HEADLINE:  Stash of guns stolen from Sweetwater Police Dept.

BYLINE: CATHARYN CAMPBELL 6 News Reporter

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SWEETWATER (WATE) -- Investigators need the public's help finding a thief who stole a stash of guns from the Sweetwater Police Department. Five hand guns were taken from the assistant chief's office.

For nearly a month, 50 guns, confiscated during arrests, were being stored in the assistant chief's office.

Police Chief Eddie Byrum says the weapons were up for sale and had been taken out of the evidence vault to show potential buyers.

"We didn't want people going into our evidence vault because it contaminates the evidence when you've got people coming in and out of your vault. That's why he had the guns in his office," Byrum says.

He also says after an inventory check, officers found the five guns valued at $800 were missing. He says Assistant Chief Mike Jenkins usually keeps his office locked.

"During the day, if he has to step out to go to city hall to drop off records. He may from time to time may leave his office open," Byrum says.  

The remaining guns are now locked in the evidence vault. Agents from the TBI have been called in to investigate.

At this point, everyone is a suspect including police officers, the cleaning staff and community members.

The public had access to most side and back entrances at the police department but all that's changing. Now, visitors must enter through the front door and sign in. New locks are being put on all the doors.

Byrum says the boldness of the crime has him most concerned. "A person that would be willing to steal from inside the police department, there is no telling what drastic measure they would take."  

A $500 reward is being offered to anyone that has information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for stealing the guns.

People with information about the crime are encouraged to call the Sweetwater Police Department at (423) 337-6157. 

HEADLINE: Felon found guilty in Harvey gun case

Anthony Reynolds silently slouched in his chair as the court clerk read the jury's verdict.

Three charges, three guilty verdicts -- and as a result, a possible sentence of 60 years in prison for the 29-year-old Harvey man, whose case may have wider ramifications in the troubled south suburb.

Jurors deliberated 90 minutes at the Markham Courthouse on Thursday after three days of testimony from six police officers representing three separate agencies. But jurors said it was Reynolds' tale on a tape that determined his fate. 

On the tape was a phone call he made from the Cook County Jail in June 2006.

"Man, you and I both know [police Detective Hollis] Dorrough sold me the [expletive] gun back," Reynolds was heard to say. "That's why I want a speedy trial. I know ain't no gun in evidence. If there ain't no gun, how you gonna convict?"

After the verdict, juror Marc Saunders, 41, said: "No one believed the police officers. Everybody thought they were full of [it]. But you couldn't get around that tape."

Reynolds -- who has two prior felony convictions for violent crimes -- was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, armed habitual criminal, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He pointed a gun at two Harvey police officers in October 2005 when they tried to question him about a report of shots fired.

He did not fire at the officers, but they shot at him, and he fled, tossing the .45-caliber handgun as he ran. He was apprehended seconds later, and officers found the gun under a junk car in a vacant lot nearby.

The case was assigned to Dorrough, but as it neared trial in June , prosecutors discovered the gun had disappeared from Harvey's police evidence room. The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force opened an investigation that led to felony official misconduct charges against the detective, who is alleged to have sold the gun to Reynolds' stepfather after meeting with Harvey officials, including Mayor Eric Kellogg. The gun was later recovered in Robbins.

In closing arguments Thursday, Assistant Public Defender Toya Harvey tried to convince the jury that her client was the innocent victim of corrupt police officers who planted the gun as a way to cover up the fact they shot at an unarmed man. She said the tape did not prove Reynolds had a gun.

"The state makes a big deal about how he said he bought the gun back," Harvey said. "Back from what? If anything, [the tape] shows he tried to purchase a gun back from a police department that put it on him in the first place and allegedly sells guns out the back door."

Assistant State's Atty. John Sullivan countered that the word "back" was all the proof jurors needed to convict.

"[The defense attorneys] are trying to imply that the Harvey police framed him for it. What evidence was there of that? Who got up [on the witness stand] and said they planted the gun?" Sullivan said. "When he said he bought it back, that tells you he had it before."

Reynolds is scheduled to be sentenced May 3, the day he will appear for a status hearing on charges he allegedly murdered a man in South Holland while out on bail in the gun case.

It was unclear whether Reynolds' conviction laid the foundation for authorities to go after bigger fish. Sullivan said the conviction will not affect the trial of Dorrough, and prosecutors would not comment on whether Reynolds' case was part of a broader investigation.

Kellogg, who is in a six-way mayoral race, has not been charged with a crime and has denied he ordered Dorrough to return the gun.

HEADLINE: Salt Lake police chief says building is 'horrible'

The police chief parks his car in a condemned garage, under a plastic tarp that catches water and falling concrete.  

The evidence room has a leaky roof. An interview room doubles as a storage closet. There are 54 broken windows at Salt Lake City's public safety building.  

"Our employees' working conditions are just horrible," Chief Chris Burbank said. "It's not a good environment and not conducive to work."  

Police and fire officials are pushing for $180 million in upgrades that would include a new headquarters, an emergency-operations center and new fire stations. Burbank said he is lobbying the City Council to sell bonds for the project.  

"Our motto has kind of been, 'Make do and kind of do the best you can with what you've got to work with,'" Detective Jay Rhodes said. "We become very creative."  

Salt Lake City Fire Marshal Kevin Nalder said the building, built in the 1950s a few blocks east of downtown, doesn't meet the current fire code. That's not illegal because the building preceded the code, but it's not safe.  

Utilities should cost $115,000 a year, but the bills were about $470,000 in 2006, Rhodes said.  

Inside the basement evidence rooms, holes have been cut out of the ceiling because the plumbing system is falling apart. Inside one room, a piece of plastic hangs over boxes of evidence.  

"We have buckets all over the place, so when it starts, we grab them," said Ruth Ogletree, supervisor of the evidence unit.  

No evidence has been lost to flooding but some has been repackaged because of wet boxes.  

"Luckily, it hasn't been any major cases yet," Ogletree said.  

Information from: Deseret Morning News  

HEADLINE: ALLEGED EVIDENCE THIEF FIRED

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No one is above the law, not even those who work for it. That includes Staci Allison, who was recently fired from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly stealing cash evidence.

Allison, a records specialist, was fired April 4, after having been on paid leave since Nov. 28, 2006, pending a Washington State Patrol investigation into missing money.

“Usually when you terminate an employee you wait until you have sustainable evidence, especially with charges this serious,” Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said. “We are the ones that found the problem and acted upon it immediately. What took time was parceling the investigation out to another agency so there would be an appearance of fairness.”

According to the State Patrol report, $51,251.33 is missing from the evidence room. It links $8,644.19 of the missing cash to evidence files that Allison manually deleted from the computer system in May 2006 without authorization.

The investigation began with a separate Sheriff’s Office employee finding 129 used evidence bags in a plastic tub in the evidence room, 128 of which originally had cash in them and had been part of the evidence system. The bags represent 79 cases, 74 of which yielded the $51,251 in missing cash.

Evidence files

Between March 1 and Nov. 26, 2006, Allison made two valid deletions from the computer evidence files. She also performed 49 unauthorized deletions on May 24, 2006, one day prior to an evidence audit. The audit did not turn up any missing items, cash items were not audited.

The investigative report shows all of Allison’s movements through card-key doors as well as her computer station log in times and actions taken. She had been sending personal e-mails shortly before deleting the files. She used her own name and card-key.

Allison’s deletions relate to eight cases, most of which stemmed from drug possession with intent to deliver. One case led to a conviction that is under appeal, one was dismissed, another pleaded guilty to drug charges, two cases are awaiting trial and three are open investigations.

Benedict said that his decision to terminate Allison’s employment was based upon the State Patrol report and that it was his understanding that Allison will be charged criminally for the crime of theft.

“Criminal activity by members of this organization cannot, and will not, be tolerated,” Peregrin said in Allison’s notice of termination.

Will charges hold?

The report has been forwarded to the county’s prosecuting attorney, Deborah Kelly, who said she wants more information before deciding to file charges or not.

“The report I received that the trooper turned in was somewhat of a summary,” Kelly said. “What I asked for was the underlying information because the defense is entitled to discovery and much of that needs to be furnished quickly once charges are filed because of the right to a speedy trial.”

Allison’s computer file deletions relate to 18 of the 129 evidence bags that led to the State Patrol investigation, or $8,644. The report does not directly connect Allison to the remaining $42,607.14 missing from the evidence room.
   
Allison’s notice of termination states that her termination was based on the alleged theft of money as well as additional infractions of criminal misconduct and unbecoming conduct of an officer.

The effects of the alleged thefts on the cases in which the evidence was collected is still to be seen. The impact will depend on the nature of the allegations, or if monetary evidence was relevant to the crime.

“It is my understanding that only cash in involved and it’s very rare that cash is actually evidence,” Kelly said. “But I always say the defense can and should look at all the evidence and circumstances around it.”

In-house changes

Undersheriff Peregrin was adamant that the department has sought to clear the slate with mistakes of the past while doubling efforts to make sure they do not continue.

“Mistakes were made in the past and there’s a new administration that wants to do things by the numbers,” he said. “We’re examining the processes and procedures in place looking for weaknesses where we can improve.”

He said the department is installing different recording units, like cameras in the evidence area, where right now the only record is the magnetic key-card lock. He said that the entire evidence filing system is in the process of being restructured with updated policies.

“This whole event with the evidence led to a complete inventory of over 14,000 items, which is nearly complete,” he said. “We’re making considerable movement toward a secure system of evidence collection and documentation.”

The discovery that money was missing in late 2006 came a year after misconduct allegations shook the department, leading to two high-ranking resignations, a fired deputy and a reprimanded commanding officer.

HEADLINE: 25 handguns missing from sheriff's office in Machias

About 25 handguns are missing from the evidence room at the Washington County Sheriff's Department and it looks as if it may be an inside job.

The Attorney General's Office has been notified and an investigator is expected to be in Machias the first week in May. 

Two of the weapons that had been in the evidence room can be traced to one person, Sheriff Donnie Smith said Wednesday. He did not elaborate. The sheriff said that if the investigation revealed that someone in his department was involved, they would be fired. "You're only as good as your people," he said. "They'll be history."

Smith said he notified the Washington County Commission about the theft on Friday.

In addition, Smith said that $450 was missing from the department's administrative office.

He notified the AG's office of the missing money earlier this year, but it declined to investigate. Smith said that he believes the money taken also was an inside job, but said he did not believe it was either of the two women who work in the office. He plans to bring up the issue of the missing money along with the missing handguns when the AG investigator arrives.

The department discovered the missing guns after an attorney sent a letter to Smith saying his client wanted his gun back. When officials looked for it, it was gone. That's when their investigation turned up other missing weapons.

Asked if it could be a problem of poor record keeping on the part of the former administration, Smith said he did not believe so. "It doesn't look like the case because if it was [it would be] just one or two guns. But that many [is different]," he said.

Guns are collected at a crime scene or confiscated from individuals. Often a car stop turns up a gun hidden under the seat or a gun is removed from a home during a domestic dispute.

If the gun's owner is neither charged nor found guilty, the gun is returned upon request.

Guns that are not reclaimed are traded on behalf of the department. "We can either trade it for ammunition or ... for guns for the department," he said.

The county could be sued. "We take possession of something we are responsible to return it," Smith said.

The new sheriff said he has instituted stricter standards for handling evidence. The only people in the department with keys are the sheriff, the chief deputy and the full-time deputies.

Smith went public because he said there would be no "coverups" in his department. Good or bad, he said, "the public has a right to know."