Associated Press, The Telegraph, KTVI Fox 2 News St Louis, fox2now.com

Alton, IL



EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) _ Authorities in southwestern Illinois are trying to determine how and why evidence in more than 100 Alton cases has been destroyed or discarded.

The (Alton) Telegraph (http://bit.ly/1un5G82 ) reports that nearly half of the cases involve felonies, and that the missing evidence now clouds prosecutions in several Alton cases.

The Madison County State’s Attorney, Tom Gibbons, says his office learned on July 23 that an evidence officer for the Alton Police Department improperly disposed of the evidence in pending criminal cases.

Gibbons says he does not believe criminality factored into how the evidence went missing.

Alton Police Chief Jake Simmons says his department is cooperating in the investigation. Mayor Brant Walker calls the situation an “egregious breach of protocol.”
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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.thetelegraph.com

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