Learn from the mistakes of others, to avoid making the same ones yourself! The Associated Press
EAST ST. LOUIS - As St. Clair County's top prosecutor, Robert Haida had plenty of evidence that confessed thrill killer Rafael "Ray Ray" Jackson shot a local nightclub security guard to death. Still, having the murder weapon was big. But as Jackson's murder trial neared a year ago, Haida got a stunner: The pistol had vanished from the East St. Louis Police Department's evidence lockup. So Haida, two assistants and an investigator went to give the place a look, hoping the weapon would turn up. Even now, Haida says, "words really don't describe what I saw." By his account, the storage area - the city's old police station, behind City Hall- was a rat's nest. Evidence bags were strewn about opened and emptied. Seized items of any street value - cash, guns, drugs - were gone. An evidence sack that should have contained the .38-caliber pistol Jackson used to kill James "Mike" Boyer in October 1999 held nothing but air. Haida's office pressed on and still got Jackson convicted. But Haida had a talk with police brass here and was assured that such a debacle wouldn't happen again. To the disgust of Haida and many East St. Louis residents, it has. While his office was prepping for another trial, Haida last month learned that the same evidence vault had been ransacked again - the third time since December 2000. The breach angered Haida, who thinks "little or nothing was done" since he was promised tighter evidence holding a year ago. Police Chief James Mister, who was appointed chief last May, has called the latest burglary "a very embarrassing moment" but insisted that any evidence pilfered recently was from old cases. Mister, who did not return repeated telephone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment, has said evidence for local cases pending in St. Clair County court - those of interest to Haida remains undisturbed in an evidence vault inside City Hall. But Haida said he's heard conflicting accounts about exactly where police were storing evidence his office needs. Police are hustling to satisfy his demand that by month's end they inventory what items are gone. The stakes are potentially huge: About 130 felony cases out of East St. Louis - some of them involving violent crimes such as murders, robberies and assaults - are pending in St. Clair County. Haida was quick to point out that missing evidence doesn't necessarily doom a case. Other evidence can be sufficient, as the conviction of Jackson shows. He was sentenced to life in prison, adding to the two consecutive life terms he already was serving for killings in Missouri. "It's not going to be total devastation, but it's certainly still cause for concern," Haida said. Mayor Carl Officer has publicly speculated that the latest break-in could have been an inside job, perhaps to cover up and divert some ongoing investigations into police corruption. After all, he asked, what criminal would be so brazen as to burglarize a one-time police station? Officer also did not return repeated AP calls. Mister has refused to discuss whether his officers might have been involved in the break-in, citing an ongoing internal investigation. But the new chief has said the vault's security issues will be fixed - something Haida has heard before from other police officials here. No charges or arrests resulted from a December 2000 burglary of the old police station, and so far the same is true about last year's breach. Word of the latest break-in came just a couple of weeks before former police chief Ronald Matthews was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison for, among other things, meddling with evidence in an immigration investigation of an auxiliary policeman.
Palm Beach (FL) Post
Belle Glade: Embarrassed that the police department's own evidence room was burglarized, Police Chief Albert Dowdell set out to find out who was selling the stolen guns, drugs and jewelry on the streets. The clues that led to the arrest of Belle Glade's most-wanted burglary suspects were found in the chief's own trash can and under his car. "Someone called and said, 'Go look in your garbage can.' A gun was actually inside the garbage can" at home, Dowdell said. The chief said people turned the weapons in to him to help him solve the case, but did not come forward because they wanted to avoid being arrested for buying them. He said four guns were discreetly placed at his house and another three were recovered elsewhere. "We started with recovering the weapons, and people started telling us they got it from here, from there," he said. Dowdell and the investigating officers tracked down rumors and pressed the suspects' friends for information until they had enough evidence to arrest John Morris and Gary Rolle in the burglary. Dowdell said there are more arrests to come. Morris, 46, and Rolle, 53, have been in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail since Feb. 17, charged with burglary while armed, grand theft of a firearm, tampering with evidence and dealing in stolen property. Both men have denied involvement in the crime, Dowdell said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now assisting with the investigation, and Dowdell plans to ask federal authorities to prosecute. According to the arrest report, a female friend of the men ultimately led police to their capture. They were allegedly storing some of the stolen items at the woman's house, the report says. They grew up in Belle Glade and occasionally worked as laborers. Rolle went to high school with the chief. "He was a nice guy. You wouldn't expect him to turn out the way he did. He got addicted to crack," Dowdell said. While the criminal investigation continues, Dowdell said he is pursuing wrongdoing within his own department. He is trying to find out who leaked a police department report describing the crime scene and some of the items stolen. And he is investigating whether officers were checking on the abandoned town hall building where the evidence was stored. ''There's a possibility they (the thieves) could've been in there numerous times. Officers should've been checking on this building on a regular basis. Obviously they didn't do as good of ajob as I would've liked," Dowdell said. Dowdell said he's relieved that two suspects are caught, but his job
is not over. "There's evidence that was taken out that's still on the
street. My relief will come when every piece of evidence is recovered,"
he said. "This is something 1 have to live with the rest of my life.
San Antonio (TX) Express-News
Bexar County Auditor Tommy Tompkins is sharpening his pencil with an eye toward the Sheriff's Department property room, which he calls a "total mess." Tompkins issued a scathing report this week slamming the Sheriff's handling of seized and forfeited property, and he added a shot for not allowing his office full access to the property room. A frustrated Tompkins went so far as to ask the Texas Rangers to look into the problem, but since the district attorney hasn't made that call, the Rangers are not investigating. "It is a mess. It is a total mess," Tompkins said Thursday. "I can't even track this stuff." Deputies refused auditors access to the seized property stored at the sheriff's office, Tomkins said, adding that records were incomplete or nonexistent. When auditors checked on the inventory, mostly cars, kept under contract at an auction site, they found the vehicles left exposed and unmaintained. The county had to pay for a large-screen television that was broken by the time a judge ordered it returned to its owner. Tompkins questions the legality of a contract the sheriff's office has with an auction company, which did not go through the normal bid process, and says even that document is being ignored. "The little contract, as crummy as it is, states that cars are to be started regularly" and tires should be kept properly inflated, Tompkins said. "We'd go out there, and the cars just sit out there." Seized property and cash in some cases went missing or was damaged, and the county has had to pay $5,568 in claims since 2003. No one at the sheriff's office was available to say how much seized property and cash is held in the property room over the course of a year. Tompkins and Lopez have a history of friction, but so do Tompkins and several other elected county officials, including District Attorney Susan Reed, who have said his office should approach them more diplomatically. County Judge Nelson Wolff declined to comment on the spat, and Commissioner Paul Elizondo came down squarely on the sheriff's side. "I know the Sheriff and his administration," Elizondo said. "It sounds like a turf battle, but I'm prejudiced because I know the sheriff wouldn't allow anything unprofessional or illegal in his shop." Elizondo even questioned Tompkins' authority, saying, "I don't know that it says anywhere that the auditor is supposed to rule on the job performance of the highest elected law enforcement official in the county." Tompkins said he's not accusing the Sheriff or anyone in his office of a crime. It's just that between the lack of access for his office and absence of good records on the sheriff's part, there's no way to tell. "My statement is this: no statement. I'll let the process take place," the Sheriff said. Tompkins said the audit was routine. "We just go through the programs of the various departments and pick out where we may have some exposure, some risk," he said.
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) Inside Report
April 10 could be an important day in Iberville Parish. That is when former drug task-force commander Gerald Jenkins will be sentenced. Judge William Dupont of the 18th Judicial District has told Jenkins he should be prepared to elaborate on his claim that other members of the law-enforcement community have stolen from the offices of Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD). To use a cliché of the street, it will be time to put up or shut up. Jenkins was a lieutenant with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office when cash and drugs were taken from LEAD headquarters near Plaquemine in July, and an attempt was made to set the building on fire. Jenkins and a cousin from Baton Rouge, Joseph Jenkins, were quickly arrested. Joseph Jenkins pleaded guilty to one drug charge in the case and agreed to testify against his cousin. He never got that opportunity; Gerald Jenkins pleaded guilty to three felony charges minutes before his trial was to begin. It would be a closed case except for some things the two men have said and findings made since the break-in about eight months ago. Gerald Jenkins told state and federal investigators that other law-enforcement officers have stolen from the task-force evidence room. He has never identified those officers. During one court hearing, some of Gerald Jenkins' accusations became part of the public court record. The accusations without identification have left "a cloud of suspicion" hanging over law enforcement in Iberville Parish, Dupont said. That cloud must be removed, "one way or another," Dupont said. On the morning Gerald Jenkins was remanded into custody, Judge Dupont told him to cooperate in his pre-sentence investigation and, "in the unresolved issues of items missing from the evidence room." About $150,000 in cash, more than $750,000 in drugs, and some investigative files are missing. "Your cooperation will go a long way in determining the length of your sentence," Dupont told the 20-year veteran. Law enforcement in Iberville has already been damaged. In addition to the suspicion, a number of cases involving drug arrests will see people either go free or receive lighter sentences because of the compromised evidence room. Prosecutors have tried to work with the Jenkins cousins. Joseph Jenkins was originally charged with seven felonies, and was allowed to plead guilty to one in exchange for testimony that he wound up not giving. Dupont sentenced him to 13 years in prison. Gerald Jenkins was once charged with 10 crimes. He went to trial for five, and just before opening statements were to begin, he was allowed to plead guilty to three. One of those three charges, possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine, can bring a sentence of 15 years in prison. As an officer enforcing anti-drug laws, Gerald Jenkins helped send many people to prison. As a result, he must have secure confinement while in jail. Normally a man who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in about a month would be held in jail in the parish where his sentencing will take place. Authorities will not say where Gerald Jenkins is being held. Finding a place where he can safely serve his sentence will be a challenge for state prison officials. But there remains the issue of "the cloud." Will Gerald Jenkins name names? As traumatic and unsettling as that may be, it would at least limit suspicion to a few people. Now police, deputies and prosecutors all face the hint of involvement, though none have been named, arrested or charged. Law-enforcement officers and their families will be watching on April 10 when Judge Dupont asks Gerald Jenkins if he has anything to say before he is sentenced. When Joseph Jenkins was asked that question, he replied, "Let's get it over with." It has been said that sentencing in criminal matters brings closure. That is exactly what the Iberville Parish law-enforcement community needs.
Albuquerque (NM) Journal
The Albuquerque Police Department is investigating two officers to determine whether one - or both - helped cover up missing property from the evidence room while it was being investigated by the state Attorney General's Office. Although neither officer has been charged, Police Chief Ray Schultz said he plans to issue "harsh" punishment in the case. The two officers, who were partners, are blaming each other for allowing two civilian evidence room clerks to have access to property logs. Attorneys for officers ***** 1 and *****2 say their clients are innocent. The internal investigation, which started last fall, is the last of many evidence room probes. It started after the city's Independent Review Office noticed discrepancies in evidence room logs. The Chief said he is awaiting the results of a lie detector test for * * * * * 1. A temporary restraining order prevents APD from giving her a lie detector test, and a hearing on the restraining order is scheduled next week. *****2 already took a lie-detector test, which his attorney said he passed. "We are in a situation where this is someone's word against someone else's word," The Chief said. "There are some questions that still need to be answered. That's why 1 need the (lie detector test) .... Based on what I know now, there will be discipline .... It will be harsh." According to court records and police reports obtained by the Journal, ***** 1 claims that *****2 was having a relationship with an evidence room clerk who was a target of the attorney general's investigation. That investigation determined that more than $58,000 was missing from the evidence room and that criminal conduct had occurred. However, no one was prosecuted in connection with the missing evidence. When questioned, both detectives said the other was responsible for allowing the clerks access to the logs. Both clerks, who were civilians, were terminated from the department for other reasons. Rob Perry, who is representing ***** 1, said his client was a primary source in the IRO's investigation. After she came forward with the information about her partner's involvement, APD launched an investigation into her, Perry said. "We don't have a problem taking a fair (lie-detector test). We do have a problem taking theirs," Perry said. "It's concerning they even want to do one given all of the evidence against my client's accuser." *****2's attorney Peter Schoenburg said his client has done nothing wrong. Both officers have remained on duty during the investigation. ***** 1 remains a detective, and *****2 has been promoted to sergeant. "This investigation is the last thing that needs to be done with the evidence room," Schultz said. "This is us making sure that everything with the evidence room is dealt with. "I am doing everything 1 said 1 was going to do. We are addressing everything and are not going to brush anything under the carpet."
The Daily Record (Dover, NJ)
MORRISTOWN: Suspended Dover Detective ***** will forfeit his job and could be sent to state prison for up to three years after pleading guilty Tuesday to stealing cocaine for his own use from a department evidence safe in June. With the support of three fellow officers in court, the 42-year-old detective pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto to official misconduct by swiping a small amount of cocaine from the evidence safe on June 13. He said the cocaine was strictly for his own use. Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Redden later said there is no evidence that ***** stole drugs on any occasion other than June 13. While his plea bargain calls for up to three years in state prison, ***** is expected to apply for an early release under the state's Intensive Supervision Program after serving about three months. If he isn't accepted for early parole, he would be considered for release after serving nine or 10 months in prison. Redden said his office will assess how ***** is faring in prison when he applies for ISP before it decides whether to oppose or acquiesce to his entry into ISP. Defense lawyer Peter Gilbreth said he will argue for a lighter term when ***** is sentenced on Feb. 24, but Ahto warned ***** in court to be prepared to get three years. Gilbreth said that ***** confessed to his superiors as soon as the theft was discovered, completed a 28-day, inpatient substance abuse program and is involved in aftercare programs and counseling. "We're really going to be pushing for the ISP," Gilbreth said, noting that the prison term was the most lenient the prosecutor's office would offer. The officer, who is separated from his wife and living with his ailing father in Rockaway, admitted to the judge that he took a bag of cocaine from the evidence room and later ingested it. Authorities have said the drugs were left over from a long-resolved criminal case and should have been destroyed. ***** was charged with official misconduct and cocaine possession on July 2, after another officer found an empty evidence bag in a patrol car used by ***** and turned it over to a superior. *****, who was earning $77,522 annually as a detective, was released after his arrest on condition he enter and complete a 28-day substance abuse program at Sunrise House in Lafayette. Can't go back ***** was suspended without pay within days of his arrest, and as a result of his guilty plea, will never be allowed to work in law enforcement or in a public position again in New Jersey. On Aug. 2, the day he was released from Sunrise House, he was charged with driving under the influence when he struck a stop sign and pole on Richards Avenue. * * * * * had been prescribed the anti-depressant drug Lexapro and he had no alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. Because he was under the influence of medication and should not have been driving on Aug. 2, he pleaded guilty in November in municipal court in Randolph -where the case was transferred - to driving while intoxicated. He received a seven month loss of his driver's license, Gilbreth said. Police Chief Harold "Butch" Valentine showed up in Superior Court on Tuesday for the hearing but left before ***** pleaded. Fellow officers remained, who declined comment afterward, as did *****. ***** was convicted of drunken driving more than a decade ago while on the force, and was among five officers in 1998 who sued a former, now-deceased police Chief over his alcoholism and perceived mismanagement of the department.
10News.com (San Diego, CA)
San Diego - A 15-year employee of the San Diego Police Department was arrested on embezzlement charges, the City Attorney's Office announced late Tuesday. *****, a property room supervisor, faces three counts each of embezzlement and using a computer to wrongfully obtain money, said Assistant City Attorney Chris Morris. *****,42, allegedly took knives from the property room and sold them on the Internet, Morris said. The charges stem from a three-month police investigation, but it was not immediately clear when they were filed or when ***** was arrested.
Topeka Capital-Journal, CJOnline.com
In dismissing a methamphetamine case Wednesday, a Shawnee County district judge criticized the Topeka Police Department as having a "cavalier attitude" about calibrating its scales. Shawnee County District Judge Eric Rosen ruled drug evidence in the case was too uncertain to continue prosecution and dismissed the drug charge against Topekan Robert D. Shaw, 38. Shaw had been charged with a felony count of possession with intent to sell methamphetamines. The weight of the drug evidence, seized during a 2001 police raid, varied by 35 percent in police and Kansas Bureau of Investigation records. On Wednesday, Police Chief Ed Klumpp said an investigation by police
and an investigator from the attorney general's office found no evidence
of tampering or misplaced drugs. During Shaw's Nov. 23,2004, preliminary
hearing, police officer Kris Souma described the drug as a "white substance"
weighing 5.1 grams. During a hearing Jan. 11, when Shaw asked that
the case be dismissed, Souma said the meth was brown, Rosen's ruling
noted. A KBI lab report dated Aug. 17, 2001, described the meth as a
"dark substance" weighing 3.3 grams. Copyright © 2006 International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. Reprinted from the Evidence Log, Volume 2006, Number 1, Page 41 |
