New evidence problems have surfaced at the Harris County Courthouse after questions were raised about yet another crime lab analyst, the latest in a string of evidence snafus that have put more than 1,000 criminal cases under scrutiny. November 22, 2016 New evidence problems have surfaced at the Harris County Courthouse after questions were raised ...

Three officers' body camera videos that captured events surrounding the fatal shooting of 19-year-old suspected car thief Mary Hawkes in April 2014 were either altered or partially deleted, November 18, 2016 Albuquerque Police Department officials have altered and, in some cases, deleted videos that showed several controversial incidents, including...

Prosecutors say new DNA evidence has helped lead them to a suspect in the 2004 killing of a teenage girl found naked in a Brooklyn alleyway. November 19, 2016 Prosecutors say new DNA evidence has helped lead them to a suspect in the 2004 killing of a teenage girl found naked in a Brooklyn alleyway. Kwauhuru Govan, 38, was arraigned in Brooklyn Thur...

Retired State Police Detective: "To be a new chief or a new evidence officer and not have an outside audit is foolish" November 17, 2016 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A retired Springfield police officer will stand trial in December for allegedly stealing nearly $400,000 from the police evidence room.  The 22News I-Team reveals if police departm...

As blogger Al Crespo revealed last month, the container rusted, letting in water and pests that destroyed evidence in more than 500 cases. November 16, 2016 Murder evidence is pretty important, so you'd think the Miami Police Department would have a good place to store all of those key items in unsolved cases. But it turns out that for years MPD ha...

Nawolski pleaded guilty to charges of felony possession of hydrocodone, forgery, and theft by taking of oxycodone. November 16, 2016 VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - A person who controlled evidence at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Regional Crime Lab is charged with taking drugs from the facility. The discrepancy was discovered during an internal audit at the e...

Testing of backlogged rape evidence leads to hundreds of convictions Enter Article DATE HERE Hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits, also known as sexual assault kits (SAKs), languish in evidence storage facilities across the U.S. This backlog denies justice to victims and allows rapists the opportunity to continue to harm others. Based o...

Louisville Metro police solve two cold cases -- a murder and a sex crime -- thanks to DNA evidence. Police credit a cold case grant from the federal government for helping them solve both crimes. November 16, 2016 Louisville Metro police solve two cold cases -- a murder and a sex crime -- thanks to DNA evidence. Police credit a cold case grant from...

A smooth talker with a near-genius IQ, Alcala preyed on young attractive women, luring some of them by telling them he was a professional photographer who wanted to enter their pictures in a photography contest. After killing them, Alcala placed their bodies in grotesque poses, sometimes photographing them. November 16, 2016 Convicted California se...

The Braintree Police evidence room will be relocated and additional safeguards installed, the town council was told Tuesday night. November 16, 2016 RAINTREE – The police department's evidence room will be moved to the former pistol range on the lower level of the police station, Mayor Joseph Sullivan told the town council Tuesday night. Interim Po...

A retired Springfield officer will stand trial next month for allegedly stealing nearly $400,000 from the police evidence room. November 14, 2016 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - When police make an arrest, often times they confiscate evidence to be used to support charges against a defendant in court.  Depending on the crime, that evidence could b...

The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation into potential theft of evidence from the Davidson County Sheriff's Office by a deputy. November 14, 2016 DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation into potential theft of evidence from the Davidson County Sheriff's Office...

According to a September report from the National Institute of Justice on funding for DNA analysis, new methods are now able to yield full DNA profiles collected from old, degraded or otherwise unviable samples. November 14, 2016 In less than a decade, advancements in forensics technology have allowed scientists to "do more with less" using DNA evi...

The backlog of sexual assault kits at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2016 was 737 cases. That number increased to 1,177 a year later, as of Sept. 30, according to a recent Michigan State Police report to the legislature. November 12, 2016 The number of rape kits in Michigan's backlog is up compared to this time a year ago, as police worked to te...

David Peel's attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him because they say a significant portion of the investigation file is missing Enter Article DATE HERE JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A man charged with a high-profile Jessamine County murder is hoping to have the case against him dismissed. Police arrested David Peel a...

Stone resigned last month after he was confronted over missing narcotics in the police department's evidence room. A state police investigation confirmed that heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, prescription drugs, and cash had been stolen from the evidence room. Stone was the primary evidence room custodian. November 10, 2016 Criminal charges have been fil...

Sergeant's gambling tied to missing $9,600 from evidence room November 7, 2016 CADILLAC, MI – A former state police sergeant in charge of a post's evidence room is accused of stealing nearly $10,000, police said. Malcolm Lindsey Irwin, 52, of Cadillac, had financial problems and a gambling problem when the money was taken, a felony complaint says. ...

Highway Patrol officials, discovered $1,540 was missing from another evidence bag November 7, 2016 A former South Dakota highway patrolman is charged with taking nearly $70,000 from drug arrests over the past four years.Brian William Biehl, 47, of Platte, has been arrested by complaint on one count of grand theft by law enforcement of seized proper...

He took the cash over four years to pay his bills because he was "short on money" and that "it's been going on for quite a while." November 7, 2016 A former South Dakota highway patrolman is charged with taking nearly $70,000 from drug arrests over the past four years. Brian William Biehl, 47, of Platte, has been arrested by complaint on one count ...

Changes to how the Mount Vernon Police Department handles and disposes of evidence have been implemented in the wake of the FBI's investigation into former detective November 5, 2016 MOUNT VERNON — Changes to how the Mount Vernon Police Department handles and disposes of evidence have been implemented in the wake of the FBI's investigation into for...

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is notifying defendants that the Framingham police discovered a "hide-a-key" that permitted unrecorded access to their evidence room, according to statements from prosecutors and police. November 5, 2016 The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is notifying defendants that the Framingham police discovered a ...

A former Pensacola crime lab supervisor has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges he stole thousands of prescription pills from a Florida Department of Law Enforcement evidence lockup. September 14, 2016 Joseph Wayne Graves, 35, was a supervisor at a FDLE crime laboratory where he tested the chemical makeup of ...

Over the years the evidence in Hurtado's unsolved murder was preserved in hopes that advances in technology might yield new results. The samples, taken from under Hurtado's fingernails in 1977, were resubmitted to the CBI Forensic Lab for additional testing along with DNA samples from known relatives of C.K. November 3, 2016 Over the years the evid...

Admitting he used his position to steal money and narcotics from the department's property room, was sentenced today to six years in prison. November 3, 2016 A former Mount Vernon Police Department detective who pleaded guilty in March to a federal extortion charge, admitting he used his position to steal money and narcotics from the department's p...

Coomes, who resigned from CPD Oct. 22, 2015, was accused of obtaining narcotics out of the police department's evidence room under the guise of using them in educational programs. November 3, 2016 A former Columbus Police Department narcotics division supervisor pleaded guilty Thursday to felony possession of methamphetamine, felony official miscon...

The Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force concluded that there are 6,424 untested kits in the state. November 2, 2016 A special state task force has found that Arizona law enforcement agencies have more than 6,000 untested rape kits. The Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force concluded that there are 6,424 untested kits in th...

A former Berks County sheriff's deputy was charged Thursday with stealing money from an evidence locker he believed was property seized in a drug investigation by Harrisburg police, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. October 30, 2016 A former Berks County sheriff's deputy was charged Thursday with steal...

Texas Rangers are helping to look into money missing from the Police Department's evidence room. Enter Article DATE HERE PFLUGERVILLE — The Texas Rangers confirmed Thursday that they are assisting in a months-long investigation into missing money from the Pflugerville Police Department's evidence room, while officials say a separate, unrelated...

He said the Police Department has notified the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office so that together they can "minimize the impact on our current and future prosecutions." October 28, 2016 MIAMI - Miami police Chief Rodolfo Llanes released a video statement Friday, confirming that the structural integrity of a storage container containing homicide, u...

A Denver police officer has been arrested, accused of stealing money from a suspect. His body camera apparently caught him taking the cash from a crime scene. October 28, 2016 DENVER (CBS4)– A Denver police officer has been arrested, accused of stealing money from a suspect. His body camera apparently caught him taking the cash from a crime scene. ...

A new law passed in July now requires that all sexual assault kits in the state of Florida to be processed in the laboratory within 120 days. October 27, 2016 FORT MYERS, Fla. — A new law passed in July now requires that all sexual assault kits in the state of Florida to be processed in the laboratory within 120 days. Over 13,000 samples ...

A New Tazewell police officer has been arrested after investigators allege he stole previously seized narcotics collected as evidence by the police department. October 26, 2016 NEW TAZEWELL (WATE) – A New Tazewell police officer has been arrested after investigators allege he stole previously seized narcotics collected as evidence by the police dep...

The indictment alleges that Garner intentionally broke into the offices of the Ripley police chief and the narcotics office in June to conceal or remove physical evidence, an envelope containing what he believed to be meth. October 25, 2016 RIPLEY, Miss. (WTVA) – A former Ripley police officer is now on the wrong side of the law according to Attorn...

In court documents, disgraced former officers Damacio Diaz and Patrick Mara acknowledged substituting look-alike substances for drugs from the department's evidence room. October 25, 2016 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The corruption case of two former Bakersfield Police Department officers has left the department reviewing its policy and proced...

Fisher theorized the seized money, which was kept inside an evidence room safe in two separate packages, fell onto the floor and into a trash pile beneath the safe. October 25, 2016 STAUNTON - Former Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher and his son are under investigation by Virginia State Police and are suspected of illegally possess...

A lone cigarette butt found in the impounded auto sat for years in an evidence locker, but it was worthless at the outset of the probe. October 22, 2016 nvestigators were right on target in 1991 when they looked to Myrtle McGill's abandoned car for clues that would lead to her killer. A lone cigarette butt found in the impounded auto sat for years ...

The room, which is 14,000 square feet, is holding approximately 15,000 pieces of evidence, 46 percent of capacity, according to the Houston Police Department. October 20, 2016 HOUSTON - Interim Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo could not provide a time estimate on Thursday of how long it would take to assess how much evidence was contaminated, i...

Orlando police Chief John Mina announced Friday that exactly 15 years after Franke's death, a new step had been made in the case using DNA phenotyping Enter Article DATE HERE ORLANDO, Fla. - Thanks to new technology, the Orlando Police Department has used DNA evidence collected in 2001 to make a composite sketch of a man they believe to be a m...

A cigarette butt left inside the vehicle led investigators to Cook but not until 2007 when DNA testing of the cigarette matched with Cook. Oct 21, 2016 District Attorney Patrick Dougherty said the suspect is 61-year-old Charles Cook from Magnolia, a tiny Minnesota town of roughly 200 people. VIDEO: Watch Ashlie Hardway's report Gunshots were fired ...

A longtime York County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $700 in cash from the sheriff's evidence room. October 19, 2016 A longtime York County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $700 in cash from the sheriff's evidence room. Troy Senft, 59, of East Manchester Township, was fired in May and crimin...

A man serving prison time for a 1995 rape and murder case in Pontiac has been identified and is now charged in a similar slaying in 1994 that went cold until recently, when DNA indexing tied the man to the crime. October 17, 2016 A man serving prison time for a 1995 rape and murder case in Pontiac has been identified and is now charged in a similar...

Capital Region District Attorneys weigh in on the new technology October 16, 2016 Massachusetts investigators moved forward on a 24-year-old cold case in late September after a Virginia lab used DNA evidence to predict the appearance of the woman's killer. As encouraging as that may sound — having a "face to this crime" in the words of that county ...

The St. Louis-based business destroys approximately 2,000 guns a year October 10th, 2016 (KTVI) Guns from cities across the United States are ending up in the St. Louis area. And while it might sound unusual, police are pleased. "The departments want to get rid of them," Scott Reed, Vice-President of Gunbusters said.Gunbusters is exactly what the n...

At a City Council meeting Wednesday, resident John DeBartola asked Mayor Frank Janakovic what he planned to do about the apparent corruption within the police department. October 14, 2016 A Pennsylvania police department has come under review after one of its officers overdosed while on duty and now the local district attorney's office is calling t...

Less than a month after being sent for analysis, the T-shirt went missing and is not likely to be recovered. Oct 13, 2016 GLASGOW — In early April of this year, an infant-size blue T-shirt linked to a murder investigation was sent to the Kentucky State Police Central Lab in Frankfort for forensic analysis, about seven months after the murder suspec...

Hess ended up destroying nearly 8,000 items. Of those items, 861 were traced back to 470 open cases, 183 of which have been determined to be drug-related cases, according to a newsrelease by the constable's office. Enter Article DATE HERE Harris County The Harris County Precinct 4 constable's office has fired a deputy on the heels of allegatio...

Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney Gretchen Whitmer has requested that the State Police audit the evidence room because an unknown amount of evidence was destroyed or damaged in a water leak several years ago. October 12, 2016 LANSING, Mich (WLNS) – The Ingham County Board of Commissioners has approved spending up to $20,000 to hire a retired Assis...