Shotguns, bikes, drugs, a ham and a coffin: just a few of the items at CMPD's Property Control Room when this story was written in 1982. The department was responsible for the safekeeping of evidence, lost items and recovered stolen things. April 21, 2017 By John Monk, Observer Staff Writer This is where Charlotte's lost things wind ...

Beyond the over 21,000 cases likely to be dismissed, another 500 to 700 convictions would most likely not be vacated April 21, 2017 JURIST] The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court  on Thursday formally approved the dismissal [press release] of over 21,000 drug convictions that were deemed [order, PDF] to be "tainted" by a former state chemist...

The cases handled by Sonja Farak—a former drug lab chemist in Amherst, Mass, who in 2014 was convicted of stealing and using drugs from the state laboratory where she worked for years—are still pending. The next wave of dismissals could include 18K or more tainted cases. April 20, 2017 This morning, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Cour...

Kentucky has shipped 3,173 untested rape kits to a private laboratory in Utah for forensic analysis, to determine if DNA evidence can be retrieved. April 15, 2017 Kentucky prosecutors must prepare for a wave of newly reopened sexual assault cases as several thousand previously untested sexual assault evidence kits — some dating back to the 1970s — ...

A retired Springfield police officer accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the department's evidence locker was in court again April 15, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A retired Springfield police officer accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the department's evidence locker was in court again on Monday. Kevin Burnham was only briefly in th...

Standardizing the rape kits would reduce the chance of contamination and make for a faster and more efficient process, she said. Enter Article DATE HERE All rape kits are not created equal. There are multiple vendors. Some law enforcement agencies buy them off the shelf. Some of the larger departments have manufacturers customize them for thei...

San Diego police homicide Lt. Mike Holden said the evidence that connected Falls was a "familial DNA" test — the first of its kind run by a San Diego County law agency. April 14, 2017 A reserve San Diego police detective, determined to make a difference while fighting cancer, took on a cold case and through DNA helped solve the horrific murder of a...

This unit has the potential to save the police department thousands of dollars that would have been spent to dispose of this evidence using other methods. April 14, 2017 The Page Police Department tried out its new 'burn barrel' for the first time this week. The barrel is used to dispose of evidence and other property stored in our evidence room th...

Last fall, a DNA sample collected in Ohio helped Indiana police link a man to the fatal shooting of John Clements, 82, in Zionsville, and two other attacks in October. Enter Article DATE HERE By DARCY COSTELLO, Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —  Indiana senators voted Thursday to allow DNA swabs to be taken upon a person's felony arres...

The review of 88 cases done by the officer determined that 65 had incomplete documentation, 32 had administrative errors and in eight cases, evidence had been misplaced. April 12, 2017 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Houston police officer working as a crime-scene investigator made errors in 65 cases dating back to October 2015, according to a scathing audit r...

Texas is considering asking drivers to help it clear its huge backlog of untested rape kits, a novel approach that has been well received by cost-conscious Republican lawmakers and one that other states might consider April 5, 2017 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is considering asking drivers to help it clear its huge backlog of untested rape kits, a no...

Prosecutors say another 555 rape kits languished in police storage after the 2009 discovery of 11,341 abandoned sexual assault kits. March 27, 2017 DETROIT, MI — Problems with forgotten rape kits persisted in Detroit after public outcry over more than 11,000 — some of them dating back 30 years — found languishing in a police warehouse in 2009, acco...

"Right now, we're concerned about the integrity of these approximately 600 cases to ensure these people got a fair trial," he said. "We have an ethical obligation to look at all of these and notify the [defense.] "Even if we don't think there's a problem, we still have to work the files." March 29, 2017 Allegheny County crime lab employee on leave ...

"There's strong DNA evidence," he said but declined to be specific. April 6, 2017 MONTEREY, Calif. - An imprisoned rapist will be charged with killing a 13-year-old California girl who vanished while walking her dog nearly two decades ago, a prosecutor announced Thursday. Charles Holifield will be charged on April 14 with murder and kidnapping for ...

The MSU Voice Center wanted to get the word out that although there is a backlog of rape kits, action is being taken to resolve the issue April 5, 2017 BOZEMAN - Wednesday at Montana State University, the Voice Center presented the efforts being made across the state to end the rape kit backlog.The MSU Voice Center wanted to get the word out that a...

Upon discovery of the ring, and the name engraved upon it, Jenny Metz, a PropertyRoom.com employee, notified her supervisor, who reached out to the Wichita Police Department. April 4, 2017 Recently, an employee at PropertyRoom.com, an online police auction website, was sorting through items received from the Wichita Police Department in Kansas to p...

An audit revealed that nearly 1,800 cases had missing evidence April 3, 2017 The Ingham County Sheriff's Office is now saying it's lost track of seven sexual-assault kits. The department announced Monday those seven kits are part of the 1,756 cases in which evidence was lost dating back to the year 2000.  Prosecutor Carol Siemon is not happy. ...

Bell was first arrested in 1981; however, he was eventually let go due to a lack of evidence. But advances in technology provided the proof needed to bring him to justice. April 2, 2017 alk about a long-lasting piece of gum. A 60-year-old British man was convicted of manslaughter in March after investigators pulled traces of his DNA from a 36-year-...

The judge said that the police losing nine ounces of the illicit substance was "troublesome indeed."Yeah. Enter Article DATE HERE A $25,000 booty of seized cocaine has mysteriously disappeared from the locked vault of a Canadian police station. Although, the stash was the key evidence during a drug trial held earlier this month, the cops say t...

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE LANSING -- A total of 77 cases were dismissed following an investigation into missing evidence at the Ingham County Sheriff's Office, according to a March 24 report from Ingham County Prosecutor's Office. The 5-page report, which will be discussed at Ingham County's law and courts committee meeting T...

"It's embarrassing for law enforcement, the prosecutor's office but now we move forward." Enter Article DATE HERE LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Ingham County's evidence room was a mess for years according the county prosecutor's "A colossal failure in leadership," Ingham County Sherriff Scott Wriggelsworth said. "It was unacceptable, it was inapprop...

Gov. Gary Herbert signed House Bill 200 on March 22, which now requires local law enforcement agencies to submit sexual assault kits to state forensic labs for testing within 30 days of retrieval. March 29, 2017 Some advocates for sexual assault victims are praising Utah's new legislation regarding the processing of rape kits. Gov. Gary Herber...

"I am both embarrassed and disgusted by this case" March 29, 2017 A former evidence custodian for the Florence Police Department has been indicted on more than 100 charges associated with stealing narcotics from the evidence vault. Lauren Ezell, 34, of Rogersville, resigned amid an investigation into allegations she mishandled and stole evidence fr...

Walters, 37, of Madison, was sentenced to two years of probation. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 5. Enter Article DATE HERE MADISON, Wis. - A former lieutenant with the state Department of Veterans Affairs Police Department was sentenced Tuesday for possession of a controlled substance. David Walters, 37, of Madison, was sentenced to two years of p...

March 6, 2017 Putnam, the Simpsonville Police officer arrested Jan. 7, 2016, in connection with the November 2015 robbery of thousands of dollars as well as guns and drugs from the Simpsonville Police Department, had pleaded guilty before Shelby Circuit Judge Charles Hickman in January. Putnam made an open plea, which left the sentence up to the ju...

The case remained unsolved for three decades until it was reopened in 2013 by then Oxnard Police Department Detective Mike Young, who was assigned to the Ventura County Sheriff's Cold Case Task Force. March 23, 2017 A Los Angeles man facing criminal charges connected to the rape and murder of an Oxnard woman 30 years ago pleaded...

Convicted of stealing nearly $70,000 in drug money seized by his department, according to the attorney general's office March 24, 2017 A former South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of stealing nearly $70,000 in drug money seized by his department, according to the attorney general's office....

Analysts in Kentucky are now ranked as the lowest paid in the entire United States, and KSP Forensic Laboratory System Director Laura Sudkamp told Pure Politics she is the lowest paid director in the nation, "by a long shot." March 23, 2017 Editor's note: This is part two in a two-part series on Kentucky's attempts to clear the backlog of untested ...

admitted to stealing money from evidence March 24, 2017 A former South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper who admitted to stealing money from evidence while on the job has been sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary. In addition, 48-year-old Brian William Biehl received a $10,000 fine.  Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the senten...

He was logging into a high-security evidence server to watch child pornography seized from other people. March 22, 2017 For three decades, officer Craig Wattier rose through the ranks of his police department outside Toronto - progressing from tractor-trailer thefts to some of its worst investigations, such as sex crimes against children. One day i...

Halifax police say further evidence testing led to charges laid Thursday in the homicide of Naomi Kidston 12 years ago. March 23, 2017 Halifax police say further evidence testing led to charges laid Thursday in the homicide of Naomi Kidston 12 years ago.  Police said Donald Murray Peters, 50, was arrested without incident on Stanley Street in ...

"Until recently, the state didn't even know the number of untested rape kits in Arizona, which turned out to be in the thousands. Enter Article DATE HERE PHOENIX - Rape kits must be tested within 15 days of being collected, thanks to a new law just signed by Gov. Doug Ducey.The legislation establishes time limits, standards and reporting requi...

In addition, investigators found that the unit did not keep inventory records of drug evidence and seized property. May 22, 2017 An audit of Cheatham County's government spending for the 2016-2017 fiscal year by the Comptroller found that the narcotics unit of the Sheriff's Office had "questionable expenses with confidential funds" and missing evid...

Agents arrested Hunter the next day and recovered 31 firearms, ammunition, narcotics and a decorative sword that were all presumed to be stolen from the Fairfield Police Department Enter Article DATE HERE Cute and Paste Content Here Recent blog posts - International Associate For Property & Evidence Inc. - IAPE News Blog IAPE is a non...

Medical issues postpone trial date for retired Springfield police officer Kevin Burnham March 20, 2017 Springfield-Kevin Burnham, retired Springfield police officer, appears in Hampden County Superior Court where his case was continued until March.  Burnham is facing charges with stealing nearly $385,000 in cash from the police department's ev...

Any and all documents regarding the surrender and disposition of weapons to the Lloyd Harbor Police Department" from Jan. 1, 1987 to present. March 17, 2017 The Suffolk County district attorney's office has issued subpoenas to the Village of Lloyd Harbor for police records, the village's mayor said Friday. One of the subpoenas requested payroll rec...

Monday is the trial date for retired Springfield Detective Kevin Burnham, accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the Police Department's evidence room over four and a half years March 17, 2017 SPRINGFIELD -- Monday is the trial date for retired Springfield Detective Kevin Burnham, accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the Police Department's e...

Metro has many warehouses around the city that house recovered property March 18, 2017 Burglars stole your stuff. The police recovered it. What comes next? Enter the reason for the Evidence Vault, which isn't really a vault at all, as attendees learned at a recent First Tuesday seminar. On hand for the February talk at Northwest Area Command, 9850 ...

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE PORTSMOUTH — Police plan to upgrade charges to felonies against a city man accused of growing 51 marijuana plants in his basement, which were seized and stunk up the Police Department and adjacent City Hall. Plans to upgrade charges against Christian Lydon, 47, of 1156 Woodbury Ave., are cited in a m...

The shockingly sloppy evidence control procedures also create uncomfortable questions about the trustworthiness of our criminal justice system. March 16, 2017 Last summer The Coast revealed that an internal audit conducted by the Halifax Regional Police had found widespread problems with the security and record keeping inside the HRP's Drug Vault—t...

The 30-year-old cold case, which led to the filing of charges against Withers on Thursday, was solved after additional DNA testing of the fingernails of the victim, March 16, 2017 In 1987, several days after pleading guilty to a string of burglaries in St. Paul's Macalester-Groveland neighborhood — and being released from jail a day later — Michael...

Later DNA tests on a cigarette butt recovered from the teen's bedroom and a roll of tape used to bound Cox's victims ultimately led to Cox's arrest in January 2015Read more here: March 15, 2017 A man arrested two years ago in a two-decade old rape case could face up to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to the sexual assault Wednesday i...

Rather, investigators believe Acosta was hunting for cash. And they say he found plenty of it on a few unsuspecting drivers — and an undercover agent. March 14, 2017 On the night he was arrested, rookie Wynwood-beat cop Jose R. Acosta was patrolling Miami's trendy arts district and making traffic stops — only police say he wasn't interested in enfo...

Abington Police Department disposed of 185 guns that had accumulated in their evidence locker since 1998. February 22, 2017 ABINGTON, PA -- In January, the Abington Police Department disposed of 185 guns that had accumulated in their evidence locker since 1998. The guns had been surrendered to police over the last 19 years and ultimately could not ...

Testing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement matched DNA from the nasal swabs to DNA on the flannel shirt found in the dumpster Enter Article DATE HERE Twenty-three years ago, 16-year-old Fred Paul Laster went missing, and ever since then, his family has prayed for answers. Those prayers may have been answered with the Tuesday morning ...

"We have 22 guns stolen, along with some narcotics March 7th, 2017 Livingston PARISH, LA - Livingston Parish law enforcement, like many other entities in south Louisiana, has been through the ringer thanks to the August flood. The 911 call center was flooded, as was the prison and the old courthouse building. Apparently, somebody knew not everythin...