"While I appreciate the progress, this also doesn't account for the other 1,135 unprocessed rape kits that sit untested at the SFPD because they have passed statute of limitations." February 27, 2017 SAN FRANCISCO—In 2010, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors legislated that all rape kits, used to collect biological information from victims of se...

Gary Coffman, 45, has been charged with three felony counts of possession of methamphetamine while in possession of a firearm, one felony count of possession of stolen property (firearms), three misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and two misdemeanor counts of drug possession February 15, 2017 A police evidence technician has be...

On January 20, 2017, the Glendale Police Department's Homicide unit  arrested a suspect in the murder of a 41 year old male victim who was brutally stabbed to death over 23 years ago February 1, 2017 On January 20, 2017, the Glendale Police Department's Homicide unit arrested a suspect in the murder of a 41 year old male victim who was brutall...

In a case cracked through the use of "familial" DNA, law enforcement officials Monday identified a man believed to have committed the 1976 murder of Karen Klaas, the ex-wife of singer/songwriter Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers. Enter Article DATE HERE In a case cracked through the use of "familial" DNA, law enforcement officials Monday i...

The sheriff's department said Friday that the case "was solved through the use of familial DNA, which identified the killer," but provided no other details. January 28, 2017 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators used a controversial DNA testing method to solve the decades-old killing of the ex-wife of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley, the Los Angel...

Fisher's case remained unsolved until the Ventura County sheriff's cold case homicide task force re-examined DNA evidence collected from the crime scene. A check with the Combined DNA Index System, a databank that contains DNA profiles of people arrested across the United States, came up with a match in 2002, Spillner said. January 18, 2017 An El R...

Documents which track the evidence to be legally destroyed or disposed of were also found that the investigators think was altered by Acosta, according to the release. January 5, 2017  A former Butte County Sheriff's Office employee is accused of stealing drugs and guns from the agency's evidence building, a theft discovered only after her arr...

"During the Utah investigation a sample of Schick's DNA was collected and also submitted to the National DNA Index System," police said in a statement January 5, 2017 BARSTOW - Prosecutors filed a murder charge against a 53-year-old man serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2011 rape in Utah in connection with a 2011 cold c...

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...

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...

NA was also the missing link detectives needed to place Dunlap at the scene of White's murder. October 4, 2016 AN BERNARDINO >> Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a man already on death row with the 1991 murder of Devore resident Cynthia "CJ" White. On May, 27, 1991, San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies investigated a reported death at a home...

Marlowe isn't alone. An estimated 400,000 untested rape kits languish nationwide, according to the US Department of Justice. Now, Marlowe and other rape survivors like her are turning to the courts, claiming that cities that ignore potential DNA evidence are violating survivors' civil rights. September 28, 2016 Heather Marlowe was raped at a party ...

California has become the latest battleground in a nationwide push to relax or eliminate the statutes of limitations on sexual-assault crimes, recently passing a bill that would make it the 17th state to allow rape victims to pursue charges at any point after an attack. Gov. Jerry Brown must approve or veto the measure by month's end. Sep...

Alcala is imprisoned in California's Corcoran State Prison and is sentenced to death. He has been connected to six murders in two states, though authorities estimate he may have killed up to 130 people across the country. September 21, 2016 An imprisoned serial killer who appeared on "The Dating Game" before police threw him in jail has been charge...

The homicide case remained an active investigation until 1976, when the case went cold following more than 60 interviews but no successful leads, authorities said. September 13, 2016 MARYSVILLE, Yuba County (CBS / AP) — Decades-old DNA led to the arrests Tuesday of two men in connection with the shotgun slayings of two girls in California more than...

In the settlement reached with the pro bono law firm Public Counsel, the city agreed to build 388 lockers for the property of homeless people and to stop enforcing three laws that prohibit tents, personal property and overnight sleeping on public property. September 11, 2016 Homeless residents of Pomona will be provided storage for their property a...

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office has lost about 10,000 pieces of evidence and stored items, says the vendor who provides the software that manages the evidence room. September 3, 2016 The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office has lost about 10,000 pieces of evidence and stored items, says the vendor who provides the software that manages the e...

Enter Headline here August 30, 2016 In the wake of sexual assault accusations against comedian Bill Cosby, California may soon end the statute of limitations for prosecuting rape and other felony sex crimes. The state Senate on Tuesday sent the governor a bill to end time limits for prosecuting crimes including rape and child sexual abuse. Under ex...

Police said one of their technicians did some research and tracked Pollard down. When the detective called him, he was shocked. August 27, 2016 Arthur 'Art' Pollard served nearly three decades in the Navy and was awarded a number of medals when he retired. "Loved it, went around the world, three times, been to 25 different countries and I fought in...

A 22-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office was suspended in May after he was suspected of taking prescription medication from the drop-off disposal bin at the agency's Thousand Oaks headquarters, officials said Tuesday in a news release. July 05, 2016 A 22-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office was suspended in May after ...

Former sheriff candidate to be charged in break-in that led to evidence being compromised April 4, 2016 Former sheriff candidate to be charged in break-in that led to evidence being compromised Almost a year later, California Highway Patrol is now promising to soon resolve an investigation into the burglary at its local office that resulted in acti...

Under changes to Mitchell's bill introduced Thursday, any property seizure in California worth less than $40,000 would now require a criminal conviction before police could take permanent action August 5, 2016 Major law enforcement groups and state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) have reached a deal on legislation to limit the ability of police...

The 10-year veteran later told the prosecutor he then booked the DVD into the department's secured evidence storage center. August 3, 2016 FAIRFIELD — Police have lost a piece of evidence in a pending murder case. The situation was described in court Tuesday by the prosecutor overseeing the case against Dawn D. Raines-Hewes, a Fairfield grandmother...

7,044: total weapons melted 23: years melting guns at Gerdau Steel Mill in Rancho Cucamonga 3,000 degrees it takes to melt a weapon150 pounds of scrap metal mixed in with the weapons 5 tons of rebar created July 21, 2016 RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell stood nearby while more than 7,000 confiscated firearms became...

Police said Dunbar left his DNA at all three crime scenes.. July 8, 2016 BERKELEY -- Berkeley police have named a 24-year-old construction worker and suspected marijuana dealer as the person they say attacked "at least three" women in string of 2008 home-invasion sexual assaults. Johnny Dunbar, of Berkeley, was charged Friday with two counts of rap...

28 years later! June 30, 2016 A man is scheduled to face trial tomorrow for the 1988 cold case special circumstances murder for strangling a woman to death during the commission of a rape.  Daniel Edward McDermott, 47, Buena Park, is charged with one felony count of special circumstances murder during the commission of a rape. Opening statemen...

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office is out of compliance with its own written policies and procedures, and with best practices concerning audits and inventories," the report stated. June 14, 2016 The Nevada County Civil Grand Jury on Monday issued a report examining how local law enforcement agencies collect and retain evidence, which was critical o...

The practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, gained currency during the height of the drug war in the 1980s as a way for law enforce ment to financially cripple drug lords and fund anti-narcotics operations. But advocates for reforming the laws say too often police officers ensnare innocent residents who are poor and have few resources ...

A serial killer who targeted women in South L.A. over the course of decades has been sentenced to death. May 2, 2016 A serial killer who targeted women in South L.A. over the course of decades has been sentenced to death. The jury announced Lonnie Franklin Jr.'s punishment in a Downtown L.A. courtroom early Monday afternoon after debating the matte...

Diaz admits to seizing some 10 pounds of meth as evidence and returning approximately one pound of it to the department. He admits that he and his criminal partner unlawfully converted the nine pounds of meth to their possession, which they later sold for profit. May 26, 2016 Damacio Diaz, a 17-year veteran of the Bakersfield Police Department, who...

Enter Headline here June 1, 2016 San Francisco's scandal-ridden crime lab should be an independent agency rather than a division of the police force in order to remove potential bias and better handle investigations, the city's civil grand jury said in a report released Wednesday. A six-month investigation by the government oversight panel, consist...

Suspect broke into home of sleeping family June 2, 2016 6:53 a.m. CDT RIVERSIDE – Following a multistate investigation, Riverside police charged a Chicago man with 22 priors for the May 10 burglary of a home in the 100 block of North Cowley Road, according to a Riverside Police Department news release.  James M. Ussery, 23, of the 3400 block o...

A Tulare Police Department evidence technician was arrested on suspicion of tampering, embezzlement and drugs. 8:53 a.m. PDT April 30, 2016 Police department command staff initiated an investigation into evidence logging and efficiency earlier this year. After hiring a third-party company to dig into their evidence policy and procedures, the compan...

City News ServiceLos Angeles, CAThe Los Angeles Police Department announced today it would temporarily close four evidence rooms because of budget cuts, a move the president of the union representing the department's officers...

The San Francisco Chronicle, FINAL Edition, Metro; MATIER & ROSSBYLINE: Phillip Matier and Andrew RossSan Francisco, CASan Francisco Police Chief George Gascón is calling in a team of auditors from the Los Angeles Police Depa...

Fresno Bee (California)BYLINE: Pablo Lopez / The Fresno BeeFresno County, CAFifteen years after two men were gunned down in Parlier, the man accused of killing them is off the hook -- because authorities destroyed much of the...

Los Angeles Times, latimes.comBYLINE: Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times, to ArticleLos Angeles, CAState hopes DNA break in Grim Sleeper case will persuade judges to allow its program of collecting gen...

Monterey County The Herald, montereyherald.comBy DANIEL LOPEZ, Herald Staff WriterLink to ArticleMonterey, CAMonterey: County's first DNA-backed arrest warrantMonterey police say they used DNA evidence to obtain an arrest war...

Los Angeles Times, latimes.comBYLINE: Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles TimesLink to ArticleLong Beach, CAThe veteran police officer allegedly stole four guns that had been turned over to the department by a local business, pros...

KCRA-TV, kcra.com, Hearst Stations Inc.Link to ArticleOne Video Sacramento, CAWorker Dropped Evidence Envelope, Authorities SaySACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A Sacramento police property clerk was wounded by bullet shrapnel Thursday m...

San Francisco ExaminerBYLINE: Katie Worth, Examiner Staff Writer, Francisco, CAOld cases: Boxes of evidence, some dating back to the 1940s, are stored in a Police Department warehouse. Cindy Chew/The ...

The San Francisco Chronicle (California), FINAL EditionBYLINE: John Wildermuth and Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff WritersSan Francisco, CASFPD CRIME LABAs many as 40,000 San Francisco drug cases handled by Deborah Madden, th...

New Times, newtimesslo.comBYLINE: MATT FOUNTAINSan Luis Obispo, CAA San Luis Obispo police department detective caught pilfering the station's evidence locker, not reporting confidential informants, and who inspired a Distric...

KTLA-TV, ktla.comBYLINE: KTLA 5 Web StaffLos Angeles, CALOS ANGELES — Citing an immediate public health threat, the city of Los Angeles is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower-court ruling preventing the random s...

FOX News Network, LLC, foxnews.comBYLINE: Associated PressSan Francisco, CASAN FRANCISCO – A former San Francisco police technician accused of skimming cocaine from a crime lab pleaded guilty on Friday to misdemeanor theft.De...

Marin Independent Journal, marinij.comBYLINE: Gary Klien, County, CAMarin County's drug squad has tightened its evidence handling policies in the aftermath of allegations that a former detective used c...