Former Manning Police Chief Gets 1 Year in Prison for Stealing $80,000 in Seized Cash

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE MANNING, SC— United States Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr., announced today that Gary Blair Shaffer, former Chief of the City of Manning Police Department, was sentenced to a year in federal prison for stealing nearly $80,000 in seized cash in 2015. "Those who are sworn to uphold the law must lead by ex...

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Deputy hospitalized after likely exposure to heroin, fentanyl

Deputy 'lightheaded and faint' after exposure November 1, 2020 CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A deputy was hospitalized after officials said he was exposed to what is believed to be a mixture of heroin and fentanyl while searching an inmate being admitted to the Chesterfield County Jail Friday morning. Lt. Joshua Fahy with the Chesterfield Sheriff's O...

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Criminal Court Clerk discusses ‘human error’ in property room mix-up


"human error" when a clerk in her office's property and evidence room mistakenly grabbed evidence from another murder case and gave it to attorneys working on the death row case of Pervis Payne. October 18, 2020 Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn said it was "human error" when a clerk in her office's property and evidence room mistakenly...

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The Latest DNA Technology Helped To Crack The Case Of An 35-Year-Old Who Murdered A New York Teen Girl

The police department of Rochester said that by using 'FAMILIAL DNA TESTING' they got the right leads which made them reach out to Timothy Williams. October 16, 2020 With time going, we as humans have evolved and have created the best of the best technologies to make things simpler for us. With using such latest technology like "DNA Tracing Technol...

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Cold case murder victim identified after 35 years

ECSO investigators contacted the Medical Examiner's office and used a sample of the tipster's DNA with DNA from John Doe October 15, 2020 ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Deputies now have a name for a man who was murdered 35 years ago in Escambia County. On Jan. 23rd 1985, a man's body was found in the area of west Klondike Road and Wild Lake Boulev...

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Sheriff says county lost evidence in son's case

An investigation into the possibility the materials were lost or stolen after they were subpoenaed by the board's Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee September 30m 2020 Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. has requested an investigation into the Otsego County Attorney's Office, alleging it has withheld or lost material related to the 2017...

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SC cop stole $80,000 from drug money. Will he get mercy or prison?

"Shaffer knew the rules, and he held others accountable for breaking them.  September 22, 2020 A federal judge will decide Tuesday whether a former veteran South Carolina police chief, who was convicted of stealing $80,000 from his department's confiscated drug money, should get probation or go to prison. Federal Judge Bruce Hendricks is sched...

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Former Enfield officer indicted for embezzlement, evidence tampering

The indictments in which the case is based involve sheriff's office investigators finding multiple items of unsealed evidence belonging to the Enfield Police Department in Murphy's home Septmeber 12, 2020 A former Enfield police officer has been indicted on numerous counts of embezzlement and evidence tampering and an investigation into possible ch...

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Disgraced Former DEA Task Force Officer Charged with Another Drug-Related Offense

admitted that he and Newman purchased fake methamphetamine from a drug dealer but then took real meth from an evidence room September 11, 2020 A 31-year-old former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force officer in Louisiana who pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in 2018, was arrested by federal authorities in McAllen, Texas and c...

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Former Enfield police officer indicted on embezzlement, other charges

Search of home - They found multiple items of unsealed evidence belonging to the Enfield Police Department, as well as marijuana and paraphernalia. September 4, 2020 Enfield, NC - A former Enfield police officer has been indicted on embezzlement and other charges following an investigation that began after allegations of sexual exploitation of a ch...

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Rape Kit Backlogs Continue To Delay Justice For Victims


As of last month, Virginia is only the sixth state, along with Washington, D.C., to have cleared its backlog, according to the End the Backlog campaign August 30, 2020 Twenty-seven years later, Natasha Alexenko, 47, clearly remembers her rapist's gun — a smooth black handgun that resembled a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol. In 1993, on the Upper West Sid...

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Arrest made in 1999 Coosa County cold-case double homicide

The investigation has been open for over two decades Enter Article DATE HERE COOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — Coosa County Sheriff Michael Howell announced an arrest has been made in a 21-year-old cold case. 42-year-old Joe Daniel Stallions was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of capital murder. On January 12, 1999, the Coosa County S...

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DNA on beer can leads to arrest in North Palm Beach cold-case murder

In 2019, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office DNA lab was able to get a match from the lip of the beer can. August 14, 2020 Leo Beauregard was found dead June 29, 1990, in his North Palm Beach apartment. More than 30 years later, village police say they know a man who may have been involved in his murder. NORTH PALM BEACH — When police went into ...

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Clerk of court’s office receives top marks in required state audit

The clerk's office has to keep up with time frames for keeping evidence and follow through with judges' orders for destruction of evidence when it no longer needs to be kept. July 31, 2020 A required internal audit by the state of the Wilkes County Clerk of Superior Court's Office during the spring showed no areas where improvement is needed. This ...

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Kingsport police solve 17-year-old cold case

With the help of a private citizen researching missing persons cases, the Kingsport Police Department has solved a 17-year-old cold case involving human remains found in the Holston River August 7, 2020 KINGSPORT — With the help of a private citizen researching missing persons cases, the Kingsport Police Department has solved a 17-year-old cold cas...

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Investigating ‘The Mess’ : Memo jogs ex-cop’s memory


Retired MPD official says he destroyed evidence, including rape kits, in hundreds of sex crimes cases in the 1990s AUGUST 3, 2020 This article was produced in partnership with the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis, a nonprofit newsroom specializing in investigative and explanatory journalism. Buried somewhere in a ...

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Tennessee convict charged with killing two women in 2001

Dentures collected by investigators, in that case, had been placed in a police property room June 24, 2020 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee convict serving prison time for a 2001 rape has been charged with killing two women later that year, prosecutors said. A Shelby County grand jury has indicted Thomas Maupin, 70, on murder charges in the deaths...

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Virginia eliminates huge backlog of untested rape kits

2,665 rape kits have been tested, 851 new DNA profiles have been uploaded into a national DNA database and 354 "hits" have been sent to law enforcement agencies July 8, 2020 RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia has eliminated a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, becoming only the seventh state in the country to do so, Virginia Attorney General Mark H...

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Arrested in cold case murder that took place while he was on force (DNA)


July 4, 2020 A Florida man has been accused of killing a convenience store owner 21 years ago in a home invasion robbery that took place when the suspect was working as a detective for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and knew the victim from surveilling him for a drug investigation. William Robert Baer Jr., 64, and his ex-wife Melissa Schafer, 50...

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Grayson Police Chief faces new charge of felony theft

Enter Headline here June 16, 2020 Grayson Chief of Police Mitch Bratton was booked into the Caldwell Parish Jail Tuesday on one count of felony theft. The new charge stems from an ongoing Louisiana State Police investigation and follows a June 4 arrest on two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of malfeasance in office. According to LSP,...

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Florida Keys murder cold case from 1991 solved, sheriff says

DNA was recently compared to DNA from the Tarrant County, Texas, scene where he was killed and determined to be a match. June 17, 2020 MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – It became known as the "Valentine Jane Doe Homicide" and was chronicled on "Unsolved Mysteries" and other shows. Three decades later, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office says it has cracked the ...

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42-Year Old Cold Case Murder Solved; Real Estate Agent’s Body Was Found At Cantonment Home

DNA evidence was collected on scene, but lack of technology made it impossible to use for an arrest. June 11, 2020 On April 7, 1978, the body of 47-year-old Carolyn Cox Rose was discovered in a house in the Pine Forest Hills subdivision off Highway 297A. Rose, who was vice president of Better Homes Realty, received a call to show the empty home. Wh...

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Officials: Police chief in Louisiana took $4k in seized cash

"I won't debate the validity of the charge," Grayson Police Chief Mitch Bratton said as he announced his own arrest in a Facebook post on Thursday. May 5m 2020 GRAYSON, La. -- A police chief in Louisiana has been accused of taking thousands of dollars seized by officers as evidence in different cases. "I won't debate the validity of the charge," Gr...

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How a true crime book and a DNA hit led to an arrest in Spring Hill's coldest case — and maybe more


Baldwin, a long-haul truck driver who'd traveled across 48 states May 21, 2020 About a year ago, Spring Hill Police Department patrolman Ty Hadley saw a book on a desk inside a co-worker's office and unknowingly started a life-changing conversation. The hardback, "In the Name of the Children" by retired FBI Special Agent Jeffrey L. Rinek, belonged ...

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Council Meeting Erupts Over Evidence Room Policies

Outraged to learn that despite a recent evidence room scandal, the BPD was storing evidence in a room adjacent to the city auditorium. May 18, 2020 BRADENTON — Tensions erupted during Wednesday's Bradenton City Council meeting when the council returned to the subject of a proposed charter referendum to remove mayoral oversight of the city's police ...

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Fayetteville Police employee fired after stealing marijuana from evidence

The internal investigation revealed Churchill took marijuana that was scheduled for destruction May 15,2020 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) -- An employee with the Fayetteville Police Department's Evidence Division has been fired after stealing marijuana from evidence.On April 7, Fayetteville Police Chief Mike Reynolds became aware that Meghan Churchill,...

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State auditor: Central Police Dept's lack of paperwork leaves $7k worth of ammunition unaccounted for

Enter Headline here April 21, 2020 CENTRAL - After the Louisiana Legislature's Auditor conducted a review of the City of Central's Police Department it found evidence of disturbing errors in the department's paperwork and operations under its previous Chief of Police. According to a letter dated March 30 of this year, Central's current Chief of Pol...

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Lithonia police chief terminated after private investigation

Allegations against the chief included missing guns from ongoing investigations, missing badges and personnel allegations from officers regarding paid time. March 5, 2020 Allegations against the chief included missing guns from ongoing investigations, missing badges and personnel allegations from officers regarding paid time. That investigation con...

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Fairfax County detectives solve ’72 cold case murder of Karen Lee Spencer

The suspect, James "Jimmy" Edwards died in 1997. April 5, 2020 FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) — Police say they have solved the murder of a 12-year-old Virginia girl, who was last seen alive in 1972. The Cold Case Squad at the Fairfax County Police Department believes Karen Lee Spencer's alleged boyfriend at the time killed her in the Huntington area o...

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Lost ashes in vacant Bradenton lot were a mystery. Sheriff’s employee solved it

Sheriff Rick Wells did the honor in presenting the award to Kaczmarek. March 26, 2020 Manatee When Renee Kaczmarek left her position at the Manatee County jail two years ago to serve as a property and evidence processor for the sheriff's office, she didn't realize the surprises her new job would throw her way. After all, what could one possibly see...

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Charleston Police to temporarily restrict release of property held in evidence

The only items to be released will be those items deemed in need of urgent release March 22, 2020 CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston Police Department Evidence Office will temporarily restrict the release of property during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The only items to be released will be those items deemed in need of urgent release, poli...

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DNA evidence on discarded cigarette leads Florida authorities to killer in decades-old cold case

  Daniel Wells was arrested on Wednesday and charged with sexual battery and the murder of 23-year-old Tonya McKinley, who was found dead on New Year's Day 35 years ago. March 20, 2020 The DNA evidence found on a discarded cigarette has allowed authorities in Florida to arrest the suspected killer in a decades-old cold case. Daniel Wells was a...

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Florida police make arrest in 35-year-old cold case homicide using familial DNA

DNA sample obtained from the scene of the crime through an open-source genealogy database and identified several different people believed to be distant cousins of the suspect. March 22, 2020 PENSACOLA, Fla. – Tonya Ethridge McKinley was 23 years old and had an 18-month-old son waiting for her at home when she was killed in the early-morning hours ...

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Sarasota Sheriff apologizes for destroying evidence in sexual assault, attempted murder cases

Prosecutors dropped charges; the suspect was recently sentenced to 25 years for a separate crime. March 19, 2020 SARASOTA — An antiquated policy led a Sarasota County Sheriff's Office lieutenant to destroy DNA evidence in two unsolved felony cases in the mid-2000s to make room in evidence storage, Sheriff Tom Knight said in a candid admission Wedne...

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GBI arrests former LaFayette City Court clerk accused of stealing money from police

Enter Headline here March 11, 2020 LAFAYETTE, Ga. — State agents have arrested a woman accused of taking money from the police department during her time as LaFayette City Court clerk. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says on Tuesday, March 10, Jan Bridges was arrested for theft of fiduciary - theft over $500. Back in October 2019, LaFayette Pol...

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Pensacola Police HQ temporarily locked down after officers possibly exposed to fentanyl

Pensacola Police Headquarters is currently on lockdown March 10, 2020 PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) – Pensacola Public Information Officer Mike Wood said three officers were working in an evidence room when one officer became lightheaded. He said the officers may have been exposed to fentanyl. All three officers were taken to the hospital, and the lobby o...

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Ex-Gwinnett drug task force member gets 10 years for stealing narcotics to traffic

None of the meth was checked into evidence February 28, 2020 A former Gwinnett County deputy, who was part of a federal drug task force, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for stealing drugs while on the job and trafficking it back onto the streets, authorities said. Antione Riggins, 41, of Loganville, pleaded guilty late last year to drug ...

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Former deputy pleads guilty to evidence theft, trafficking charges

Charges that included 16 counts of breaking and entering and one count of trafficking opium or heroin February 18,  A former Haywood County Sheriff's Deputy charged in 2018 with several felonies related to the theft of evidence, including narcotics, will be spending at least the next seven years behind bars. Kevin Smathers pleaded guilty to al...

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Missing narcotics funds the fault of poor record-keeping, State audit says


In addition, investigators found that the unit did not keep inventory records of drug evidence and seized property. May 22, 2017 An audit of Cheatham County's government spending for the 2016-2017 fiscal year by the Comptroller found that the narcotics unit of the Sheriff's Office had "questionable expenses with confidential funds" and missing evid...

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Untested rape kit backlog has returned: GBI

The backlog of overall evidence that needs to be tested is over 44,000 February 15, 2020 ATLANTA — State officials say a backlog of hundreds of untested rape kits is accumulating at the GBI crime lab once again – and proposed budget cuts could make it worse. The situation spotlights a half-billion dollars in budget cuts proposed by Gov. Brian Kemp ...

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State police deny allegations in whistleblower lawsuit

The troopers contend evidence was stolen by a KSP sergeant for "personal gain and to benefit his family members." February 1, 2020 The Kentucky State Police deny any wrongdoing in response to a civil lawsuit filed by three current and former Kentucky State Police Post 4 employees, who claim other employees stole evidence and they faced retaliation ...

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Margate cop fired after cocaine went missing

Investigators determined nothing had been turned into the agency's property evidence room. January 11, 2020 A Margate police officer has been fired after falling under suspicion of taking a man's cocaine and later testing positive for drugs, according to newly released police records. An anonymous police employee tipped off the police department ab...

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Arrest made in 2005 cold case murder of 79-year-old woman in Pasco County

He lived about two blocks away from Bobrick and was tied to these crimes with a few key pieces of evidence; including one of his hairs found in her home. December 27, 2019 ASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A more than 14-year-old cold case murder investigation was heating up in Pasco County on Friday. Brian Stoll, 34, was arrested and accused of beating to death...

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Kentucky State Police troopers claim fellow officers stole evidence

The only stolen evidence specifically identified in the suit are three pairs of Eddie Bauer shoes. December 12, 2019 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Three Kentucky State Police commanding officers have filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state and department, claiming they were retaliated against for reporting that troopers were stealing evidence se...

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Greenville (NC) police lose evidence in 1975 Looper murders amid review of the case

Greenville Police Department has been unable to find the evidence after searching investigator work stations, case files, and storage areas. December 5, 2019 A recently discovered letter that could implicate a former Greenville County sheriff and members of his team in the 1975 murder of a deputy and his father is missing. Greenville police found t...

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Updated: Former Orangeburg police captain charged; audit shows $17,000 missing from evidence

A warrant accuses Shultz of removing confiscated money from the ODPS evidence room. November 20, 2019 Former Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. Carl Wayne Shultz is accused of taking $17,167.58 in confiscated money while he was employed as an officer.The S.C. Law Enforcement Division has charged the 48-year-old Shultz with one count of mi...

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Former Harrison County deputy found guilty of distributing heroin to confidential informants

Trial evidence established that Rock acquired the FLIGHT 18 heroin from the evidence lockers at the now-defunct SCAD Unit Enter Article DATE HERE CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – A former Harrison County Sheriff's Deputy who in August was found guilty on 18 state charges related to falsifying documents has now been found guilty on federal drug charges for ...

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Wetumpka Police Officer Faces Felony Theft Charges for Items Stolen from Station Evidence Room

The State Bureau of Investigations is investigating the case.​ November 20, 2019 Former Wetumpka police officer, Sean Blackburn, faces felony charges. Blackburn has been charged with with 2 counts of second degree theft. Elmore County District Attorney, Randall Houston, couldn't go into specifics about what was stolen, but it was items from the evi...

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Hollywood Police Department says missing evidence a thing of the past

"We believe the practices we have in place will prevent any problems in the future," November 20, 2019 When Hollywood police failed to keep track of their evidence room — losing $137,609 in cash and 1,096 pills — they got a sharp rebuke from a county watchdog agency for not catching the colossal error. The missing evidence cost the police departmen...

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Ex-officer appeals loss of certification

Case linked to evidence discrepancies November 15, 2019 BENTONVILLE -- A former Bella Vista police officer is appealing the loss of his law enforcement certification. Michael Kugler filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Benton County Circuit Court against the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training to have his certification reinstated. T...

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