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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

"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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Detectives were able to match his DNA with a specimen collected from the body of victim Mary Lindgren August 6, 2020 The state's DNA database helped investigators arrest a suspect Thursday accused of raping and killing a 67-year-old woman in her Covina assisted-living home more than two decades ago, officials said. After 46-year-old David Adolph Be...

In March of 2015, Logan August entered the property room under the false premise of removing that marijuana for burial and destruction and took 351 pounds of marijuana. August 6, 2020 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced a resolution in a significant plea in a case involving the two former Kern County Sheriff...

   One staffer recounted that the Officer commented specifically about getting to "look at them whenever he wants." August 4, 2020 Days before student-athlete Lauren McCluskey was killed, a University of Utah police officer showed off explicit photos that McCluskey had taken of herself to at least three of his male co-workers without a wo...

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...

His exact role in discarding the bullet-ridden windshield is not known Enter Article DATE HERE VALLEJO — The president of the Vallejo police union is one of two employees on suspension and under investigation for destruction of evidence in the police killing of Sean Monterrosa, multiple sources told this news organization. Lt. Michael Nichelin...

Enter Headline here July 25, 2020 WINNEMUCCA – A detective who was found dead June 25 in the Winnemucca Police Department's evidence vault died of a drug overdose, Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Allen reported this week. A bag containing a white, powdery substances was found concealed on Matt Morgan, 47, shortly after 2 p.m. when his body was discove...

"After more than five decades, advances in investigative genetic genealogy did what old-fashioned police work could not: Give Jane Doe a name and identify her killer," he said. July 25, 2020 A California county's oldest Jane Doe murder has been solved through DNA and genetic genealogy. The crime-fighting technique helped identify the victim and fin...

The evidence was of the bullet-riddled windshield from the unmarked police truck from which the officer fired the fatal shots. July 17, 2020 Evidence was destroyed relating to a fatal officer-involved shooting in June that sparked protests for increased police accountability in Vallejo, California, the city confirmed Wednesday. The evidence was of ...

Detective, was initially indicted by a Kona grand jury in May 2019 after allegedly stealing cocaine from the Hilo police evidence locker in May 2016. July 15, 2020 A former Hawai'i Police Detective awaiting trial on drugs and conspiracy charges was indicted Wednesday morning on additional felony offenses for intimidating a witness. A Kona grand jur...

The task force also issued 245 citations resulting in $306,250 in fines Enter Article DATE HERE SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) — More than 28 tons of illegal fireworks were seized by San Bernardino police and county fire officials in the weeks leading up to the Fourth of July. San Bernardino County Fire was also on high alert for illegal fireworks dur...

A 63-year-old man was arrested Wednesday by Arvada police as a suspect in a 2002 sex assault. Enter Article DATE HERE A 63-year-old man was arrested Wednesday by Arvada police as a suspect in a 2002 sex assault. Cold case investigators used DNA evidence in the arrest of Brent W. Bloomquist, according to a news release. On May 31, 2002, a 60-ye...

DeAngelo, 74, admitted to a 12-year binge of murder, rapes, burglaries and other crimes from the Sacramento area to Orange County Enter Article DATE HERE Forty-five years after murdering his first victim, Joseph James DeAngelo admitted Monday he was the Golden State Killer: serial killer, serial rapist and author of one of the worst crime spre...

The incident is described in Michelle McNamara's book and depicted in an HBO July 1, 2020 Orange County sheriff's investigators smuggled boxes of statewide evidence on the Golden State Killer to a true-crime author in 2016, foreshadowing an internal audit that showed the agency had systemic problems mishandling such evidence, court papers show. Det...

Precious Jane Doe, a woman murdered in Washington state in 1977, has been identified with the help of DNA and genetic genealogy, authorities said June 25, 2020 Precious Jane Doe, a woman murdered in Washington state in 1977, has been identified with the help of DNA and genetic genealogy, authorities said. The victim is now known to have been 17-yea...

Attorney says there are 'two sets of laws in this county — one for those who wear a sheriff's uniform and one for those who don't. June 18, 2020 Orange County prosecutors coddled two ex-sheriff's deputies who pleaded guilty to mishandling evidence but failed to consult the victims of their misdeeds before agreeing to the deputies' no-jail plea deal...