Thousands of cases may be affected by problems at Seattle facility August 6, 2021 SEATTLE — Behind the locked doors of a third-floor office in South Seattle, countertop instruments filled with dozens of tiny vials feed data to nearby monitors while performing scores of tests each day in pursuit of justice. The Washington State Patrol Toxicology Lab...

Lechich said the ruling was retroactive, and that those convicted under the state's felony drug possession statute could petition the courts for a restoration of the right to vote, own guns or receive certain government benefits as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. It is also likely that cases pending before the court will be thrown out based...

Around the same time the DNA samples were destroyed, evidence from an unknown number of homicide investigations was also purged December 23, 2020 Plagued by a chronically full evidence warehouse that led to failed fire inspections, the Seattle Police Department wrongly destroyed more than 100 post-conviction DNA samples in 2018 as part of an effort...

Associated Press analysis published in January 2018 found more than a dozen firearms sold by law enforcement agencies in Washington since 2010 later became evidence in new criminal investigations November 6, 2018 SEATTLE — The City Council in Spokane, Washington, has passed an ordinance prohibiting police from selling confiscated firearms, citing a...

employee there had possibly been exposed to some kind of powerful drug Enter Article DATE HERE RENTON, Wash. - Hazardous materials teams and medics converged on Renton City Hall on Tuesday morning after receiving reports that an employee there had possibly been exposed to some kind of powerful drug, officials said. Hazmat units from Renton, Pu...

Alan Edward Dean, 62, was arrested Tuesday in the death of Melissa Lee July 30, 2020 Law enforcement authorities in Washington State say they have solved a 1993 cold case, but their investigation is not over yet. Alan Edward Dean, 62, was arrested Tuesday in the death of Melissa Lee, 15. Authorities said they were able to link the killer to the inc...

Precious Jane Doe, a woman murdered in Washington state in 1977, has been identified with the help of DNA and genetic genealogy, authorities said June 25, 2020 Precious Jane Doe, a woman murdered in Washington state in 1977, has been identified with the help of DNA and genetic genealogy, authorities said. The victim is now known to have been 17-yea...

Jim Fuda,  law enforcement expert and the Director of Law Enforcement Services for Crime Stoppers-- which works with SPD -- said the department needs to take back the precinct sooner rather than later with negotiations and more June 10, 2020 SEATTLE — Some are calling for swift action to take back the East Precinct that has been surrounded by ...

No agents were injured as they wear Personal Protective Equipment that includes masks and gloves. May 30, 2020 SEATTLE – A five-month investigation into a scheme to sell fentanyl-tainted counterfeit opiod pills with M-30 markings has led to the arrest of two men from Bellingham. U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran announced the arrest of 38-year-old Troy ...

Spokane Police Wednesday detailed the DNA link between a now-dead man and the rape and murder of a 12-year-old Spokane girl in 1985. March 28, 2020 SPOKANE, Wash – With details right out of a procedural crime show, Spokane Police Wednesday detailed the DNA link between a now-dead man and the rape and murder of a 12-year-old Spokane girl in 1985. Ma...

Bremerton Police Detective Jeffrey Inklebarger resigned Saturday in lieu of termination January 28, 2020 Bremerton Police Detective Jeffrey Inklebarger resigned Saturday in lieu of termination after a home security video system captured him allegedly stealing an unknown amount of cash during a narcotics search warrant in February of 2019. The homeo...

The department's Oct. 2 post trying to locate the owners of some jewelry in the property and evidence room following a resolved case resulted in a high school class ring being reunited with a former Whatcom County high school student who hadn't seen it in 50 years. Enter Article DATE HERE "How amazing to be able to use social media for such a ...

DNA evidence was discovered at the time at the crime scene, and a suspect DNA profile was identified. October 4, 2019 Editor's note – This story contains graphic detail of a murder case. Reader discretion is advised. After nearly three decades, a cold case arrest has been made for the 1991 murder of Sarah Yarborough, a 16-year-old Federal Way stude...

A rifle stolen from a Kelso resident 20 years ago was sent to the owner's next of kin this week after a Kelso police clerk found the firearm in a routine inventory of the agency's evidence department. October 5, 2019 A rifle stolen from a Kelso resident 20 years ago was sent to the owner's next of kin this week after a Kelso police clerk found the ...

Brown said his internal audit revealed cash, drugs and more than two-dozen firearms are unaccounted for July 2, 2019 t's time for a complete and thorough investigation into the City of Tonasket and the former Tonasket Police Department. Somebody needs to be held accountable for the shenanigans in Tonasket – once known as a quiet community that has ...

A change to GEDmatch, a third-party genealogy site that's helped crack cold cases through user's DNA, may hinder law enforcement's ability to use the database to catch killers. Enter Article DATE HERE A change to GEDmatch, a third-party genealogy site that's helped crack cold cases through user's DNA, may hinder law enforcement's ability to us...

Seattle police have solved a murder from nearly 52 years ago with the help of DNA and a family tree — a method investigators are increasingly using to crack cold cases. May 7, 2018 Susan Galvin was a 20-year-old records clerk for the department in July 1967 when she was found raped and strangled in a parking garage elevator at Seattle Center. Dozen...

A new law in Washington eliminates the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving minors. APRIL 22, 2019 OLYMPIA, Wash. — Survivors of certain sex crimes no longer have to worry about how long they have to report the crime to authorities in Washington state. On Friday, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5649 into law, eliminating the statu...

The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab can currently test only 213 kits per month, with a backlog of around 10,000 kits. April 11, 2019 OLYMPIA — A bill to reduce the processing time for sexual assault kits has passed the Washington Legislature in two unanimous votes. Sexual assault kits have remained untested for over a decade in Washington. The Wa...

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office has arrested a 77-year-old man in its oldest cold case — the 1972 murder of Jody Loomis. April 11, 2019 On August 23, 1972, Loomis, 20, was riding a bicycle from her Mill Creek-area home on Winesap Road to a pasture where her horse was boarded, but never made it to the field. Detectives said later that day, two...

Seattle police were unable to take any action against now-retired Officer Carl Matsumoto after he denied he improperly kept the gun December 6, 2018 On March 9, 2017, a Seattle police officer clearing space above his locker in the South Precinct tried to slide a nylon duffel bag sitting atop the locker next to his. It was too heavy, so he lifted it...

AP investigation found some guns sold by law enforcement were used in new crimes November 11, 2018 SEATTLE (AP) — The City Council in Spokane, Washington, has passed an ordinance prohibiting police from selling confiscated firearms, citing an Associated Press investigation that found that some guns sold by law enforcement were used in new crimes. "...

FINDINGS: Prosecutor Rules No Evidence of Criminal Wrongdoing but Issues Letter Stating Evidence Room Mishaps Could Affect Cases​ August 30, 2018 Centralia Chief of Police Carl Nielsen appeared in front of the city council Tuesday evening to further explain the results of two internal investigations into mishandled and misplaced evidence at the dep...

Chief Says Findings Were a 'Shock,' Department Took Steps to Remedy Mistakes Enter Article DATE HERE A 2018 internal audit of the Centralia Police Department's two property storage rooms uncovered a glut of errors, including missing or misplaced evidence, prompting the department to reevaluate personnel managing the intake, outtake and organiz...

Michella's murder is just one cold case that heated up this year thanks to the cutting-edge combination of DNA and genetic genealogy. June 30, 2018 On March 26, 1986, sixth-grader Michella Welch disappeared while at a Washington state park with her two young sisters, never to be seen alive again. The 12-year-old's body was found that night; she had...

The genealogist used the suspect's DNA sample to build a family tree using public websites, then ran it through a public database and received "a significant match," according to charging papers. June 22, 2018 It was DNA, a genealogist and perseverance that zeroed in on Michella Welch's suspected killer after 32 years. On Friday, Pierce County pros...

William Earl Talbott II, 55, of SeaTac, was arrested as he was leaving his Seattle workplace. According to investigators, he is suspected of raping and killing a 19-year-old British Columbia woman in 1987, JUNE, 12, 2018 More than 30 years after a young Canadian woman was raped and shot in the back of the head, a 55-year-old SeaTac man was arrested...

An important break came once again as a result of DNA sleuthing techniques similar to the ones used last month to crack the Golden State killer case. May 18, 2018 In 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a couple from Canada, were brutally killed while they were vacationing in Washington State. On Friday, the Snohomish County sheriff's ...

Washington state's rape kit backlog has advocates worried how many sexual offenders are still out on the streets. Enter Article DATE HERE A sexual assault case in Tumwater provides a glaring example of how Washington state's rape kit backlog is still having serious and devastating consequences. Tumwater police have linked 35-year-old suspect L...

The search turned up 40 bundles of meth in a television box on the top bunk of the sleeper berth and 50 bundles on the lower mattress. April 28, 2018 CENTRALIA, Wash. (KOMO) -- Authorities in Lewis County say a search of a truck carrying Starbucks' products to Spokane this week turned up 126 pounds of methamphetamine and other drugs. Two people, th...

Cold case investigators in Washington state have released DNA-generated composite sketches of a suspect in the unsolved slayings of a young Canadian couple three decades ago. April 21, 2018 Cold case investigators in Washington state have released DNA-generated composite sketches of a suspect in the unsolved slayings of a young Canadian couple thre...

A Poulsbo police officer was charged Wednesday with theft and felony drug possession after she confessed to repeatedly taking narcotics left in city hall's prescription drug take-back box, according to court documents. Enter Article DATE HERE PORT ORCHARD — A Poulsbo police officer was charged Wednesday with theft and felony drug possession af...

The finding identified a number of weaknesses within the department after a former employee stole two guns, $2,000 went missing from a police department fund, and a gold necklace disappeared from the evidence room. Enter Article DATE HERE By Brynn Grimley Recent thefts within the Poulsbo Police Department prompted the city to make drastic chan...

On Tuesday, a Coca-Cola can led to the arrest of a man who police believe may have raped and murdered a teenager in 1989. December 15, 2017 Almost 30 years ago, Mandy Stavik, 18, went missing after taking a jog with her German shepherd the day after Thanksgiving. She was a freshman at Central Washington University and was home on break visiting fam...

Washington state is getting $3 million in federal grant money to continue analyzing forensic evidence in previously untested rape kits. Some of the money will go to creating a cold-case team to investigate sexual assaults that may have occurred years, even decades, ago. Enter Article DATE HERE The state's ongoing efforts to analyze DNA from th...

Blood found on a weapon used by Forrest was recently determined to be Martha Morrison, a 17-year-old Portland girl whose body was found in rural Clark County more than 40 years ago. August 24, 2017 Clark County detectives say that new DNA evidence helps link suspected serial killer Warren Forrest to two more victims, a huge discovery in helping to ...

Someone left a pair of prosthetic legs unattended — shoes still attached February 17, 2017 Ron Cryderman has seen some strange things in his 16 years working in the Longview Police Department's evidence room. The strangest appeared on his shelves early this year after police responded to a suspicious call.Someone left a pair of prosthetic legs unat...

With new money, state chips away at daunting backlog of rape evidence — but can't keep up December 16, 2016 or years, hundreds of white cardboard boxes, each containing biological evidence from an alleged sexual assault, sat untouched inside the massive freezer at the Seattle Police Department's 26,000-square-foot evidence warehouse off Airport Way...

"The real question for me is, who is in charge of the Colville PD? Who is in charge of the evidence?" December 18, 2016 A convicted sex offender facing life in prison for an attempted kidnapping in Colville last year accepted a plea deal for nine years – after police destroyed the evidence showing the crime was sexually motivated.  Jason Foste...

Nearly $10,000 — including some logged as evidence against Aubrey Earl Rye, a 52-year-old Interlochen man, who was convicted of armed robbery in 2014 — vanished from the MSP Cadillac post sometime after Rye was arrested on Dec. 8, 2013. October 8, 2016 TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse County prosecutor hopes just a few weeks are left in a lengthy i...

King County prosecutors Wednesday charged a former Bothell Police Department evidence technician with first-degree theft for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a police evidence room. September 7, 2016 King County prosecutors Wednesday charged a former Bothell Police Department evidence technician with first-degree theft for allegedly ste...

Enter Headline here August 28, 2016 SPOKANE, Wash --- Spokane Police Officials said they discovered a firearm in a stolen vehicle a year after they seized the vehicle. The car was going to be sold at auction when they found the firearm. Alex Redthunder was arrested in March 2015 after he left his vehicle and eluded authorities. Officials said Redth...

A national organization advocating for reforms in rape kit processing launched a campaign this week encouraging governors to publicly endorse and support efforts to eliminate backlogs and make rape kit testing a greater priority for law enforcement. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is the first governor in the nation to endorse Test400k's call to action....

Enter Headline here August 11, 2016 BELLEVUE, Wash. - The city of Bellevue's oldest cold-case murder has been solved 51 years after it happened, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated detective who decided to take a fresh, new look at the case using tried-and-true investigative techniques. The solution of the mystery comes years after the suspected m...

Evidence was collected from the woman, but Everett police didn't submit the sexual assault exam kit to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis June 19, 2016 EVERETT — The 20-year-old woman spent Christmas 2010 in a hospital exam room as a forensic nurse carefully collected swabs from her body.The woman told Everett police someone had rap...

Peninsula Daily News, peninsuladailynews.comBYLINE: Paige Dickerson, Peninsula Daily NewsLink to ArticleClallam County, WAPORT ANGELES -- The trial of a former Clallam County Sheriff's Office evidence technician on first-degr...

Peninsula Daily NewsBYLINE: Rob Ollikainen, Peninsula Daily NewsLink to ArticleClallam County, WASEQUIM -- A former Clallam County evidence technician charged with stealing $8,644 from the Sheriff's Office property room becam...

heraldnet.comBYLINE: Bill Sheets, Herald WriterLink to ArticlePublished: Tuesday, May 4, 2010Marysville, WAMARYSVILLE — Someone, or possibly someone's pet, could wind up spending eternity in the evidence room at the Marysvill...

The Wenatchee World (Washington), STATE AND REGIONAL NEWSDistributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business NewsBYLINE: Dee Riggs, The Wenatchee World, Wash.Wenatchee, WAAug. 26 -- EAST WENATCHEE -- An official at Eastmont Junior High...

KONP NEWSRADIO AM 1450, konp.comLink to Article Clallam County, WA(Port Angeles) -- The trial for a former evidence technician accused of stealing from the Clallam County Sheriff's department evidence room has been delayed.St...