O.C. Sheriff had investigator probe into evidence mishandling even though he had mishandled evidence

LeFlore is one of the subjects of the widely reported evidence mishandling scandal July 1, 2021 Even after the Orange County Sheriff's Department discovered one of its investigators mishandled evidence and lied about it, the department still tasked him with probing into widespread evidence mishandling of his peers, according to a recent court motio...

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Scappoose police officer faces 13-count indictment, accused of taking drug evidence, official misconduct

JUNE 28, 2021 A Scappoose police officer was arraigned on a 13-count indictment Monday charging him with nine counts of official misconduct, two counts of unlawful delivery of Oxycodone and one count each of tampering with physical evidence and attempted delivery of Oxycodone. Troy Alan Gainer, who joined the police department in August 2004, is ac...

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Former neighbor talks about Great Falls "cold case" murder suspect (65 years later)


In 2019, DNA technology eventually led to Gould. June 24, 2021 GREAT FALLS — The Cascade County Sheriff's Office recently announced that they had closed a 65-year-old "cold case" double-murder. They say Kenneth Gould is the likely suspect in the 1956 murder of 18-year-old Duane Bogle and the rape and murder of 16-year-old Patty Kalitzke. In 1967, G...

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Two Montana Sweethearts Were Fatally Shot in 1956. The Case Was Just Solved.

Kadner said he believed it was the oldest homicide case in the United States to be solved with genetic genealogy JUNE 11, 2021 When Detective Sgt. Jon Kadner of the Cascade County Sheriff's Office in Montana was told in 2012 that he was being put in charge of the investigation into a long-unsolved double homicide, the case was already more than 50 ...

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She will always be 19': Arrest in 1980 cold case murder brings some relief, more grief to family of Barbara Tucker


June 11, 2021 A year ago, Susan Pater and Alice Juan were packing up their parents' home in Southeast Portland when they stumbled upon photos of their beloved sister, Barbara. Forty years had passed since Barbara Tucker was murdered at Mt. Hood Community College. In the family photos, Barbara never ages past 19. She was almost 6 feet tall, strong a...

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Former Police Officer facing federal charges for stealing drugs from evidence room

Reif is alleged to have entered the Klamath Falls Police Department's temporary evidence room using an unauthorized key and removed an evidence item containing methamphetamine and fentanyl Enter Article DATE HERE Klamath County, Ore. — A former Klamath Falls Police Officer is facing federal charges for stealing methamphetamine and fentanyl fro...

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KERN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PROPERTY & EVIDENCE FACILITY Due for an Upgrade

No fire inspection report, poor ventilation in the narcotics storage areas, lack of adequate security cameras throughout the facility, and an aging building that is near capacity that lacks stand-by power, has minimal air conditioning and an outdated elevator. May 10, 2021 Summary: On February 2, 2021, the 2020-2021 Kern County Grand Jury (Grand Ju...

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Families in shock after homicide victims identified in 1980 San Bernardino County cold case


The San Bernardino County case remains under review by the District Attorney's Office as to whether new charges will be filed against Neal. Enter Article DATE HERE In 2018, Chrissy Salley was ready to figure out what happened to her estranged mother. In 1980, the Virginia resident was taken from her mother's custody at 2 months old, and even a...

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In Chico, California an Alleged Serial Sex Assailant Nabbed Through Familial DNA Search, Butte County District Attorney Reports

The familial search process involves searching the assailant DNA against the state's convicted offender database to identify potential relatives in the database April 27, 2021 In Chico, California an Alleged Serial Sex Assailant Nabbed Through Familial DNA Search, Butte County District Attorney Reports April 27, 2021 - The Butte County District Att...

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DNA cold case: Kansas ex-con charged in unsolved 1979 murder of Colorado woman

"Investigators collected several pieces of evidence in 1979, including the killer's DNA from semen found inside Day's body". March 29, 2021 GREELEY, Colo. — A Kansas man with a lengthy rap sheet has been charged with murder in the 41-year-old slaying of a Colorado college worker found sexually assaulted and strangled in her car. James Herman Dye, 6...

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Sterling Police Department to bank money from evidence room

Lost and found cash as well as bills recovered in some criminal cases will be deposited in special account March 11, 2021 The Sterling Police Department will have a little more space in its evidence room, thanks to a decision by the Sterling City Council Tuesday night. During his report to the council, City Manager Don Saling said the SPD wanted to...

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With new law in place, Central Oregon police still going after hard drugs

Drugs still being seized and destroyed in Bend May 5, 2021 Oregon's Measure 110, one of the country's most ambitious drug decriminalization laws yet passed, has been in effect for a month, but law enforcement leaders in Central Oregon insist it hasn't greatly affected them. "I can tell you unequivocally, it's not going to affect anything that we do...

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Suspect Arrested In 1982 Cold-Case Murder Of Racine Woman In Colorado

Investigators say D-N-A evidence finally led them to take 70-year-old Alan Lee Phillips into custody this week March 5, 2021 Authorities in Clear Creek County, Colorado have arrested a suspect in the 1982 cold-case murder of a Racine woman. 29-year-old Barbara "Bobbie Jo" Oberholtzer's body was found in the Rocky Mountains almost four decades ago. ...

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Washington Supreme Court rules state drug possession law unconstitutional after challenge by Spokane woman

Lechich said the ruling was retroactive, and that those convicted under the state's felony drug possession statute could petition the courts for a restoration of the right to vote, own guns or receive certain government benefits as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. It is also likely that cases pending before the court will be thrown out based...

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Winnemucca detective overdoses on drugs stolen from evidence

A bag with the drugs that killed him was found in his pants pocket. January 22, 2021 WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (KOLO) -Winnemucca Police Department Detective Matthew Morgan died June 25, 2020, in an evidence vault after taking drugs left in evidence storage, the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office said Friday. "The toxic levels of methamphetamine and...

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Former Huntington Beach PD investigator accused of stealing drugs from a suspect’s vehicle, driving under the influence

He stole drugs from a suspect's vehicle and drove a police vehicle under the influence of the stolen drug December 22, 2020 The Orange County District Attorney's Office has charged a former Huntington Beach Police Department crime scene investigator with three misdemeanors related to an alleged January incident in which investigators say he stole d...

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Investigation into destroyed DNA samples uncovers more problems with Seattle police evidence storage

Around the same time the DNA samples were destroyed, evidence from an unknown number of homicide investigations was also purged December 23, 2020 Plagued by a chronically full evidence warehouse that led to failed fire inspections, the Seattle Police Department wrongly destroyed more than 100 post-conviction DNA samples in 2018 as part of an effort...

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Washoe County Sheriff Announces Elimination of DNA Evidence Kit Backlog

This is a major milestone that has been years in the making Enter Article DATE HERE Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam has announced that the Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Division (Crime Lab) has completely eliminated the backlog of DNA evidence kits needing testing. "This is a major milestone that has been years in the making," said Sher...

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Detective high on stolen fentanyl crashes police car while on duty, Oregon cops say

Reif had unlawfully obtained and used drug evidence from an unrelated case in the course of his duties, December 15, 2020 A former detective with the Klamath Falls police was arrested Tuesday, accused of causing a crash while on duty and allegedly high on drugs he stole from the department, according to a news release from Oregon State Police. The ...

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Grand Junction Cold Case Murder Solved After 45 Years

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the newly acquired DNA profile positively identified Duncan December 2, 2020 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Detectives with the Grand Junction Police Department have solved the 45-year-old cold case homicide of 19-year-old Deborah Tomlinson. On December 27, 1975 officers with the Grand Junction Police De...

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DNA cracked 1995 cold case murder of nurse, California police say

"In simple terms ... DNA was under Christine Munro's fingernails at the time of her murder," the Redding Police Department wrote about cracking the case. November 18, 2020 Police in northern California say that DNA evidence cracked open a cold case murder from 1995 and led them to a suspect who was imprisoned in Texas. James Watkins, 42, was charge...

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You've Heard About Oregon Decriminalizing Psychedelic Drugs. Is California Next?

Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and psychedelics, so that possession will carry only a $100 fine. November 11, 2020 Oregon voters last week passed a measure to permit supervised use of psilocybin in a therapeutic setting, becoming the first state to legalize psychedelic ...

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Ex-deputy Logan August sentenced to 4 years in prison for stealing drugs from KCSO evidence room

Enter Headline here November 1, 2020 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Entering a sheriff's property room under the guise of retrieving drugs for destruction, former deputy Logan August stole hundreds of pounds of marijuana and conspired with another deputy to put the drugs on the street. In federal court three years ago, August was sentenced to probati...

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46 year-old cold case murder of five-year-old child solved

We never gave up on Siobhan or finding justice for her October 26, 2020 46 years ago, on February 5, 1974 at about 6:30 PM, a 5-year-old girl was reported missing in the 500 block of N. 2nd St. W. Then, on February 7, 1974 at about 3:30 p.m., the child's body was discovered in a drain culvert near the Turah exit from Interstate 90. The case of Siob...

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After 41 year cold case mystery, DNA ties torso to woman whose husband was chief suspect in her disappearance

Benicia Police Department said  it reopened the case in July and was able to connect the remains to Dolores Wulff through DNA obtained from one of her children. Enter Article DATE HERE After finding a torso that washed ashore in 1979 they now know it belongs to a missing woman whose husband faced trial for her murder until the case was di...

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Deputies lead largest organized retail theft bust in state history

law enforcement agencies executed 16 search warrants and five arrest warrants October 8, 2020 Sheriff's deputies on Sept. 30 arrested five people and recovered more than $8 million in stolen property at locations in San Mateo County and throughout the Bay Area in what is being described by police as the largest organized retail theft bust in Califo...

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Former Oregon sheriff’s deputy accused of theft, other charges, found dead in Wilsonville


deputy accused of theft, official misconduct October 20,2020  Former Oregon sheriff's deputy accused of theft, other charges, found dead in Wilsonville A former Marion County sheriff's deputy accused of theft, official misconduct and other charges was found dead over the weekend at a Wilsonville hotel, authorities say. Sean Banks was found dea...

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Utah man arrested in cold-case murder of bookstore owner


The primary evidence left behind at the crime scene was a men's Armani Exchange belt and blood collected from in the store OcEnter Article DATE HERE A Utah man has confessed to the cold-case murder of Sherry Black, who was stabbed to death at her bookshop nearly a decade ago, authorities said. Adam Durborow, 29, of Orem was arrested Saturday o...

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Sentencing postponed for ex-deputy who stole hundreds of pounds of marijuana

pleaded no contest to charges he stole 350 pounds of marijuana from a sheriff's office property room and planned to put the drugs back on the street. October 13m 2020 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Sentencing was postponed Tuesday for a former deputy who pleaded no contest to charges he stole 350 pounds of marijuana from a sheriff's office property r...

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Lots of Drugs, Lax Oversight: Former SF Medical Examiner Staffers Say Lab Analyst's Meth Arrest 'Just the Tip of the Iceberg'

Mr. Volk is just the tip of the iceberg with respect to poor management and bad forensic policy," September 21, 2020 A lab analyst for the San Francisco medical examiner's office had driven more than 700 miles east toting a sealed bag of drug evidence before he was pulled over for speeding in Washington County, Utah. During the Aug. 31 traffic stop...

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Sheriff’s Supervisors Allowed Late Evidence Booking; Only Deputies Disciplined, Grand Jury Heard

sheriff's officials testified that supervisors knowingly allowed deputies to book evidence late in violation of policy. October 1, 2020 In the latest twist to a wide-ranging Orange County Sheriff's Department evidence-booking scandal, sheriff's officials testified that supervisors knowingly allowed deputies to book evidence late in violation of pol...

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Deputy’s False Police Report Charge Came After Mountain of Testimony to Grand Jury

More than 30 deputies have been referred for possible charges in an evidence booking scandal that centers on alleged false police reports about evidence that was either booked late or never booked at all. September 24, 2020 A probe into false statements by Orange County sheriff's deputies escalated this summer, with a grand jury hearing testimony f...

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Deputy Accused of Stealing Debit Card From Suspect and Giving It to Son

She took the suspect's debit card -- which was never booked into evidence  September 9, 2020 An Orange County sheriff's deputy is facing a felony charge for allegedly taking a debit card from a suspect and handing it to her son, who then used it, prosecutors said Wednesday. Angelina Cortez, 41, is charged with one felony count of filing a fals...

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OC sheriff’s deputies who lied on reports testify that they didn’t know it was illegal

Sheriff's Department has placed new protocols to ensure deputies understand they must book evidence in a timely fashion September 27, 2020 Two fired Orange County sheriff's deputies convicted of lying on their police reports testified recently before a grand jury that they didn't know it was illegal to falsify the documents, transcripts show. Josep...

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LAPD officer rearrested on a new felony charge after allegedly stealing cash at pot grow

He is accused of stealing cash from the backpack of an employee at a cannabis grow facility September 25, 2020 A Los Angeles police officer on Thursday was arrested for a second time — this time on a felony count — in relation to a January incident in which he is accused of stealing cash from the backpack of an employee at a cannabis grow facility,...

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Arrest made in 40-year-old cold case murder

Detectives got Nash's DNA from discarded items and it was a match to DNA found through Jones's autopsy. September 18, 2020 FONTANA, CA (KCA/KCBS) — Police on Monday announced the arrest of a Las Vegas man in the 1980 murder of a Fontana teen. According to police, enhanced technology to assess DNA evidence links 66-year-old Leonard Nash to the killi...

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Orem city employee runs crime evidence room that holds history of grim stories

Evidence Room Czar! September 18, 2020 For 11 years Tara Calancea has been caring for, recording and storing evidence from Orem's crime scenes. To her co-workers she is known as the evidence room czar — or better — Czarina. While Calancea, Orem's evidence technician, admits she is just shy of the formal education most in her career position are req...

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Washington city ends gun sales by police after AP probe


Associated Press analysis published in January 2018 found more than a dozen firearms sold by law enforcement agencies in Washington since 2010 later became evidence in new criminal investigations November 6, 2018 SEATTLE — The City Council in Spokane, Washington, has passed an ordinance prohibiting police from selling confiscated firearms, citing a...

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Suspect Arraigned in 33-year-old Cold Case Homicide

DA was able to close the case involving the murder of 14-year-old Claire Hough, a Rhode Island native who was murdered in 1984 while on vacation in San Diego Enter Article DATE HERE A 57-year-old Poway man has been charged with murder and rape in connection with the 1987 murder of Julia Hernandez-Santiago, whose body was found on an ivy-covere...

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Crews respond to hazmat emergency at Renton City Hall

employee there had possibly been exposed to some kind of powerful drug Enter Article DATE HERE RENTON, Wash. - Hazardous materials teams and medics converged on Renton City Hall on Tuesday morning after receiving reports that an employee there had possibly been exposed to some kind of powerful drug, officials said. Hazmat units from Renton, Pu...

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Former Trooper arrested for stealing evidence

The Alaska Bureau of Investigations stepped in to audit the evidence facility and found that five items, with a total value of $20,000, had gone missing. August 24, 2020 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Former Trooper Sgt. Jeremy Stone has been arrested on charges of scheme to defraud, theft and misapplication of property, Alaska State Trooper said. The ...

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Man accused in cold case murder extradited to Uinta County Jail

Burns was arrested in Utah in the fall of 2019 after DNA evidence finally linked him to a string of violent sexual assaults that occurred nearly two decades prior August 22, 2020 EVANSTON — Mark D. Burns, the Utah man charged with the 2001 murder of Evanston resident Sue Ellen Higgins, has been extradited to Uinta County. Burns made his initial app...

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Police, strike force aim to dispose of 300 guns in Utah

The guns are likely to be sold to a federally licensed firearms dealer. August 14, 2020 OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Two law enforcement agencies in Utah are looking to dispose of more than 300 guns accumulating in evidence storage that either went unclaimed or are no longer needed in criminal investigations. The Ogden Police Department and Weber Morgan Narc...

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Reno agrees to settle wrongful conviction lawsuit for $3M

Spent 35 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit before she was exonerated by DNA evidence August 13, 2020 RENO, Nev. (AP) — A woman who spent 35 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit before she was exonerated by DNA evidence will receive $3 million under a settlement approved by the Reno City Council. Cathy Woods was wrongfully con...

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Cold case murder, sexual assault of 17-year-old Alaska girl solved with DNA match

Troopers interviewed Branch at his Arkansas home on Aug. 3, when he denied involvement and refused to voluntarily provide a DNA sample. A half-hour after troopers left, they said, he killed himself. August 12, 2020 ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A DNA match has solved the strangulation murder of a teenager in southeast Alaska, a case that was cold for 24 year...

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How a Sacramento County investigator solved a 40-year-old cold case

Keep the faith that we are trying and we hope for the families, we can help them." April 25, 2020 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County Sheriff's investigator Micki Links had been waiting to hear this news for years. "The lab criminalist from the DA's lab sent me a text. He sent me an email, he called my office line," Links said. Advertisem...

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DNA Evidence Leads to Arrest in 32-Year-Old Cold Case Homicide of San Francisco John Doe Baby

The infant's death remained a mystery until it was reopened last year and authorities used cutting edge DNA evidence to reach an arrest. August 4, 2020 A three-decade old California cold case, which involved the death of a John Doe baby, finally has an arrest thanks to DNA evidence. Lesa Lopez, 52, has been charged with killing her newborn baby boy...

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Sheriff’s Office Says It Solved 1993 Cold Case Murder of 15-Year-Old Girl

Alan Edward Dean, 62, was arrested Tuesday in the death of Melissa Lee July 30, 2020 Law enforcement authorities in Washington State say they have solved a 1993 cold case, but their investigation is not over yet. Alan Edward Dean, 62, was arrested Tuesday in the death of Melissa Lee, 15. Authorities said they were able to link the killer to the inc...

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15 more OC sheriff’s deputies considered for criminal charges in evidence scandal

Two deputies were convicted earlier of misdemeanor charges of falsifying reports, saying they had booked the evidence when they had not. AUGUST 8, 2020 An expanded internal audit has identified another 15 Orange County sheriff's deputies who mishandled evidence to the point of potentially warranting criminal charges, Sheriff Don Barnes announced Fr...

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Utah police officer fired for mishandling evidence related to slain athlete Lauren McCluskey

The investigation concluded that the officer "mishandled sensitive evidence'' pertaining to 21-year-old Lauren McCluskey's case while he was employed with the university's police department. August 8, 2020 SALT LAKE CITY -- A police officer accused of showing off explicit images of a University of Utah student, who was a member of the school's trac...

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