Audit of Wichita Police Department finds no missing, mishandled evidence Enter Article September 21st, 2023 A property and evidence audit of the Wichita Police Department found that no evidence handled by the department was missing or inappropriately reviewed or recorded. The process lasted about a year and was overseen by external auditor Kristina...

Philadelphia Sheriff's Office can't account for nearly 200 guns, city controller says September 21st, 2023 PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Sheriff's Office can't account for nearly 200 guns, despite statements the sheriff made suggesting that her office had not misplaced any weapons, according to a new report released by the City Controller. The 18...

Ex-cop sentenced on drug charges September 17th, 2023 A former Ironton police office was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday on drug charges. Bradley Spoljaric, 30, who pleaded guilty on the drug charges, was also fined $100. He may file for judicial release after 30 days. Spoljaric was arrested on July 27, 2022, after an investigation by ...

Former Kentucky police chief accused in $25,000 theft going to jail in federal case September 15th, 2023 A former Kentucky police chief was sentenced Friday to five months behind bars after being accused of stealing more than $25,000. Jason D. Cross, who was police chief in Columbia, took the money between February 2020 and February 2021, according...

Sexual Assault Kits Backlogs On Track To Be Cleared By The WA Crime Lab In The Next 3 Months September 11th, 2023 The Washington State Crime Lab reports that by the end of the year, scientists should be able to completely clear out massive backlogs of sexual assault kits that have been sitting on evidence shelves for decades. According to Fox 13 Se...

Arrest in 1994 cold case killing of woman found slain in her Springfield home September 11th, 2023 A suspect has been arrested in the murder of a Virginia woman dating back almost three decades, detectives in Northern Virginia announced Monday. The victim, Robin Lawrence, 37, was found stabbed to death in her home on Reseca Lane in Springfield on N...

Sexual assault survivors can now track their rape kits in most states September 9th, 2023 It can take hours for a sexual assault victim to undergo the multiple swabs, hair samples, blood and urine collections, and other invasive procedures of a sexual assault examination. And then it can take months, sometimes years, for investigators to process th...

Audit finds Sacramento Police Department has backlog of untested rape kits September 6th, 2023 An audit found the Sacramento Police Department has failed to comply with a rape kit law more than four years after a state deadline. The department only began work to belatedly follow the state law after the City Auditor's Office identified the issue ear...

Former Deputy Admits to Evidence Tampering September 6th, 2023 It's 20 years in prison for a former Leake County sheriff's deputy who was arrested last year in an evidence tampering investigation that led to dozens of drug cases being dismissed. Justin Moore admitted his guilt in court yesterday. He had been indicted on 31 counts of evidence tamper...

Former Bridgeport cop gets suspended term for stealing money at drug bust August 30th, 2023 BRIDGEPORT — A veteran city police officer received a suspended sentence Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to taking money from a 2021 drug raid. Christopher Martin had served 21 years as a city police officer before resigning shortly after his arrest. "I ap...

Rau charged in missing and tampered evidence case August 31st, 2023 Tillamook Police Chief Raymond Rau was charged with four misdemeanors on August 30, relating to the Oregon State Police and Department of Justice investigation into missing and tampered evidence at the Tillamook Police Department's property room. Rau was charged with two counts of ...

Former Rocky Ford police officer arrested for stealing evidence, accused of being in a gang August 24th, 2023 ROCKY FORD, Colo. (KRDO) - A former Rocky Ford Police Officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing guns and prescription drugs from cases where he worked. Now, his romantic partner is accusing him of being part of a gang. In June 202...

Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board August 8th, 202 Attention Ohio Agencies...The Ohio Collaborative Community Police Advisory Board recently released their policy statement for establishing standards for Property and Evidence Rooms. The IAPE standards available to IAPE Members is a great place to start when writing your policy. The ...

Verify: How often does evidence from rape kits lead to criminal charges? August 18th, 2023 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sexual assault evidence collection kits are used to recover DNA from a victim after an assault in the hopes it will lead to an arrest. But how often does this evidence actually result in criminal charges? North Carolina is currently working ...

Sheriff's office identifies Flagler Beach cold case murder victim as investigation continues August 17th, 2023 Robert Bruce McPhail's body was found bound, shot and stabbed in the Intracoastal Waterway. A cold case is one step closer to being solved now that the body of a man found in the Intracoastal before the turn of the century has been identif...

FLAK OF EVIDENCE Cops under fire after crime scene items including cash and drugs mysteriously vanish CRIME scene items seized by cops, including cash and drugs, have mysteriously vanished. Jewelry, forensic samples, phones, CCTV clips and clothing are also among the missing potential evidence. They are meant to be safe in case they are r...

Alberta RCMP officer previously charged with assault now accused of stealing TV, wallet from evidence room August 16th, 2023 A Red Deer RCMP officer is accused of stealing a television and wallet which had been seized as exhibits by police at the Blackfalds detachment, court documents reveal. Earlier this week, RCMP announced Cpl. Brandon Will...

The 2017 indictment stems from Cottrell stealing drugs from the Bullitt County Sheriff's Office August 14, 2023 A former Bullitt County Sheriff's Office chief deputy has again been arrested. John Cottrell, 54, was charged with receiving stolen property (firearm) and possession of a defaced firearm. He was arrested Wednesday at UPS Worldport in Loui...

County district attorney said an audit of the evidence room found that a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms was missing. August 12, 2023 Former Greensburg police chief waives theft, tampering charges for court Former Greensburg police chief waives theft, tampering charges for court Former Greensburg Police Chief Shawn D...

Numerous instances of illegal behavior over the past 8 years, including cash, drugs and even a weapon taken from the Department's evidence room.Enter Headline here August 12, 2023 Lewis County authorities say they've asked the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis to investigate the Canton Police Department, after numerous instances of illegal behavi...

Probe of Campton Hills police Chief Steven Millar appears to involve questions about missing guns and access to the police department's evidence room, records show. August 11, 2023 An ongoing Illinois State Police probe of Campton Hills police Chief Steven Millar appears to involve questions about missing guns and access to the police department's ...

The question remains--how does the Canton Police Department regain the trust from the community?Enter Headline here August 4, 2023 The Canton Police Department was put under investigation in May of 2022 after Canton Mayor Jarrod Phillips reported a number of employees had resigned. The investigation found over the course of seven years there has be...

The employee was hospitalized with injuries that weren't considered life threatening, police said. Headline here July 30, 2023 A Dallas police employee was shot in the arm Tuesday after a gun accidentally discharged in the property room, the department confirmed. The employee, who was not named by police, was processing evidence when the shoot...

Spurred by the death of Beblar earlier this month, the state police conducted a regulatory audit of the West Hills Regional's evidence room, indicating that Beblar had tampered with drug evidence, officials said. June 29, 2023 Jun. 29—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — An ongoing audit of West Hills Regional Police Department's policies for securing drug evidence wi...

According to the report, the police department also found Sept. 29, 2020, that "seized currency of $6,723" was missing from the evidence room.Enter Headline here July 2, 2023 A state audit found that former Kensett Police Chief John Pollard received payroll overpayments of more than $66,000 over the last three years, while there were "no confiscati...

In a May ruling, Judge Stephen Gizzi found that the city violated the California Public Records Act when in 2021 officials destroyed evidence in multiple police shootings. June 30, 2023 Solano County judge has ruled in favor of Open Vallejo in a lawsuit over records of Vallejo police violence and misconduct. In a May ruling, Judge Stephen Gizzi fou...

Pennsylvania State Police said their audit of the West Hills police department found evidence that was missing, tampered with or destroyed. June 29, 2023 Cambria County's District attorney and coroner announced Wednesday the death of a West Hills officer was caused by an overdose of drugs they said came from his department's evidence storage. The i...

Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez, a lawyer specialize in forensic science told the Council that the NYPD's program for tracking and securing evidence is "pure chaos," making it clear the city should upgrade its system to bring it up to par with other cities. June 20, 2023 Defense lawyers laid into the NYPD on Tuesday over its failure to safeguard reams of ...

The evidence kept in his private storage unit  June 18, 2023 A former Garden City Police Department detective who mishandled evidence, including drugs, from a "high-profile homicide" — keeping some of it in a private storage unit — has had his police certification revoked, according to a state agency that oversees accreditation. Scott Birney e...

2016, was named MPD Officer of the YearEnter Headline here June 1, 2023 Millsboro Police Department Sgt. Matthew Dufour — who, in 2016, was named MPD Officer of the Year, eliciting praise from Chief Brian Calloway, who said he made a significant difference in the community — has been indicted by the Department of Justice's Division of Civil Rights ...

Department detectives have "been out there every Friday" clearing out old evidence, Youngman said, and that the warehouse looks "so much more like an evidence room after the hard work they've done." May 31, 2023 May 31—The Daviess County Sheriff's Office has corrected some of the issues identified by the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police tha...

The consequences played out Thursday in a murder trial, where a man was found guilty despite evidence being unavailable to jurors or lawyers May 20, 2023 (TNS) — Dallas police are struggling to access physical and digital evidence amid an ongoing ransomware attack that is disrupting trials, according to defense lawyers who are exasperated after mor...

investigation began in August of 2021 when it was discovered that $900 cash was missing. That money, which was tied to a criminal case, was to be returned back to the victim after it had gone through the court system May 13, 2023 ONTARIO — A court case tied to missing evidence from Ontario Police Department has finally wrapped up, with a sergeant h...

Malheur County District Attorney turns over investigation to Oregon Dept. of Justice September 15, 2022 ditor's note:This article has been updated to reflect that one person who was tied to the investigation has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Another person remains on paid leave, and it has now been confirmed that they also are tied to the investi...

A deputy public defender called out 'officers who will plant evidence and write false reports' May 12, 2023 An embattled Orange County sheriff's sergeant has been accused in defense documents with taking drugs seized in one case and booking them as evidence in another, unrelated case. Sgt. Matthew LeFlore, already facing allegations of illegally ea...

John Burkhart will also serve four years of probation and has been ordered to pay back $140,000 in restitution as part of his sentence May 5, 2023 HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The former officer in charge of the Lancaster County Drug Task Force was sentenced to 8 to 22 months in prison for stealing money seized by the task force, Attorney General Miche...

Burkhart was solely responsible for cashing those checks and placing the money into the safe until they were forfeited by court order. May 6, 2023 HARRISBURG – Attorney General Michelle Henry announced today that the former Officer in Charge of the Lancaster County Drug Task Force was sentenced to 8 to 22 months in prison for stealing funds seized ...

"It's highly unusual that in the face of (Censoni's) admitted theft, and abuse of the property locker and drug exhibits, April 26, 2023 A case involving multiple drug trafficking offenses was dropped on Tuesday after a cop testified that he stole drug evidence and nearly died of an overdose in the police station's parking lot. Article content Two p...

"seized it the night before but forgot to take it to the property room". April 22, 2023 Fort Worth Police say an officer is off the force after an investigation determined he was dishonest. The department released a statement Friday saying Officer Cody Atkinson had been terminated following an internal administrative investigation "into several inc...

A former Chillicothe Police officer entered a plea of not guilty to three counts of felony stealing $750 or more in Livingston County court on April 19th. Thirty-nine-year-old Jeremy Don Stephens of Brookfield waived formal arraignment. The case was continued to July 14th for a plea or trial setting. A probable cause statement from the Highway Patr...

Byrd testified that during the audit, SLED discovered there were allegedly 21 files which had last been modified by Shultz which had currency missing. March 30, 2023 The attorney for a former Orangeburg officer says his client accidentally burned evidence room money. Former Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Lt. Carl Wayne Shultz is charged wit...

The evidence warehouse at 700 Columbia St stored both biological evidence and impounded vehicles. March 30, 2023 Over three months after the fire that ripped through a Red Hook warehouse, which stored decades-old New York City Police Department evidence, legal advocates are still seeking answers from the city about how it plans to address the impac...

Officials said Weaver's girlfriend, Anna Idigima, 37, of Lincoln, was a Nebraska State Patrol employee who worked in the evidence unit when the drugs were stolen from an evidence storage facility. She then allegedly gave them to Weaver to sell. March 17, 2023 LINCOLN, Neb. — A Lincoln man facing federal charges related to drugs stolen from a Nebras...

The Officer who was found unresponsive is assigned as an evidence custodian for the department. Enter Headline here March 23, 2023 MILLSBORO, Del.-A Millsboro Police Officer has been administratively suspended from the Department pending an investigation into suspected tampering of a controlled substance from evidence. The Department says on F...

A probable cause statement accuses Stephens of stealing $2,103 cash and two handguns from the Chillicothe Police Department evidence room while he was employed as an evidence officer March 3, 2023 A former Chillicothe Police officer faces three felony counts in Livingston County of stealing $750 or more following an investigation by the Highway Pat...

Police said the records may include digital evidence for court cases, which could mean that information wasn't provided to lawyers as required by state law. February 24, 2023 Dallas police are at risk of being in violation of evidence laws after officers improperly stored more than 52,000 digital records, according to interviews and internal commun...

Former Nebraska State Patrol Employee Pleads Guilty to Drug Theft Local NewsFormer Nebraska State Patrol Employee Pleads Guilty to Drug TheftByJulia BertinoFeb 15, 2023 On Tuesday, Anna Idigima entered her plea and now faces 20-years to life in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine laced with fentanyl. Prosecutors say Idigima took part in the...

As a result, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and suspended to one year of active time with probation afterward. The sentence was handed down by Judge Bentley Price. February 10, 2023 SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — A former South Carolina police officer has been sentenced to prison time followed by probation after an investigation found he took money an...

Trooper was placed on paid leave in December after state police began investigating him in response to the disappearance of valuables from the temporary evidence storage  February 9, 2023 A state trooper being investigated for allegations that he stole a Rolex watch from evidence storage resigned this week, Vermont State Police confi...

Employees at the Macomb County Morgue when they allegedly stole prescription pills from the property room where drugs were kept in connection with overdose deaths February 3, 2023 MACOMB COUNTY, MI – Two people are facing charges related to stealing drugs from a Michigan morgue where they worked, authorities said. The 32-year-old woman and 50-year-...