It also requires law enforcement agencies to submit every new evidence kit to a laboratory within 10 days and for it to be tested within 90 days. December 4, 2016 ALBANY — A bill signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week aims to unlock evidence needed to solve countless rapes that has been stored in "rape kits," sometimes for years. The new...

Prosecutors admit they did not give permission for the towing company to scrap the Saturn but argue that the car is not the only  evidence they will use against Scholl... 11-30-2016 WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Questions about alleged missing evidence in a high profile attempted murder case. Lawyers for a Luzerne County mother accu...

the town said the money was from closed criminal cases, and had been stored in the locked evidence room. Enter Article DATE HERE WESTFORD (CBS) — An investigation was opened over a year ago into the disappearance of an undisclosed amount of money from the Westford Police Department evidence room, the town of Westford said Thursday. In a statem...

Prosecutors admit they did not give permission for the towing company to scrap the Saturn but argue that the car is not the only  evidence they will use against Scholl. Enter Article DATE HERE WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Questions about alleged missing evidence in a high profile attempted murder case. Lawyers for a Luzerne Co...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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 ...

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 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 ...

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...

Officials announced a 30-year-old cold case has been solved Wednesday when a DNA test identified human remains discovered by a fisherman decades ago. October 7, 2016 According to The Roanoke Times, authorities believe the boy drowned in May 1985 while fleeing a gas station in Covington that he or a friend may have firebombed. He was 17 years old at...

Rape kits—more than 100,000 of them, as of 2014—have often languished for years in police warehouses and crime labs, going untested due to a lack of funds and, some argue, contempt for victims. October 7, 2016 President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that guarantees s...

A western Pennsylvania police chief has been placed on paid leave in the wake of an officer's on-duty drug overdose in the police station. October 7, 2016 JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania police chief has been placed on paid leave in the wake of an officer's on-duty drug overdose in the police station. Johnstown solicitor Carl Beard say...

"It appeared as if he was trying to hammer himself into the secure evidence room within the police department," Callihan said during an afternoon news conference. Enter Article DATE HERE JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown police officer who overdosed on Sept. 18 inside the Public Safety Building on Washington Street was identified Friday as William Sli...

Enter Headline here Oct. 7, 2016 Johnstown's police chief has been placed on paid leave in the wake of an officer's on-duty drug overdose in the police station. Johnstown solicitor Carl Beard says Friday that Chief Craig Foust's leave is a "precautionary measure for everybody's protection." The city planned a news conference later in the afternoon....

Callihan identified the officer who allegedly overdosed as Officer William Slisz, a multi-year Johnstown Police Department veteran and a member of the Cambria County Drug Task Force. October 8, 2016 The initial investigation into a Johnstown police officer's alleged overdose has shown that Johnstown police Chief Craig Foust knew of a potential brea...

The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signedby President Obama. This is the first federal rights bill specifically provided for sexual assault survivors. September 30, 2016 The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signed by Pre...

In September 2014 Foley pleaded guilty to tampering with substances, two counts of possession of cocaine and OxyContin, and two counts of larceny of an illicit drug. He was charged in August 2013 after an internal and state police investigation found he had been stealing drugs seized from other crimes and stored in the department's evidence locker....

Sullivan told the council that both a review being supervised by Town Solicitor Lisa Maki and an investigation of the evidence room by investigators from the state attorney general's office will continue. October 6, 2016 BRAINTREE – Only one town councilor asked a question as Mayor Joseph Sullivan appeared before the council Tuesday night to give a...

Move comes after 5 Investigates first reported missing drugs, money from department evidence room​ Oct 03, 2016 BRAINTREE, Mass. —5 Investigates has learned Paul Shastany, the former police chief in Stoughton, will be named the interim police chief in Braintree. The town has also hired retired Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Dan Linskey to he...

The evidence room at the Braintree Police Departmentseems to have been about as well organized as a household junk drawer —an emblem of shoddy leadership by department command staff and, even more, of the sorry state of the officer left in charge. September 28, 2016 The evidence room at the Braintree Police Department seems to have been about as we...

A police officer has resigned while being investigated for allegedly stealing evidence September 23, 2016 LEE, Mass. — A police officer has resigned while being investigated for allegedly stealing evidence.  The district attorney's office says Ryan Lucy, one of two evidence officers for the Lee Police Department, resigned and entered substance...

Hinds said that "what the mayor is doing is nothing more than finger-pointing and trying to cover his own" position. September 27, 2016 Braintree's deputy police chief was placed on leave Monday amid continued fallout from a department evidence room scandal that has forced prosecutors to drop dozens of criminal cases. Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan place...

Norman Leo Howard III, 44, of Uniontown entered the plea in Fayette County court to charges of theft, tampering with evidence and obstructing the administration of law. A sentencing hearing date has not been set. September er 22, 2016 A former Redstone Township police officer pleaded guilty this week to stealing money and a computer from a police e...

The audit would reveal that over $400,000 was missing from the evidence room, as well as somewhere between 60 to 70 guns. Additionally, "thousands" of drug samples were found to be missing, or mismanaged. September 24, 2016 BRAINTREE — Colleagues of Susan Zopatti, the officer in charge of the Braintree Police Department evidence room, saw her exhib...

Braintree Police Chief Russell Jenkins said his retirement is because Mayor Joseph Sullivan "wants new leadership" of the department. Sep 23, 2016 BRAINTREE - Police Chief Russell Jenkins has suggested he was forced into retirement by Mayor Joseph Sullivan. In an email to his officers Wednesday night, Jenkins said he wanted to stay on to resolve th...

Warham then told another detective that he was in possession of the missing lights and said "that it was a stupid thing to do," according to the criminal complaint. September 26, 2016 PITTSBURGH - A retired Pittsburgh police officer was charged via summons Friday with receiving stolen property, police said. Authorities said their investigation dete...

She wasn't doing her job and sometimes appeared hung over and "out of it." Officers couldn't get the evidence they needed for court hearings. September 24, 2016 BRAINTREE — For months, police in this suburban police department had complained about Susan Zopatti, a veteran officer who was in charge of the evidence room. She wasn't doing her job and ...

Enter Headline here September 21, 2016 5 Investigates learned Wednesday Chief Russell Jenkins, who has served as chief for the past four years, will retire Oct. 7. Jenkins has been been on the department for more than 30 years. Several criminal cases have already been dropped by the Norfolk County District Attorney's office because drug evidence wa...

The case would be the 12th to be dismissed since Braintree officials announced that they had discovered major problems in the police department's evidence room and had hired an outside auditor. September 17, 2016 According to The Patriot Ledger , the Norfolk District Attorney's office said Friday that it will drop the charges, which dated back to 2...

In fact, in some states, particularly on the West Coast, departments now employ civilians to manage evidence rooms because police officers find the work tedious, Latta said. September 26, 2016 Neal SimpsonThe Patriot Ledger Friday Posted at 7:21 AM Updated at 9:05 AM Share By Neal SimpsonThe Patriot Ledger BRAINTREE – The picture painted by the aud...

DEDHAM – Prosecutors have dropped drug charges against five defendants amid an investigation into missing evidence from the Braintree Police Department that could upend hundreds more cases. September 14, 2016 DEDHAM – Prosecutors have dropped drug charges against five defendants amid an investigation into missing evidence from the Braintree Police ...

Enter Headline here September 14, 2016 BRAINTREE, Mass. —5 Investigates has obtained a copy of an audit of the Braintree Police evidence room, and it shows missing evidence connected to criminal cases dating back to 1999. 5 Investigates first reported that the Norfolk County district attorney's office has been reviewing cases from 2013 to the prese...

The downside is that this bill will only apply to sexual assault cases tried in federal court, and to crimes committed in national parks, tribal lands, or on federal property. September 9, 2016 On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a game-changing bill that could majorly impact the way sexual assault survivors are treated within the ...

Saundra Adams, now 50, who had been a neighbor of Schreiber's in 1983, was arraigned Wednesday in Erie County Court on charges of second degree murder in the long unsolved killing. September 7, 2016 Thirty-three years after Edmund C. Schreiber, a slightly built, World War I veteran, was found strangled with eight of his own neckties in his Hastings...

Under that policy, at least two officers are assigned to be in charge of the box. The second steps in if the first is unavailable. September 2, 2016 The Northwestern District Attorney's Office decision to suspend pick-up service to the Montague Police Department's medication drop-box and its participation on a regional anti-crime task force appear ...

Enter Headline here August 25, 2016 We know that in New Mexico, 5,409 rape victims who were swabbed, tested and examined in a hospital — holding still while strangers gathered evidence from their bodies — never got justice. In Michigan, the number was 15,217. In Virginia, 2,369 of these rape evidence kits were carefully harvested from victims and t...

Ex-Upper Darby Police Officer Brad Ross may have stolen as many as 3,767 pills, along with $14,220.54 in cash, cellphones, gift cards and jewelry, from the Upper Darby police evidence room, August 26, 2016 MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> A former Upper Darby police officer who pleaded guilty in June to stealing pills and money from the department's evide...

The former officer is being investigated after property was discovered missing from a 30-day hold room at the police zone. August 24, 2016 PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A former Pittsburgh Police officer is under investigation after items were discovered missing from an evidence room. Prior to his retirement, KDKA is told that the former officer, who is now ...

Stierwalt asked for the investigation after local police chiefs in the county expressed concerns regarding alleged unusual behavior by Overmyer in prescription drug disposal drop box collections. The scope of the investigation quickly expanded into other allegations of wrongdoing. August 23, 2016 Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer has been indic...

Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer has been indicted on 43 counts involving drugs, theft and tampering with records following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office announced tonight. August 23, 2014 Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer has been indicted on 43 counts invol...

Kevin Burnham, a long-time Springfield police officer who oversaw the department's evidence room for nearly two decades, was charged in January with stealing over $385,000 in cash seized during drug investigations. August 16, 2016 SPRINGFIELD -- City Councilor Timothy Allen held a review of the city's cash handling procedures Monday afternoon,...