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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

"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 ...

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...

$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...

"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...

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...

The doctor said he took it upon himself to personally take a swab sample from inside her vagina and put it on a slide for future use, Enter Article DATE HERE OAKLAND — It's been nearly 40 years since Betty Elias was found dead in her room on San Pablo Avenue. Wednesday her alleged killer was held to answer for her murder. Dennis Ray Eagle, 57,...

Police departments for decades disagreed over whether attacks spanning the state over more than a decade were committed by a single man. August 13, 2018 Claude Snelling woke in the night 42 years ago to find a man in his Visalia backyard trying to abduct his 16-year-old daughter. He tried to intervene and was fatally shot. Tulare County prosecutors...

According to the Nevada Department of Corrections, Ewing has been in prison in Nevada on charges ranging from aggravated escape to burglary to attempted murder Enter Article DATE HERE (CNN)Closure may come to two families in Colorado as authorities announced they had charged a man with killing four people more than 30 years ago. At a joint new...

An attorney representing suspended Atwater Police Chief Samuel Joseph said the state probe into evidence missing from the Police Department is nothing more than a scheme "cooked up" to smear his client. August 15, 2018 An attorney representing suspended Atwater Police Chief Samuel Joseph said the state probe into evidence missing from the Police De...

Merced County District Attorney's Office to investigate inconsistencies discovered when the city requested an evidence room audit by the Sheriff's Office in January, the city said. August 10, 2018 ATWATER, California - The evidence room at the Atwater Police Department was closed by the interim chief pending an audit to be conducted by the Californ...

The Sheriff's office has faced scrutiny throughout Beicker's leadership including a deputy who's is currently facing trial for stealing evidence from a crime scene. August 2, 2018 FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. - The future of the Fremont County Sheriff's office is still up in the air after Sheriff Jim Beicker submitted his resignation Tuesday night. County...

Dodd was found guilty by a jury June 28 on three of four counts relating to the possession of murder evidence in a personal storage unit. July 23, 2018 Former Fremont County Sheriff's Office Detective Robert Dodd was ordered Monday to serve 15 days in jail on a misdemeanor charge of abuse of public records, but that sentence was stayed after his at...

Melted-down firearms confiscated in LA County to become symbols of peace July 19, 2018 Thousands of illegal and confiscated firearms collected from throughout Los Angeles County were destroyed Thursday, July 19, at the annual "Gun Melt" at Gerdau Steel Mill in Rancho Cucamonga. The steel mill and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department teamed u...

Lieutenant Hart points out that the current evidence locker was never intended to be used for that purpose, so several upgrades are needed. July 16, 2018 BILLINGS, Mont. - The 2.8 million dollar proposed expansion and renovation of the Billings Police Department's evidence locker was on the agenda Monday as part of the City Council work session. Co...

Investigators collected DNA at the scene and entered it into the Combined DNA Index System, a national database July 11, 2018 LUMBERTON — A match in the national fingerprint database led to the arrest Wednesday of a St. Pauls man in a California cold case murder and rape that happened 31 years ago, according to a release from the Robeson County Dis...

It's been four months since information was released about a police investigation into a former Hawaii Police detective for reportedly stealing drug evidence from the Hilo evidence storage facility. July 14, 2018 KAILUA-KONA — The state Attorney General continues to provide no updates or shed further light on the status of a stolen drug evidence ca...

Legal pot shops are losing customers who can get products more cheaply at illegal outlets that don't charge or pay taxes Enter Article DATE HERE LOS ANGELES (AP) — A slight marijuana smell wafted out as a steady stream of customers walked into a warehouse, its doors and windows covered by bars. Suddenly, police swooped in. "Sheriff's departmen...

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors renewed a $10,000 reward Tuesday in hopes of tracking down 31 Beretta and Glock pistols, believed to be police service weapons and stolen from a vault in Compton's old City Hall. Enter Article DATE HERE LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors renewed a $10,000 reward Tuesday in hopes of...

Only 4.2 percent of 10,000 pieces of evidence feared missing from the evidence locker of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office turned out to be lost, June 26, 2018 Only 4.2 percent of 10,000 pieces of evidence feared missing from the evidence locker of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office turned out to be lost, a new grand jury report says. Su...

Michella's murder is just one cold case that heated up this year thanks to the cutting-edge combination of DNA and genetic genealogy. June 30, 2018 On March 26, 1986, sixth-grader Michella Welch disappeared while at a Washington state park with her two young sisters, never to be seen alive again. The 12-year-old's body was found that night; she had...

Officers were searching for two suspects who broke into the department's evidence building. June 29, 2018 Police Chief Rich St. John issued this press release later Thursday morning: Last night at 0220 hours, officers responded to an alarm at our evidence facility located on Midland Road. The first responding officer was checking the perimeter fenc...

There's been a lot of increases in technology for DNA,​ June 29, 2018 SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Officials say a suspect in a cold case from four decades ago at Stanford University appears to have killed himself as deputies were approaching to serve a search warrant Wednesday morning. Deputies from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office were trying...

Prosecutors said he used a crowbar to break into the investigations office on several occasions to steal opiates, meth and cash, compromising more than two dozen criminal cases. June 29, 2018 A former Fort Peck tribal police officer has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for burglarizing the tribe's drug investigations office in 2...

The charges stem from the December 2016 discovery of evidence in the storage locker found by Cañon City resident Rick Ratzlaff, who purchased the unit. June 29, 2018 Former Fremont County Sheriff's Office Detective Robert Dodd was found guilty on three of four counts relating to the possession of murder evidence in a personal storage unit by a jury...

He declined a plea deal this year on four misdemeanor charges related to keeping case evidence in a personal storage locker. June 25, 2018 FREMONT COUNTY - A 6-person jury is now seated in the trial of former Fremont County Sheriff's investigator Robert Dodd. He declined a plea deal this year on four misdemeanor charges related to keeping case evid...

The genealogist used the suspect's DNA sample to build a family tree using public websites, then ran it through a public database and received "a significant match," according to charging papers. June 22, 2018 It was DNA, a genealogist and perseverance that zeroed in on Michella Welch's suspected killer after 32 years. On Friday, Pierce County pros...

Circumstances create unsettling echoes 2016 incident in which evidence was found in deputy's storage unit June 22, 2018 Already mourning the violent death of her 77-year-old father, Jeanette Orchard now worries that a deputy may have destroyed evidence needed to solve the case by stealing from the crime scene. "The cops who were supposed to be prot...

Arbon said one of the biggest questions he gets from voters is about the evidence room controversy June 18, 2018 OGDEN — The three hopefuls running for Weber County sheriff seem to agree on at least a couple of things — retention and recruitment of deputies rate among the top issues the office faces. Assuring positive morale within the department a...

William Earl Talbott II, 55, of SeaTac, was arrested as he was leaving his Seattle workplace. According to investigators, he is suspected of raping and killing a 19-year-old British Columbia woman in 1987, JUNE, 12, 2018 More than 30 years after a young Canadian woman was raped and shot in the back of the head, a 55-year-old SeaTac man was arrested...

"This situation came to light through routine procedures, spot checks, and internal controls, August 29, 2917 OKALOOSA CO. (WTVY) — The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office today charged an OCSO civilian employee with grand theft of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. 40-year old Deidra Rezzarday, a P...

"I just completed my inpatient treatment and my outpatient treatment and I'm currently in continuing care for drug and alcohol addiction, June 13, 2018 Charging documents filed against a former Billings Police Department evidence technician describe her using record-keeping software to allegedly steal enough drugs from the evidence locker over roug...

The amount of evidence collected for criminal cases has been building up for decades, posing a logistical challenge for the department. June 12, 2018 Kenai police are facing a storage crunch. The amount of evidence collected for criminal cases has been building up for decades, posing a logistical challenge for the department. "Evidence storage in a...

A former Colorado police chief has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing weapons from his department and its evidence room and then selling them to pawn shops. December 1, 2017 LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — A former police chief in a small Colorado town has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing weapons from his department and its evidence room and then s...

Allegations that the sheriff's evidence locker had gone to hell and thousands of pieces of evidence were missing led to a grand jury investigation — again, still ongoing. June 5, 2018 Sheriff's Office politics often confound me. Politics involving allegations of misconduct, that is. Unless the press can prove allegations against a sheriff, the accu...

​ June 5, 2018 KEALAKEKUA — A 3rd Circuit Court judge was shocked to learn Monday that a piece of DNA evidence in the reported 2016 rape at Old Kona Airport Park had disappeared while in the possession of Hawaii County police. Defense counsels for Samuel Latrik and Tyron Sigrah sought to have sexual assault charges dismissed due to loss, spoliation...

Making its way through Congress is a federal bill worked on by Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten that would allow grant funding for the prosecution of violent cold cases with DNA evidence. Enter Article DATE HERE Making its way through Congress is a federal bill worked on by Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten that would al...

The internal investigation also found that the evidence room was in disarray and dozens of criminal cases may be jeopardized because of stolen or compromised evidence. May 22, 2018 OGDEN (AP) — Evidence room problems illustrated by the case of a Utah technician who was fired after being found high on methamphetamine at work are all too common, acco...

He said he concluded after the training that "evidence supervision is the scariest job I've ever had. When it goes wrong it goes really wrong and you always catch it late."  May 19, 2018 Editor's note: The Standard-Examiner is choosing not to name the accused evidence technician because she is a private citizen and as of Friday, May 18, 2018, ...

An important break came once again as a result of DNA sleuthing techniques similar to the ones used last month to crack the Golden State killer case. May 18, 2018 In 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a couple from Canada, were brutally killed while they were vacationing in Washington State. On Friday, the Snohomish County sheriff's ...

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE Fentanyl, a potent opioid already responsible for thousands of deaths nationwide, is increasingly showing up in drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine in California, officials say. The white powder, a lethal substance 50 times stronger than heroin, is sometimes mixed into other opioids to produce a s...

Enter Headline here May 17, 2018 Tens of thousands of rape kits are sitting on shelves in police and sheriff's department evidence rooms nationwide. And no one has tested them to see what crimes they could help solve. A bill by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) would help determine how many of those unanalyzed exam kits exist in California, ...

A former Fremont County Sheriff's Office detective who allegedly kept a bloody rope and other crime evidence in a personal storage locker has not yet accepted a plea agreement. Enter Article DATE HERE A former Fremont County Sheriff's Office detective who allegedly kept a bloody rope and other crime evidence in a personal storage locker has no...