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...

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...

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...

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 ...

Responding to the allegation about the evidence room, Bivona said: "The mayor's  order for the key to the evidence room which would have allowed and facilitated unsupervised access to the evidence room was inappropriate and illegal." January 13, 2023 GIRARDVILLE — Borough council Wednesday took formal action to fire its suspended officer-...

The heroin was evidence that had been seized in two federal drug trafficking investigations and stored in the evidence locker at the police station. December 13, 2022 PITTSBURGH, PA – A former Elizabeth Borough Police Chief pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of theft of government property, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced t...

The complaint also charges that Still stole three firearms from the evidence locker December 1, 2002 Today, Dauphin County detectives arrested Christopher Still, who was formerly employed with the Halifax Borough Police Department, for criminal conduct during his tenure as a police officer. The complaint charges that between 2019 and 2022, Still su...

By stealing evidence and using drugs while on duty, Corporal Rickard dishonored his profession and committed a serious crime September 20, 2022 he PA Office of the Attorney General announced a former PSP Corporal has been sentenced for charges related to stealing drugs from the evidence room. According to the attorney general, former PSP Corporal B...

 David Sinopoli of Lancaster has been charged in the 1975 cold case murder of 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler after DNA on a discarded coffee cup appeared to match DNA left on the victim's clothing. July 18, 2022 LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – David Sinopoli of Lancaster has been charged in the 1975 cold case murder of 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler a...

Butler, who had been the officer in charge of the evidence room, told the sergeant that "any heroin evidence was all gone," and that the room was a mess.Enter Headline here July 20, 2022 The former Elizabeth Borough police chief who admitted to stealing thousands of bags of heroin from his department's evidence room to feed his own addiction has be...

Investigators discovered that the heroin packets were stolen from the evidence room, July 2, 2022 HARRISBURG, PA — Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that former Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Brian Rickard pleaded guilty this week to charges related to stealing drugs from the evidence room, ingesting them while on the job, and using offic...

Enter Headline here May 31, 2022 WOLF CREEK, Pa. - Pennsylvania state police say they have solved the slaying of a Chicago man whose burning body was found 42 years ago near Interstate 80 in a northwestern Pennsylvania town. Edwin Rodriguez was identified through the use of DNA testing and genealogy tools. He was 18 when he and a family friend...

Criminal theft and forgery charges were filed Tuesday against Burkhart, 56, March 18, 2022 Retired Lancaster police officer John Burkhart had "carte blanche" as the officer in charge of the county's drug task force, according to court records filed Tuesday. And that's why no one noticed $200,000 of seized money had vanished over five years under hi...

A Pennsylvania State Police DNA lab was able to develop a suspect profile based on a DNA sample left on Marise's jacket February 8, 2022A 57-year-old cold case involving the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old girl was solved using genetic genealogy, police in Pennsylvania announced. Marise Ann Chiverella was killed on March 18, 1964, ...

"It's very upsetting, it's devastating. He's my only sibling," said Sharon Jonas, whose brother Gary Grubbs died two years ago from an overdose. November 24, 2021 PITTSBURGH — Prosecutors have dropped all charges against an alleged drug dealer after a mixup involving evidence against him. That's angering the sister of a man whose overdose death hel...

November 14, 2021 Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Corporal Brian Rickard was charged today with crimes related to obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, forgery, tampering with records and evidence, theft, obstructing administration of law, and unlawful use of a computer. Charges were filed by the Pennsylvania State Po...

41-year-old ex-officer Chris Tooley — who resigned before the completion of an internal review — risked his career for a purple vape pen with three voltage levels. July 28, 2021 More details are emerging surrounding a former State College police officer who faces charges after being accused of stealing a $35 marijuana-related vape pen while on duty...

Police officer is facing charges after the department discovered he had allegedly taken evidence for his own personal use. Enter Article DATE HERE STATE COLLEGE, Pa.(WTAJ) — A former State College police officer is facing charges after the department discovered he had allegedly taken evidence for his own personal use. The Investigation from Pe...

McKeesport, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of obstruction after being charged with stealing money March 4, 2021 A former police officer for the North Braddock and Blawnox departments pleaded guilty to stealing money that had been seized as evidence. Joseph Lynn, 34, of McKeesport, pleaded gu...

Officer allegedly allowed an informant who was owed money by the department to take valuable property out of evidence in lieu of payment, including a power washer. February 18, 2021 A former Philadelphia police detective who abruptly retired less than two weeks ago is now facing multiple misdemeanor charges for allegedly letting a confidential info...

He had been an evidence custodian for Cumru police. November 3, 2020 A former Cumru Township police lieutenant was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Easton to nine years in federal prison for transporting 257 child pornography images to his home computer. Timothy Woll, a 29-year veteran township police officer, was also ordered by District...

State police learned of a report of missing cash from North Braddock Police Department evidence Enter Article DATE HERE A former police officer is charged with stealing from the North Braddock and Blawnox police departments while he was employed at both agencies. Joseph Andrew Lynn, 34, of McKeesport, is facing multiple charges including theft...

  It is a case of internal theft as the funds would have been kept in a secured area at their headquarters. May 2 ,2020 LANCASTER COUNTY — Officials say that an internal audit of the Lancaster County Drug Task Force revealed that $150,000 has gone missing. Task Force officials say the discrepancy was discovered on April 20, 2020 and belie...

With crime down temporarily, there was time for spring cleaning May 17, 2020 SHARON — With people confined to indoors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Sharon Police Department had a little time on their hands. And the department has devoted that extra time to a spring cleanup of its evidence holding area. Sharon police Capt. Travis ...

"It's a happy moment for me. It's been a long hard fight," January 3, 2020 PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The city of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $4.15 million to a man who spent 24 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, one of the largest such payouts in city history. City officials agreed last week to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Shaurn...

Butler explained he became addicted after taking prescribed Vicodin (opioid painkillers) for neck and back pain and blamed the doctors Enter Article DATE HERE Former Elizabeth Borough police Chief Timothy Butler will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to emptying his department's evidence room of thousands of packets of heroin to fe...

Local police departments who don't need to keep guns in their evidence room can turn them in to the district attorney's office. October 8, 2019 SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – About 700 guns from local law enforcement departments were collected by the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. The Allegheny County DA's Twitter account shared a photo...

Police said Coolen seized the Porsche Cayenne SUV on April 16 during a drug investigation that resulted in an arrest and placed it on a department property receipt,​ October 5, 2019 A 24-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department assigned to the Narcotics Field Unit was arrested Thursday and charged with using a 2018 Porsche he confiscated ...

Valley officials support the law, which is meant to remove weapons from the hands of domestic abusers, Enter Article DATE HERE More than 1,200 seized weapons may be in the hands of the Valley's five county sheriffs offices at any given time, according to department officials. That number has been rising so much since a new state law was enacte...

Enter Headline here September 4, 2019 BEAVER — A county commissioner is questioning why the county has to hold firearms surrendered as part of final protection-from-abuse orders. Commissioner Sandie Egley questioned Sheriff Tony Guy, who has been working with Beaver County Public Works to expand the size of his evidence room, about the requirements...

Authorities say Butler became addicted to heroin after he was prescribed Vicodin for neck and back pain. Enter Article DATE HERE ELIZABETH, PA. (AP) — A Pennsylvania community's former police chief has admitted stealing thousands of small bags of heroin and fentanyl from his department's evidence room. Timothy Butler pleaded guilty Wednesday t...

The device, which cost $4,500, will be available to the 27 police departments on the West Side that belong to the association. June 20, 2019 KINGSTON TWP. — Police on the West Side of Luzerne County now have a new way to dispose of drugs and paraphernalia: burn them up in an incinerator. The Back Mountain Police Association on Wednesday unveiled th...

Federal officials made a massive cocaine bust in Philadelphia Tuesday, seizing an estimated 16.5 tons of the drug from a ship there June 20, 2019 Federal officials made a massive cocaine bust in Philadelphia Tuesday, seizing an estimated 16.5 tons of the drug from a ship there -- with a street value of over $1 billion, officials said. The historic ...

Baker claimed at trial that he only intended to keep the stolen money temporarily, but prosecutors pointed out there was no way for him to return the cash once he took it. May 31, 2019 YORK COUNTY — A former Fairview Township Police officer serving time in federal prison for stealing cash while on duty had his felony theft convictions upheld by a f...

Rupert stole money from the Steelton Police Department evidence room from Aug. 19, 2009, until "on or about" Feb. 20, 2017. May 2, 2019 Former Steelton police officer Scott Rupert was sentenced to two years' probation in Dauphin County Court on April 4 after pleading guilty to stealing money from the department evidence room. Rupert, 47, of Newberr...

The backlog of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania has dropped almost 90 percent -- from more than 3,000 in 2016 to 339 by the end of 2018, the state's auditor general announced on Thursday. April 11, 2019 y Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com The backlog of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania has dropped almost 90 percent -- from more than 3,000 ...

Chief Tim Butler, who resigned before being charged with stealing drugs from the evidence locker April 5, 2019 ELIZABETH BOROUGH, Pa. - Nearly four months after a scandal rocked the Elizabeth Borough Police Department, the new chief is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. In a one-on-one interview with Channel 11, new Police Chief Bil...

Voci says with the developments in DNA and other technologies, this case should serve as an example to families of cold case victims. March 14, 2019 PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Police have arrested the former boyfriend of a Philadelphia woman, found dead in Montgomery County 30 years ago. It was November 1, 1988 state police found the body of 3...

Police evidence computer user history which revealed that Rupert was the last officer who handled the missing currency, JANUARY 18,2019 DAUPHIN COUNTY — A former Steelton Police officer has been charged with a misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking, court documents show. Scott Rupert, 47, is accused of stealing approximately $1,000 from the ...

Thousands of empty bags of heroin were found throughout Butler's office, authorities said. December 21, 2018 Former Elizabeth Borough police Chief Timothy Butler, who resigned Tuesday night, is accused of stealing drugs from the department's evidence room. Thousands of empty bags of heroin were found throughout Butler's office, authorities said. He...

Court documents say that in October 2016, Rayam and other officers were chasing a suspect who suddenly threw nine ounces of cocaine out of his car window. Instead of placing the drugs in the police evidence room, Rayam suggested selling them. November 8, 2018 A Philadelphia police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to selling drugs with corrupt member...

Flowers became addicted to painkilling drugs over the years because he suffered from chronic back issues and other health concerns September 28, 2019 HARRISBURG — A former Lower Swatara Township police officer who pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the department's evidence locker will not spend any time behind bars. Scott M. Flowers, 39, of Har...

Guilty on charges of theft in office and grand theft for taking about $10,000 from the police department's evidence locker Enter Article DATE HERE YOUNGSTOWN John Siranovic, former Smith Township police chief, brought shame upon not only himself but all law-enforcement officers, assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Ken Cardinal said Wednesday....

$1.2 million dollars worth of discarded pills stolen by employees at a Falls waste disposal facility and resold Enter Article DATE HERE It started with a small-time pot bust, and over months the investigation grew. Now Bensalem police say they and the FBI have shut down a major drug ring and seized $1.2 million dollars worth of discarded pills...

An audit of the evidence locker done by the Criminal Investigation Division and the department showed that four evidence envelopes had been opened, narcotics taken from inside, and the envelopes resealed. August 15, 2018 Former Lower Swatara Township police Officer Scott M. Flowers is to be sentenced in Dauphin County Court on Sept. 28, after plead...

A wide assortment of electronics, knives, tools, jewelry, even clothes — will soon be listed for sale on PropertyRoom.com, July 20, 2018 WEST CHESTER TWP. — A hodgepodge of property that was either evidence in a crime or found on the streets of West Chester Twp. will soon be available for purchase in an online auction. And starting prices are one c...

Rowe is the latest to be arrested after being identified through a genealogy July 20, 2018 Police have arrested a popular Pennsylvania DJ in the cold case killing of a young woman who was sexually assaulted and murdered in her home back in 1992. Christy Mirack was just 25 years old when she was beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted in her Greenf...

Police arrested a D.J. in Pennsylvania and a nurse in Washington State this week, the latest examples of the use of an open-source ancestry site since the break in the Golden State killer case. June 29, 2018 When the Golden State Killer case was cracked in April with the help of a genealogist and an open-source ancestry site, many wondered if this ...

The crime lab gets federal money, so stealing evidence from the lab is a federal crime. June 25, 2018 A former chemist at the Allegheny County Crime Lab has been charged with stealing alprazolam, the active ingredient in Xanax, that had been seized as evidence in a federal drug investigation. Matthew Ieraci, 28, of Baldwin Borough, was federally ch...