Investigators said Pickens confessed to taking it from the evidence room and then bought the speaker back from the store. August 5, 2021 CYRIL, Okla. (KSWO) -The former chief of police in Cyril is facing charges, accused of taking confiscated items. Alvin Pickens III is charged with knowingly concealing stolen property and two counts of petit larce...

Jonathan Pitts is the first defendant known to be impacted by the city's loss of police department data. August 14, 2021 Update 6:30 p.m.: This story was updated with additional details about how this could impact other court cases, a statement from Dallas police and to reflect that Pitts remained jailed. A murder suspect scheduled to go on trial t...

Defense attorneys are still looking for answers. August 9, 2021 A Petersburg police detective who was banished from the department's evidence and property room six years ago amid a scandal involving missing evidence that included $13,000 has retired after he was linked to "hidden" evidence found in the ceiling of the office where he worked, in a du...

Defense attorney who said his client was unlawfully indicted, spent unnecessary time in jail and was negatively impacted by a missing videotape  July 31, 2021 LAS CRUCES - A judge dismissed a case against a man accused of beating, robbing and attempting to sexually assault a massage parlor worker. The case was dismissed without prejudice, mean...

An investigation into the possibility the materials were lost or stolen after they were subpoenaed by the board's Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee September 30m 2020 Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. has requested an investigation into the Otsego County Attorney's Office, alleging it has withheld or lost material related to the 2017...

Williamson County grand jury indictment accuses Chody of intentionally destroying or concealing video and audio recordings of the fatal encounter, which was filmed for the television show Live PD. September 30, 2020 A Texas sheriff has been indicted on felony charges of tampering with evidence in the case of Javier Ambler, a Black man who was kille...

The lack of evidence could put the prosecution of the high-profile criminal case in jeopardy. August 14, 2020 An attorney for a former Massachusetts State Police lieutenant charged with overtime pay fraud says the law enforcement agency has lost tens of thousands of e-mails related to the high-profile criminal case, pointing to records that suggest...

Santa Fe violated state law by failing to produce records concerning missing evidence requested by a retired police officer. Enter Article DATE HERE State District Judge Bryan Biedscheid has determined the city of Santa Fe violated state law by failing to produce records concerning missing evidence requested by a retired police officer. Biedsc...

  The police department as a collective organization isn't responsible for jeopardizing yet another criminal case. Webber says the blame belongs to former Detective. May 16, 2020 We've heard two sides of a sad story, and almost no one is satisfied. Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber says a now-retired police detective lost the physical evidence that h...

Ytuarte said he clearly remembers turning in the sexual assault examination kit to the department's evidence room and he's "deeply offended" by attempts to pin the blame on him. May 14, 2020 Cute  Physical evidence collected during a sexual assault examination of a 4-year-old girl in a 2018 case has gone missing, Santa Fe police officials ackn...

Trial was delayed due to federal prosecutors' failure to immediately notify the defense about missing body camera evidence. April 13, 2020 Delayed justice may have cost Deon Crowell his life. The 51-year-old was transported from the DC Jail to a hospital on April 7 after he tested positive for COVID-19. Less than a week later, he died of complicati...

The Justice Department's internal watchdog found flaws in the ways that the FBI keeps track of its firearms, ammunition, nonlethal weaponry, and explosives, including those seized as evidence March 24, 2020 The FBI has "strong physical controls over its weapons, munitions, and explosives," DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz found. But a report ...

Prosecutors dropped charges; the suspect was recently sentenced to 25 years for a separate crime. March 19, 2020 SARASOTA — An antiquated policy led a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office lieutenant to destroy DNA evidence in two unsolved felony cases in the mid-2000s to make room in evidence storage, Sheriff Tom Knight said in a candid admission Wedne...

Internal Sheriff's Department audits – kept secret for two years by the former and current sheriff – had found hundreds of instances of late or missing evidence. January 29, 2020 An ongoing review of Sheriff's Department evidence problems has found 91 cases so far where someone was convicted of a crime but "evidence was either never booked or booke...

In December,  Capt Romero found $144 in crumpled cash while searching Hernandez's desk in his office; Romero was looking for drug paraphernalia that had gone missing in an unrelated case. January 14, 2020 CLOVIS, N.M. — A Clovis police detective has been charged with embezzling $166 from a man he arrested in June. Francisco Hernandez, 33, face...

Jennifer Burrill, vice president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said a third-party audit is a step in the right direction for the department. January 4, 2020 More than six months after the Santa Fe Police Department told the District Attorney's Office it had lost evidence in a first-degree murder case, it's still unknown ho...

Larsen pled guilty to tampering with evidence and theft of Schedule II type drugs through direct access to evidence in lockers while working out of Bend and Pendleton Oregon December 27, 2019 Nika Elise Larsen, a forensic scientist and crime scene investigator for Oregon State Police Crime Lab, faced a federal court on Aug. 15, 2016. Larsen pled gu...

"We want to be sure that all the evidence is preserved to show that Nick behaved appropriately and even admirably that evening, December 18, 2019 The New York Post has learned that the surveillance footage taken outside the cell of Jeffrey Epstein during his first alleged suicide attempt at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York has gone ...

"We believe the practices we have in place will prevent any problems in the future," November 20, 2019 When Hollywood police failed to keep track of their evidence room — losing $137,609 in cash and 1,096 pills — they got a sharp rebuke from a county watchdog agency for not catching the colossal error. The missing evidence cost the police departmen...

Case linked to evidence discrepancies November 15, 2019 BENTONVILLE -- A former Bella Vista police officer is appealing the loss of his law enforcement certification. Michael Kugler filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Benton County Circuit Court against the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training to have his certification reinstated. T...

Smith said the costume jewelry — a ring found in a burn barrel during a homicide investigation in 2016 — was checked out by an investigator about three months after he took office that same year. The ring was never returned. October 9, 2019 VERONA - The Augusta County Sheriff's Office was recently denied accreditation after a piece of costume jewel...

The river dropping to allow recovery efforts continue for the crashed barges at the Webbers Falls dam is giving law enforcement a unique opportunity to dig up old evidence. September 7, 2019 BRAGGS, OK (KJRH) — A 25-year-old case had one piece of evidence that never turned up - a cash register said to have been thrown off Highway 10 into the Arkans...

The victim's family wants someone held responsible August 29, 2019 DOUGLAS, Ariz. – It was a murder that took place in Douglas 33 years ago. The victim's family wants someone held responsible, but a simple mistake in the storage of police homicide files could prevent that from ever happening. Patricia Alvarez was only 23-years old when she was murd...

"Failure to provide adequate management controls and procedures may lead to lost, stolen or compromised evidence as well as a loss of public trust," auditors wrote. Enter Article DATE HERE SALT LAKE CITY — Unsecured evidence storage systems in Utah courts put guns, money, drugs and other items at risk of being stolen or tampered with, a new st...

Lawyers for an Iowa inmate serving a life sentence for a 1980 murder conviction will be allowed to search for missing evidence AUGUST 12, 2019 MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) – Lawyers for an Iowa inmate serving a life sentence for a 1980 murder conviction will be allowed to search for missing evidence that they want for DNA testing. Judge Stuart Werling has ...

Santa Fe police say an internal investigation is now underway to figure out how it got lost and re-evaluate evidence policies and procedures Enter Article DATE HERE SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – An investigation is underway after evidence in a Santa Fe murder investigation went missing. Christopher Garcia was arrested in 2017 for the murder of his g...

Auditors found that out of the departments analyzed, five of the seven agencies had missing money, firearms, controlled substances or drug paraphernalia from their evidence lockers, according to the report. Enter Article DATE HERE ALT LAKE CITY — A Utah State Auditor's Office report highlighted shortcomings in how many police departments store...

"I think that the law enforcement, whoever is behind the missing evidence, should be held accountable April 11, 2019 HOMERVILLE, GA (WALB) - South Georgia residents are speaking out as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) continues to look into missing evidence from the Homerville Police Department's evidence room. The Homerville Police Depart...

State Police confirm Roos was temporarily relieved of duty January 8, 2019 DERBY, Vt. (AP) A Vermont county prosecutor says a state trooper is under investigation in connection with a report of missing evidence. According to records, Derby-based Sgt. David Roos was placed on paid leave in December without explanation. The Caledonian-Record reports ...

Audit found items missing from an evidence locker. December 28, 2018 CAMPBELL — Police Chief Dennis Puskarcik has been placed on leave after an internal audit found items missing from an evidence locker. Law Director Brian Macala said Mayor Nick Phillips placed Puskarcik on leave today. Macala said the audit was done at the request of the state Bur...

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 ...

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...

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...

"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...

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...

Assistant Prosecutor Janet Williamson said that a box of evidence that included the murder weapon had been lost July 28, 2018 BLUEFIELD — Charges have been dropped in a 46-year-old murder case because of missing evidence. Tomie Lee Mollohan, 76, has been serving a life sentence since August 1974, after being convicted for the 1973 murder of Cebert ...

Allegations against the chief included missing guns from ongoing investigations, missing badges and personnel allegations from officers regarding paid time. Enter Article DATE HERE LITHONIA, Ga. -- The City of Lithonia has fired their police chief following a private investigation. Chief Roosevelt Smith was terminated earlier in the month at a...

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...

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...

Joe Latta, executive director of the International Association for Property and Evidence. "The older it gets, the more difficult it gets to run it down, Enter Article DATE HERE "I want to know who killed my sister, and why did they just leave it go like she was nothing?" Bishop asked during an interview with the Journal Sentinel. "Who is accou...

Hawaii County police attribute the loss of DNA evidence in two separate high-profile 2016 criminal cases to rodents June 11, 2018 KAILUA-KONA — The safety and integrity of collected police evidence has been called into question as reports of lost and stolen evidence from storage lockers have come to light. Hawaii County police attribute the loss of...

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...

"I would absolutely say, without a reasonable doubt, that this was some really shoddy recordkeeping," said Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey. Apr 24, 2018 ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - About 185 Ormond Beach Police Department investigations are affected after an audit of the evidence room found it in such disarray that the evidence custodian was fired...

Komrosky, 31, was arrested after allegedly stealing a pound of methamphetamine valued at $10,000 and 13 cell phones from the Metro Area Task Force. April 12, 2018 A judge has set bond at $2,500 cash for a Burleigh County sheriff's deputy charged with theft and drug crimes while on the job. Kerry Komrosky, 31, was arrested Tuesday after allegedly st...

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE A Sheriff's Department property clerk resigned in December amid a criminal investigation into missing evidence.The clerk, a nearly 10-year employee named Angela Messig, acknowledged the property room she oversaw in Santee was a mess but denied stealing any evidence.The property-theft case is the seco...

"There was no proof of criminal wrongdoing at that time and no charges were brought against anyone," Chief Elliott said. Enter Article DATE HERE JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott said in a statement Friday that an investigation revealed missing money, drugs, and other general property from their evidence room. Chief El...

In 2015, the State Police were investigating a sheriff's office employee suspected of stealing drug forfeiture money.​ Sept. 18, 2017 LANSING — An Ingham County assistant prosecutor and a Michigan State Police investigator were told of widespread problems with evidence at the Ingham County Sheriff's Office more than a year before news reports expos...

SLED reported 885 pieces of evidence were found that were not even logged in the system Laurens County had set up. September 14, 2017 A 6 month audit by the State Law Enforcement Agency, revealed a gross mismanagement of the evidence department under former Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain. SLED audits of evidence departments in cities and cou...

​Charged with official misconduct and petit larceny after $910 was allegedly discovered missing, along with a $100 dollar gift card, which were both evidence in cases September 1, 2017 DARLINGTON COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – A former Darlington Police officer has been arrested and charged with misconduct in office, petit larceny, and financial transact...

A son of former Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher has been charged in connection with an ongoing two-year probe into items discovered missing from an evidence room Enter Article DATE HERE RICHMOND - A son of former Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher has been charged in connection with an ongoing two-year probe into items discovered mis...