Former drug court judge is disbarred for stealing cocaine from evidence locker

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred a former drug court judge who pleaded guilty to stealing cocaine from an evidence locker in his courtroom. January 20, 2018 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred a former drug court judge who pleaded guilty to stealing cocaine from an evidence locker in his courtroom. In an opinion issued Thursday, the co...

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Website to help Utah victims track sexual assault kits' progress

The website is expected to launch in early 2018 Enter Article DATE HERE SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials says a new federal grant will allow the state to offer more resources to victims waiting as their sexual assault kits are going through the testing process. Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Coordinator Krystal Hazlett said Tuesday that Utah's C...

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Suspect in gun mill plans to plead guilty to charges

January 20 21018 A Dallas County man has agreed to plead guilty to his alleged involvement in a gun mill responsible for stealing and selling guns from the Selma Police Department's evidence vault. Richard Allen Canterbury has agreed to plead guilty to three federal gun charges, according to court documents from the United States District Court for...

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Albuquerque mayor plans to address city’s rape kit backlog

Based on that figure, New Mexico led the nation in untested kits per capita. Enter Article DATE HERE ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller says he plans to issue an order for investigators to clear the backlog of untested rape kits in the city's crime lab. Keller is expected to detail his plans for the order at a press conferen...

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SLED investigating possible missing weapons at Seneca PD

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office states guns were taken to the Seneca Police Department by private citizens, as part of a relationship dispute January 17, 2018 SENECA, S.C. (WSPA) — State officials are looking into a report of weapons missing from Seneca Police Department. Seneca Police Chief John Covington confirmed Friday that the S.C. Law Enfo...

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Former city police officer enters guilty plea to overdose-related charges

Slisz was accused of obtaining an envelope containing 48 suspected stamp bags of heroin and six pills from a temporary evidence locker, where drugs were stored before being transferred by an evidence custodian January 15, 2018 EBENSBURG – A former Johnstown Police Department officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to two charges related to an incident in wh...

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HRP missing evidence audit finds significant gaps

An original audit was conducted between June and November 2015 and an officer was eventually charged with stealing from an evidence vault. Ensuing evidence audits found thousands of items had gone missing over several decades. January 15, 2018 Halifax Regional Police chalks up missing drugs and other evidence to poor management practices. Supt. Jim...

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Inside BNPP's 'disorganized evidence room': auditors found drugs in a shed, guns unsafely stored

Province orders an independent audit of regional police force's exhibits January 11, 2018 The provincial government has ordered an independent audit of a small northern police force's exhibits after a review found serious shortcomings that could put pieces of evidence, and the criminal cases that rely on them, at risk. Inside BNPP's headquarters in...

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Former Bella Vista Officer Arrested, Accused Of Mishandling Evidence

According to the affidavit, pills were missing from the evidence room in relation to unattended death cases that had been worked by the Bella Vista Police Department. January 9, 2018 ENTON COUNTY (KFSM) -- A Bella Vista police officer accused of mishandling evidence was arrested Tuesday (Jan. 9). Clayton J. Roberts, 36, surrendered to authorities a...

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Cornyn bill to reduce national rape kit backlog signed into law

Cornyn's legislation increased the dollar amount spent on untested rape kits by 35 percent January 8, 2018 President Donald Trump signed a bill proposed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act -- which reauthorizes, strengthens, and extends the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting program to he...

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Sentencing put on hold for former Tulare PD evidence technician

They say they know of many crimes he committed while working as an evidence technician for the Tulare Police Department. Enter Article DATE HERE VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Gary Coffman case was a frustrating one for the Tulare County District Attorney's Office. They say they know of many crimes he committed while working as an evidence tech...

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Prospect Park rape, a cold case for almost 24 years, sees NYPD identify a suspect

Investigators have identified a convicted sex offender as the suspect in a decades-old rape, almost 24 years after a woman reported she was attacked in Prospect Park, the NYPD said. January 9, 2018 Investigators have identified a convicted sex offender as the suspect in a decades-old rape, almost 24 years after a woman reported she was attacked in ...

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Former Ellis County Deputy Sentenced For Stealing & Selling Guns From Evidence Room January 8, 2018 at 11:57 am

Ex-Ellis County sheriff's Lt. Philip Gary Slaughter, who supervised an evidence room, was sentenced to 15 months for possession or sale of stolen firearms. January 8, 2018 DALLAS (AP) – A former North Texas sheriff's deputy must serve more than a year in federal prison for stealing confiscated guns and pawning the weapons or selling them online. Ex...

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Sheriff exit audit reveals more concerns

"I am keenly aware of the International Association of Property and Evidence standards and guidelines" Enter Article DATE HERE NORMAN — An audit report issued on Jan. 2 raises further concerns over the state of the Cleveland County sheriff's department under the previous administration. Former sheriff Joe Lester resigned suddenly on Oct. 2 aft...

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Provo man arrested on reports of stealing bike from police station

A Provo man was arrested Wednesday after reportedly breaking into the Provo police station to take a bike. January 5, 2018 A Provo man was arrested Wednesday after reportedly breaking into the Provo police station to take a bike. David Snow, 37, was arrested on suspicion of one third-degree burglary and two summons for misdemeanor theft charges, ac...

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Former deputy pleads guilty to embezzlement

The key to the evidence room was in an unlocked desk drawer January 4, 2018 Former Davidson County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Eads has plead guilty and has been sentenced to 16 to 29 months in the North Carolina Department of Correction for multiple counts of embezzlement and illegally accessing a government computer on Thursday morning. During a hear...

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Fentanyl banned from courtrooms

Fentanyl and carfentanil will be banned from Bay State courtrooms beginning next week because trial court officials fear the potentially deadly risk of handling the potent and toxic opioids. January 4, 2018 Fentanyl and carfentanil will be banned from Bay State courtrooms beginning next week because trial court officials fear the potentially deadly...

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Police apologize for lost rape kits

Police reach out to survivors about discarded evidence January 1, 2018 When Veronica was raped more than 13 years ago, she says neither the police nor the hospital staff believed her story that a longtime friend attacked her while his mother was in the next room. "I was treated like a female crying wolf," said Veronica, who says the man raped her w...

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Chief: BVPD Employees Fired after Evidence Mishandled

Detective Clayton Roberts and Mike Kugler, an evidence custodian for the police department, were fired on December 20, 2017, after members of the department noticed discrepancies in the evidence room January 3, 2018 BELLA VISTA, Ark. (KNWA) -- Two Bella Vista Police Department employees have been fired and are being investigated by Benton County au...

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Formerly disgraced DC crime lab eliminates rape kit backlog

The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D.C. has no rape kit backlog, officials say. January 2, 2018 WASHINGTON — Three years after D.C.'s DNA lab lost its accreditation, the city is touting a total turnaround. The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D...

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Police haven’t been turning over all evidence but they’re making plans to change that

Administrative Judge Steven John told all Horry and Georgetown law enforcement agencies during a Dec. 1 meeting that they had 30 days to start turning over all evidence from a case before trials begin, according to Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. December 30, 2017 Police departments in Horry and Georgetown counties will soon have to turn over more evid...

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Legal troubles continue for ex-Patrol post commander

The Delaware charges stemmed from evidence found in Elschlager's home linked to missing evidence from his time as a patrolman in the northern Columbus area. December 30, 2017 After he was convicted in Delaware County of three felony theft charges earlier this month, the former commander of the Marietta Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol still faces a ...

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5,000 rape kits result in 1,300 DNA "hits" in Florida

Attorney General Pam Bondi says the state is ahead of pace in reaching its goal of processing all 86 hundred backlogged kits by June, 2019. December 28, 2018 TALLAHASSEE, FL (WWSB) - Nearly 5,600 previously unprocessed sexual assault kits have now been tested, according to new statistics released by the attorney general's office. "Our goal is to he...

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He was wrongly convicted and spent 31 years in prison. Now he's asking the state for $1 million (DNA)

Lawrence McKinney, 61, was convicted in Memphis in 1978 and spent more than 31 years in prison before new DNA evidence led the court to overturn the conviction in 2009 December 28, 2018 Days after Gov. Bill Haslam exonerated a Wilson County man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and burglary, his lawyers have asked the state for $1 million in dam...

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CPS district office in northeast Calgary evacuated after officers exposed to fentanyl

While inside the stations, officers discovered the suspect had loose fentanyl in his possession. December 24, 2017 Six members of the Calgary Police Service and one civilian were assessed by paramedics on Saturday after fentanyl was located within the District 7 office. According to CPS officials, a person in police custody was transported to the d...

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3 Baltimore County Officers Recovering After Fentanyl Exposure

Police say it took about 12 hours to decontaminate the station Enter Article DATE HERE Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. The incident started with a traffic stop, during which narcotics were recovered. The arresting officer and another officer started to become ill after loc...

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Test of old rape kit leads to indictment of man on sexual assault charges

A rape kit that sat on a shelf for a dozen years just put a valley man behind bars. December 18, 2017 PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A rape kit that sat on a shelf for a dozen years just put a valley man behind bars. A Maricopa County grand jury indicted 28-year-old Michael Paladino on six counts of sexual assault The push to get through the county's backlo...

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DNA On Coke Can Leads To Arrest In 1989 Rape And Murder Cold Case

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...

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California 'weed fortress' had 35,000 marijuana plants inside, cops say

Where do you put it? December 16, 2017 Southern California police seized 35,000 marijuana plants from a weed "fortress" and shut down an operation they believed was bringing in millions of dollars a month. San Bernardino Police said they detained eight people Wednesday when police and federal agents raided a warehouse that was converted into a mult...

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Fentanyl is so potent doctors don’t know how to fight it

Fentanyl and its derivatives have become the primary driver of overdose deaths in the U.S. These fentanyls caused synthetic opioids to account for one-third of all drug-related deaths in 2016, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. That's a 700 percent increase from five years ago for manufactured opioids. December 11, 2017 In 2002...

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Antioch police say DNA tech helped solve city's oldest open cold case

For nearly four decades Antioch police searched for a 14-year-old girl's killer. The suspect is in custody Monday. Thanks to advances in DNA technology, police say Antioch's oldest unsolved murder has been solved. December 11, 2017 ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- For nearly four decades Antioch police searched for a 14-year-old girl's killer. The suspect ...

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Man pleads guilty Monday in 33-year-old Jefferson homicide (DNA)

Donnie London, 60, was arrested and booked with first-degree murder Wednesday (Jan. 20) in connection with the death of Elma Kolman, 73, after DNA testing linked him to her death 31 years later. December 11, 2017 Donnie London, 60, was arrested and booked with first-degree murder Wednesday (Jan. 20) in connection with the death of Elma Kolman, 73, ...

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Sheriff’s investigator fired, arrested in theft of narcotics

Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said another investigator noticed the tablets missing from an evidence locker. December 7, 2017 A Richmond County Sheriff's Office investigator has been fired and arrested, accused ofstealing narcotics from the department and using them.... Investigator Patrick Thomas Kaney, 33, was taken into custody Wedne...

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Orange County probation officer charged with stealing money while executing search warrants


Rodriguez was assisting the team in serving a search warrant at a home on Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana and, prosecutors now say, stole $150 from a victim's wallet while checking for the person's identification. November 30, 2017 ANTA ANA — An Orange County probation officer faces charges because he is suspected of stealing cash while executing searc...

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Massachusetts District Attorney to Dismiss Thousands of Drug Cases Following Chemist Crimes

Over 6,000 charges will be dropped due to Sonja Farak's illicit actions. December 1, 2017 For the second time in recent memory, Massachusetts has announced thousands of drug convictions will be dismissed following official malfeasance in the state's labs. According to the Boston Globe, the state district attorney's office said on Thursday that more...

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The cocaine was meant to train drug-sniffing dogs. But this cop had other ideas, police say

"It is believed that Adams ingested the cocaine," prosecutors said in a statement.A kilogram of cocaine, about 2.2 pounds, is worth between $26,000 and $28,000 December 1, 2017 There might be some drug-sniffing dogs in New Jersey that are less familiar with cocaine than one would hope. A New Jersey sheriff's officer has pleaded guilty to official m...

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Former Colorado Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Weapons Theft

A former Colorado police chief has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing weapons from his department and its evidence room and then selling them to pawn shops. December 1, 2017 LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — A former police chief in a small Colorado town has pleaded guilty to charges of stealing weapons from his department and its evidence room and then s...

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Former Mobile County deputy arrested on drug, theft charges

"Basically he was making arrests, seizing evidence as part of his responsibilities as a deputy but then not turning that evidence into the property room and using it for his own personal use November 29, 2017 Former Mobile County Sheriff's Office Deputy Seth Stevens was arrested Tuesday, according to the Mobile County District Attorney's Office. Ch...

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Former Center Twp. officer sentenced to jail in evidence room theft

State police Sgt. Daniel Mosura, who led the audit of the evidence room, testified Stone had stolen all of the opioids and heroin in the evidence room, as well as crack cocaine and some marijuana. Stone also stole more than $22,000 in cash. November 29, 2017 BEAVER — A former Center Township police officer will serve up to two years in jail after h...

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Reality Check: How Asheville Police Department solved their evidence room issues

Resolving the issue has spanned three different police chiefs. However, Chief Tammy Hooper reports the evidence room is cleaned up and fully inventoried. November 29, 2017 ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The criminal justice system relies on evidence, yet Asheville Police Department's (APD) own evidence room was once investigated for a crime. Resolving th...

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Audit finds over 3,000 Alaskan rape kits not tested

According to Alaska DPS, a statewide inventory of untested sexual assault kits – dating back to the year 2000 – was performed as a result of SB-55, which passed in 2017. November 28, 2017 A recently released document shows 3,484 sexual assault kits (SAK), taken as evidence by law enforcement agencies, were not submitted for serological testing at a...

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DeLand officer fired, 2 others disciplined over missing meth

A DeLand police officer was fired, another suspended without pay and a third reprimanded this month after they lost methamphetamine collected as evidence November 28, 2018 A DeLand police officer was fired, another suspended without pay and a third reprimanded this month after they lost methamphetamine collected as evidence at a home over the summe...

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Man arrested in Sanford had fentanyl disguised as candy, police say

The suspected fentanyl were in the shape of square multi-color pills and resembled children's vitamins and candy, police said. November 28, 2018 SANFORD, Fla. — A Sanford man was arrested Monday after police said he was found in possession of fentanyl pills that were designed to look like children's vitamins or candy. Floyd Aiken, who had an active...

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No rape kit should go untested amid #MeToo movement

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE With each passing day, we are confronted with an increasing number of headlines that reveal the true scope and scale of sexual misconduct in our midst. As more brave survivors come forward, it is apparent that sexual assaults are committed repetitively, blatantly and too often with impunity. For year...

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Baltimore officials to appeal $15M award in wrongful conviction lawsuit

"Finally, justice has been served," Burgess said during a news conference outside the courthouse Tuesday night. "It wasn't about the money. It was about wanting the truth to come out." November 23, 2017 Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis said Wednesday he would appeal a $15 million federal jury award to Sabein Burgess — the Baltimore man who alle...

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Greenville police officer arrested after $60 stolen from car he searched (body cam)

November 21, 2017 GREENVIILLE, NC – A Greenville police officer was arrested Tuesday afternoon after $60 was stolen from a car he searched. Officer Alec Smith, 23, was charged with misdemeanor larceny. Greenville police officers were called to the Rodeway Inn on Greenville Boulevard on November 5 to investigate potential drug activity. Officers rec...

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LA County Board Approves $15 Million Settlement in Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit

The settlement is the largest between the county and a single individual in at least the last decade November 21, 2017 The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $15 million payout today -- the largest single-plaintiff settlement in at least a decade -- for a man who was imprisoned for 27 years for a 1984 murder he said he didn't commit...

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Gun, drugs back on Riverdale streets after city manager uses evidence bay for free self storage

A city manager's decision to use the police evidence bay as his personal storage room may have helped put drugs and a gun back on the streets of Riverdale. Enter Article DATE HERE A city manager's decision to use the police evidence bay as his personal storage room may have helped put drugs and a gun back on the streets of Riverdale. And that'...

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Man, wrongly convicted of 1978 killings in Simi Valley, recommended for release from prison

New DNA evidence has cast doubt on the conviction of a man who has spent more than half his life in prison after being convicted in a 1978 Simi Valley double-homicide. November 20, 2017 New DNA evidence has cast doubt on the conviction of a man who has spent more than half his life in prison after being convicted in a 1978 Simi Valley double-h...

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Exclusive: Florida man being held in connection with 2 ‘cold case’ murders of young women in New York


Bodily fluids were recovered from the young victim, for a "John Doe" DNA profile. November 8, 2017 THE BRONX — Dora Delvalle Almontaser was just 19 years old, when her mother discovered the teen had been strangled with a phone cord in her family's Bronx apartment. Christopher Gonzalez The date was Dec. 2, 2000. Bodily fluids were recovered from the...

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