai...

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Oregon Humane Society under investigation amid accusations of mishandled evidence


"serious allegations" that at least one officer mishandled evidence August 29, 2018 Oregon State Police have suspended the law-enforcement credentials of the Oregon Humane Society's animal-abuse officers, pending an investigation into "serious allegations" that at least one officer mishandled evidence and used improper investigative techniques in c...

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Utah police using latest technology to trace ballistic evidence to trigger pullers


"We have successfully deployed the technology that should leave gang members and thugs shaking in their boots" August 28, 2018 TAYLORSVILLE — Eight rounds from a gun hit a South Salt Lake home about midnight on June 30. Police relied on cutting-edge technology to match shell casings found at the scene of the drive-by shooting to the gun that fired ...

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Former Deputy Sentenced To 50 Years


The sheriff realized there was evidence missing from the evidence room, and found numerous evidence bags in Mr. Barrett's office Enter Article DATE HERE Kathy Mudd•Thu, Aug 16, 2018 Michael Lee Barrett, 40, the former evidence custodian for the Jasper County Sheriff's Office pled guilty to 94 counts of corruption in court Tuesday. He was sente...

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Weber Sheriff: Policy, procedures put in place to prevent future evidence tampering


The auditors found 110 pieces of evidence that had been tampered with August 24, 2018 In January 2018, it was discovered that a civilian member of the Sheriff's Office had violated the trust that you, the public, have given and expect. This particular employee had been a member of this office for 16 years and was assigned to a critical position wit...

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1352 Hits

Police officer charged with drug trafficking


She stole medication from a suburban Cincinnati residence while there on official business and then tried to sell it. August 23, 2018 FOREST PARK, OH (FOX19) - A veteran police officer is under arrest on felony charges she stole medication from a suburban Cincinnati residence while there on official business and then tried to sell it. Ashley Meyer,...

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Former Century Correctional Officer Sentenced For Stealing Drugs From Evidence Locker investigators determined that "K-2″ taken from an inmate was missing from the evidence locker.


Enter Headline here August 24, 2018 Joshua Vann Harrell, 26, pleaded no contest to grand theft of a controlled substance and destroying evidence. He was sentenced to five days in the county jail and 36 months probation for stealing "K2″ synthetic marijuana from an evidence locker. Officers reported finding a chain of custody form on the seat of the...

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1266 Hits

I-Team: New DNA evidence helps Metro ID suspect in homicide cold case


$10,000 Reward!!!!!! August 24, 2018 LAS VEGAS - Homicide detectives are asking for the public's help in locating a prime suspect in a murder investigation that began 13 years ago. The Clark County District Attorney has issued an arrest warrant in the strangulation death of an 84-year-old grandmother. The I-Team learned exclusively that Metro's Col...

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Two Braintree Police officials named in the evidence room scandal have retired rather than face disciplinary hearings, Mayor Joseph Sullivan said.


"Chief Jenkins and Deputy Chief Foster repeatedly failed to supervise and implement the department's rules and regulations by not conducting the required the required audits and inspections of the evidence room," August 23, 2018 BRAINTREE − Two Braintree Police employees named in the investigation of the department's evidence room have retired rath...

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1731 Hits

Ex-Quartzsite police employee pleads guilty to stealing cash


evidence technician has pleaded guilty to stealing about $25,000 from the department. August 23, 2018 A former Quartzsite police evidence technician has pleaded guilty to stealing about $25,000 from the department. State prosecutors say Christy Conley pleaded guilty to one count each of fraudulent schemes and artifices and tampering with evidence. ...

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1587 Hits

Charges: Sheriff's employee ate evidence, namely meth


"If the case was closed and she did not think anyone would come looking for the drugs, then that would be a case from which she would take the methamphetamine," August 22, 2018 OGDEN — A former Weber County Sheriff's Office evidence technician who admitted stealing and using drugs — predominately eating meth — that had been collected as part of cri...

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Centralia Police Audit Finds Hundreds of Errors in Evidence Storage, Including 55 Lost Marijuana Plants


Chief Says Findings Were a 'Shock,' Department Took Steps to Remedy Mistakes Enter Article DATE HERE A 2018 internal audit of the Centralia Police Department's two property storage rooms uncovered a glut of errors, including missing or misplaced evidence, prompting the department to reevaluate personnel managing the intake, outtake and organiz...

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