HEADLINE: No charges in New Orleans missing evidence case 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An overzealous cleanout of the New Orleans police evidence room that tossed out items important to rape and murder investigations will not result in criminal charges, a grand jury has decided.

"We presented the information we received from the investigation and the grand jury did not return any indictments," District Attorney Eddie Jordan said Tuesday.

The grand jury probe was announced in June.

Initially, the department kept its review of the situation in-house until the scope of the tossed evidence became known. Police Superintendent Eddie Compass put off possible disciplinary action because of the grand jury investigation. He was not available for comment Tuesday evening.

The police department had acknowledged that important DNA samples were destroyed in the murders of three women.

Lt. David Benelli, president of the Police Association of New Orleans, said old evidence was destroyed to provide storage space for new evidence and that any mistakes must have been inadvertent.

"It's an extremely complex investigation where they literally have to go through hundreds and thousands of pieces of evidence and property to determine what was and what wasn't destroyed," Benelli said. "It's an unbelievable task."

Among the cases affected was a 14-year-old rape-murder. The department's cold-case squad had come up with a suspect in the slaying of Vanessa Boden, 19, who was abducted from her home, taken to an abandoned church, raped and killed.

However, detectives found that nearly all of the evidence had been destroyed, including the murder knife, burned clothes and other items that may have contained critical samples of DNA.

When news of the evidence cleanout first broke, police said officers had "incorrectly tossed evidence" in a pending arson case and two unsolved homicides. But at least nine more cases, including Boden's killing, were affected by missing evidence, The Times-Picayune reported last summer, citing unidentified sources in the police department and the district attorney's office.

HEADLINE: No charges in New Orleans missing evidence case 

The physical evidence in 21 cases originally tested for DNA by the Houston Police Department's troubled crime lab is missing, officials said Monday, raising concerns that questions about the quality of work in those cases may never be answered.

Some defense lawyers say the missing evidence, which was scheduled to be retested by private DNA labs to check HPD's work, is yet another sign of the extent of problems at the crime lab. But prosecutors remained optimistic and said the evidence may be found or other reviews of the cases may be possible.

"Missing just means that they don't have it (the evidence) right now," said Assistant District Attorney Marie Munier, who is overseeing the effort to review cases processed by the HPD lab before it suspended DNA testing last year. "Each case will have to be looked at individually, and we will have to see what is missing and what might be left to test." 

Evidence from criminal cases can be stored in several places, including the Police Department property room, the crime lab itself and the Harris County district clerk's office, which retains items entered as evidence in trials, Munier said. Evidence stored in any of these locations cannot be destroyed without an order signed by a judge after all pending issues in the case are resolved.

An HPD statement said evidence from five of the 21 cases may be in the possession of the courts or district attorney's office, but "of the remaining 16, the department's initial inquiry indicates the evidence to be missing." The department's internal affairs division will investigate the lost evidence with the help of additional personnel assigned to the division by Acting Police Chief Joe Breshears to expedite the probe. A department spokesman declined to elaborate on the missing evidence, citing the internal investigation.

District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said no inmate with missing evidence is on death row, though one has been sentenced to life in prison for capital murder.

"This is not a good thing to happen but, well, it's hard to assign blame for anything at this time," he said. "Given the fact that there are tens of thousands of cases handled by HPD over the years, it would be improbable if something wasn't lost."

HPD shut down the DNA division of its crime lab in December after an audit exposed widespread problems that could affect the reliability of its work. The closure prompted a review of cases the lab had processed, with prosecutors ordering new DNA tests on evidence from 378. To date, 74 cases have been retested and, of those, 18 of the new tests have discrepancies with HPD's original findings.

HPD also closed the toxicology division of its crime lab last week after the lone analyst who supervised that division failed a competency test.

After hearing of the missing evidence, defense lawyer Stanley Schneider, a critic of the HPD crime lab, suggested that in cases where there is no evidence to retest, defendants should be retried.

"If there is no evidence to test, you have to presume that it's bad," said Schneider. "If you file a writ asking for evidence, and if you're told there is none, then you ask for a new trial."

Schneider also renewed his call for an independent review of the crime lab controversy by a special counsel from outside the district attorney's office.

"You can't do everything willy-nilly," he said. "We need someone to do a straightforward review of everything that's being done. We need someone who's going to find out what the truth is."

Local appellate attorney Les Ribnik, who represents three defendants whose DNA evidence is on the retest list, also found the latest crime lab problem troubling, but not surprising.

"The plot thickens," said Ribnik. "The more we know, the more there is to find out."

RETEST RUNDOWN
378 cases have been slated for new DNA tests
74 have been completed
18 retests have discrepancies with HPD's original work
21 cases have evidence that is missing

HEADLINE: MPD supervisor charged with stealing more than $35,000

A Memphis Police Department supervisor is accused of stealing more than $35,000 from the department's property room in March and dividing the money with unnamed persons.

The charge is outlined in a new 61-count federal indictment against Kenneth W. Dansberry, a civilian property room worker. 

Dansberry "and other individuals" are accused of stealing, embezzling or obtaining by fraud more than $35,000 in cash stored in the property and evidence room in March.

Also charged in the new indictment is Carl E. Johnson, a senior inventory-control clerk in the property room, and alleged co-conspirator Crystal N. Greer.

Dansberry, Johnson and Greer were among 16 people indicted in September in a drug trafficking-money laundering conspiracy that spans three states. Dansberry and Johnson were relieved of duty.

The new indictment charges Dansberry and Johnson with conspiring with Patrick D. Maxwell and Eric Brown, both with homes in Atlanta, and others to distribute cocaine and marijuana between 2000 and this year.

Maxwell, the third defendant with police ties, is a former property room attendant who gave up his job in 1998.

The new indictment has Dansberry charged with 31 counts and Johnson with 16 counts of structuring bank deposits to conceal illegal activities and to avoid detection by the IRS.
The indictment does not identify Greer or elaborate on her role in the alleged scheme.

HEADLINE: Tulsa officer charged on embezzlement counts fired

The alleged crimes took place in the Police Department's property room. An officer charged with embezzling cash and merchandise from the Tulsa Police Department's property room was fired Friday. 

Anna M. Cowdrey was charged Aug. 15 with one felony count and four misdemeanor counts of embezzlement. She is currently free on bail.

At a preliminary hearing Thursday, Tulsa County Special District Judge Clancy Smith found sufficient evidence to order Cowdrey, 37, held for trial on the felony.

"Anna Cowdrey is 100 percent innocent of these charges," said Cowdrey's attorney, Sharon Ashe. "The woman never took one inch of Scotch tape out of the property room."

The charges allege Cowdrey embezzled $175 in March 2001, $1,553 in October, $133 on two occasions in April, and a car stereo worth $200 in June, records show. Cowdrey plans to appeal her dismissal, Ashe said.

Appeals on all administrative decisions have 10 days to be filed, said Bob Jackson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93. The appellant chooses whether to seek an arbitration hearing or to go before the Civil Service Commission, he said.

Court records filed in April for search warrants on Cowdrey's bank accounts allege she became a suspect after an audit revealed 25 property receipts totaling $4,650.89 in cash were missing.

Cowdrey's job was to determine whether old property should be returned to its owner, destroyed, auctioned or deposited in the general fund, records show. Cowdrey had been assigned to the property room for about 12 years. She had been suspended with pay since the charges were filed.

November 9, 2003

HEADLINE: Property investigation hits delays

HAMILTON — The special prosecutors investigating whether money or guns were stolen from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office property room said Thursday they have run into some delays and the case will not be wrapped up as soon as originally anticipated. 

“Some investigative leads have taken longer to follow up on than we’ve hoped, but we are hopeful we can get something concrete done in the next couple months,” said Daniel Breyer, who works for the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office. 

In August, Breyer said he believed the investigation would be wrapped up by the end of September. However, for reasons he declined to comment on, it they were unable to meet that deadline. 

Daniel Breyer and his brother William Breyer, a retired assistant prosecutor in Hamilton County, were hired in early February to investigate how eight guns and $4,681.49 have gone unaccounted for at the property room. 

Sheriff Harold Gabbard requested the outside investigation. It began in December 2001 when a deputy found $2,225 was missing from a property room safe. 

During the audit, two former property room workers admitted to using about $250 from the property room for personal expenses. They resigned and later pleaded to misdemeanor charges. A civilian worker also admitted to taking property room evidence —  baseball cards — home and then returning them, according to records. He has also resigned. 

The lengthy audit and investigation has fueled speculation about internal thefts or mismanagement by employees at the sheriff’s office. It also has brought with it the challenge of tracing thousands of items in the property room. 

Prosecutor Robin Piper chose the Breyers because of his experience working with them on the Lucasville riot cases, which involved numerous interviews and documentation. Piper was among a group of lawyers from around the state who prosecuted the inmates involved in the deadly 1993 prison riot. 

Although Daniel Breyer did not attempt to compare the sheriff’s office case to the magnitude of the Lucasville investigation — which is still ongoing — he said the amount of paperwork is similar. 

“You’re talking about a property room that hasn’t been audited since anyone can remember and thousands and thousands of pieces of property are backed up on computer and paper records,” Breyer said. 

In order to save the county money — the Breyers are being paid $100 per hour — they are using the services of state or local officials. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in London, Ohio and staffers at the Butler County Sheriff’s Office are helping them sift through the records. 

“It’s an awesome task and we’re trying to have it done as cheaply as we can,” Daniel Breyer said. “We’re having it done by people who aren’t costing us any money.”

HEADLINE: Surplus of illegal drugs

Focus NORTHWEST ARKANSAS : 

BENTONVILLE — There’s enough marijuana in Benton County sheriff’s detective Guy Howe’s evidence locker to fill eight 10-gallon trash bags. 

A judge ordered the marijuana destroyed in 2000 once the criminal case was over and Howe, following the law, had petitioned prosecutors for a destruction order. 

The marijuana is part of a backlog of old drug evidence that’s grown rapidly in recent years at the sheriff’s office. 

Last month, three jail trusties helped themselves to the overflow, breaking into an evidence locker similar to Howe’s and stealing marijuana and methamphetamine, authorities said. 

Sheriff Keith Ferguson has been working to shape up the agency’s evidence handling system since he took office in January. He’s moving control from several employees to one, implementing a computerized, barcode tracking system and — for the first time in a decade — conducting a central inventory of thousands of items. "The state crime lab says our [evidence] system is the sorri- est in the state," Ferguson said. "It’s been a mess over here for years. We’re working to fix it as fast as we can." 

Ten years ago, the sheriff’s office destroyed old drugs somewhat indiscriminately: A deputy would haul the drugs to the Road Department property, dig a hole outside and torch the batch. 

Several agencies in Northwest Arkansas still burn confiscated drugs outside. But by strict interpretation of state law, it’s an environmental crime to burn anything but yard waste outdoors. 

With marijuana, methamphetamine and pills lingering from cases as old as 1997, the Benton County sheriff’s office has considered hiring a Missouri medical waste company to incinerate the old drugs. The service isn’t free. Such an arrangement would require a sheriff ’s deputy and evidence technician to carry the drugs to Missouri, then wait until they’re burned to ash. "It’s a bad idea," sheriff’s Maj. Gene Drake said. "We can’t disclose when we’ll make the trip for safety reasons. Having the company haul the drugs away isn’t an option, either. I’d hate to turn on the national news and see our stuff’s been sold out on the streets, and that’s how some company is making their buck." 

UP IN SMOKE 

The sheriff’s office stopped burning drugs outdoors a few years ago, said detective Capt. Mike Sydoriak. A couple of times since, in a pinch, the agency has destroyed small amounts at the Tontitown landfill. "We’d have two [officers] stand there and watch the dozer run back and forth over it," Sydoriak said. "But what’s to stop someone from going out there later that night and trying to dig the stuff up?" 

Springdale police destroy drugs by dousing them with diesel fuel and burning them outdoors. So does the Madison County sheriff’s office. "We don’t have an incinerator in Madison County," Capt. Robert Boyd said. "We burn the stuff in a burn barrel. Fire takes care of just about everything except cockroaches." 

Springdale police burn old drugs about once a year in a barrel on city property, said internal affairs detective Mike Haney. The department resorted to outdoor burning after it was prohibited from burning in a hospital incinerator and at the city animal shelter. "I’d prefer a contained burning area, myself," Haney said. "Last time, we had some magnesium popping, and it put on quite a show. I didn’t particularly care for standing next to it." 

The open burning of anything except yard waste is generally prohibited under state law, unless a waiver is granted, said Doug Szenher, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality. 

Marijuana, while organic, doesn’t fit the criteria of yard waste, Szenher said. But it’s possible that burning marijuana growing in a field is legal if the burning is for land-clearing purposes, he said. 

If someone were to complain to the Environmental Quality Department that a police agency was burning drugs outdoors, enforcement officers would investigate, Szenher said. 

But the department’s technical staff doesn’t view the situation as a "major problem," he said. "If you take a piece of paper and burn it outdoors, technically, you’re breaking the law," he said. "But we aren’t in a position to enforce the law every time someone burns a piece of paper." 

Szenher said marijuana and cocaine aren’t classified as hazardous waste. But methamphetamine could be, he said. 

The federal Environmental Protection Agency classifies hazardous waste as having at least one of four characteristics: ignitibility, corresivity, reactivity or toxicity, said Dave Bary, an EPA spokesman. 

Generally, hazardous waste must be disposed in one of three government-approved ways: in an incinerator, in a deep well or at a landfill after treatment. 

Nowadays, it’s common for police to find partial or abandoned meth labs, consisting of household chemicals and cold pills. The chemicals officially become hazardous waste "once they’ve started mixing chemicals or the cooking process has begun," said Springdale police Lt. Mike Peters, formerly assigned to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Fayetteville. 

Springdale police call the Fire Department for help distinguishing chemicals that can be safely stored and eventually destroyed from those that must be hauled off by hazardous clean-up crews, Peters said. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration contracts with companies across the nation that respond to meth lab sites and haul off hazardous waste. 

INCINERATORS IN DEMAND 

Most police in Benton County don’t have the convenience of destroying their old drug evidence in incinerators. But some once did. Drake said the sheriff’s office used to incinerate drugs at a Benton County hospital, but he wasn’t sure which one. "I think some things were thrown in that weren’t supposed to be, and the hospital didn’t want us doing it anymore," he said. Northwest Medical Center of Benton County, St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers and Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital all canceled their incinerator permits in the past six years, Environmental Quality Department records show. "Hospitals don’t want the cost and liability," said Jim Ecker, Benton County’s environmental services director, speaking generally. "Incinerators used to be stoves with big smokestacks. Now they have to have multiple filters and scrubbers that ensure that harmful smoke doesn’t [escape]. It can cost millions of dollars to outfit an incinerator and keep it in compliance [with environmental regulations]." 

The Washington County sheriff’s office burns its old drugs in Washington Regional Medical Center’s incinerator. The Fayetteville Police Department incinerates at the city’s animal shelter. 

But it’s unclear if some aspects of these practices are permissible under the terms of permits issued by the Department of Environmental Quality. 

Washington Regional’s air quality permit doesn’t include written permission for the burning of drugs seized by police. 

Yet, the sheriff’s office burned old drug evidence at the hospital in July 2002, said Mike Mitchell, sheriff’s evidence technician. 

Mitchell typically burns old drugs once a year, although he tries to burn marijuana plants soon after they’re ordered destroyed. "They take up too much space, rot and stink," he said. 

Fayetteville’s Animal Services has 1997 written authorization to burn drug evidence from Fayetteville police. 

Lowell police and the Washington County sheriff’s office also burned drugs at the shelter a few times in recent years, Animal Services records show. 

Those drugs may have been in the custody of police officers assigned to the 4 th Judicial District Drug Task Force, of which the Fayetteville Police Department is the lead agency. 

Regardless, Fayetteville Animals Services and Washington Regional Medical Center are both in compliance with the Department of Environmental Quality. Neither has been cited for burning police drugs in their incinerators, Environmental Quality field inspection records show. 

The Springdale Animal Shelter used to burn drugs for various police agencies until a visit from an environmental inspector, said Jim Clark, animal shelter director. "We were told a special permit would be required," Clark said. "I passed that on to the Police Department, but I don’t think they pursued it." 

POLICE POLICING THEMSELVES 

In Benton County, the sheriff’s office is modeling its new evidence program after the Fayetteville Police Department’s, one of the most highly regarded in the state. 

Under the new program, sheriff ’s evidence technician Sheila Davis is taking sole control of all evidence as it’s received at the agency. Davis verifies each item and, once a new computer system is online, will identify items by bar code. 

Davis is compiling a comprehensive evidence inventory, a first for the department. 

Drug evidence received at the sheriff’s office is shipped to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock, where it’s analyzed and weighed. Once it’s returned, Davis has sole control over the evidence until it’s needed for court and later ordered destroyed by a judge. Now all drug evidence is kept in a vault, Davis said. 

Under the old system, sheriff’s deputies maintained control of their own drug evidence, in their own evidence lockers. 

That was a sloppy system, said detective Sydoriak. "If a deputy quit, he was supposed to get a sergeant to inventory his [evidence] locker, but that didn’t always happen," Sydoriak said. "Then a new guy would inherit a locker with evidence that hadn’t been [verified]." 

There’s room for disparity in the system in terms of the weight of drug evidence as it’s received. 

The sheriff’s office doesn’t actually weigh the drugs; that’s determined at the crime lab. Deputies just seal the evidence and record an approximate description, such as, one bag of white powder. 

Sydoriak said sheriff ’s deputies used to weigh drug evidence as they received it. But marijuana tends to decrease in weight as it dries, he said. 

In Fayetteville, the Police Department holds and destroys drug evidence for several agencies that participate in the 4 th Judicial District Drug Task Force. 

It takes two Fayetteville police employees to access the department’s steel and concrete evidence room, said Capt. Greg Tabor. 

All entries to the room are monitored by employee identification number. And all evidence handling is under duel witness control. 

Eric Lichty, police property and evidence manager, submits to regular drug tests, Tabor said. 

Yet with all that security, a small window for dishonesty exists. 

After drugs are ordered destroyed, they aren’t weighed upon leaving the Police Department or when they arrive at the animal shelter for destruction. "I suppose you could say that someone could steal a portion between the time [the drugs] leave the department and make it to the shelter," Tabor said. "But we feel secure with our system. We’re accomplishing security through the security of our building, the proven reliability of our employees and through drug testing." 

EASING THE BACKLOG 

With growing caseloads and stepped-up drug fighting efforts, police in Northwest Arkansas can only expect their drug evidence inventories to increase. Blythe Whitehead, Benton County deputy prosecuting attorney, said that in general, police retain drug evidence for several months in cases where defendants plead guilty. Now, new legislation could increase the length of time that police retain drugs in felony cases where defendants are convicted at trial, Whitehead said. 

The 2003 change impacts Arkansas Code Annotated 12-12-104, which requires police to retain evidence for seven years in felony cases where defendants are required to submit DNA samples, she said. 

Under the change, defendants convicted of all felonies at trial are required to submit a DNA. 

Before, only defendants convicted of sex or violent crimes were required to submit DNA, Whitehead said. "This change will include felony drug cases," she said.  A change in another law could reduce the quantity of drug evidence that sheriff’s offices hold for destruction. 

Arkansas Code Annotated 5-5-101 had held the "chief law enforcement officer" of each county responsible for auctioning unclaimed seized property. Unclaimed seized property includes old drug evidence, which is destroyed rather than auctioned, Whitehead said. 

Now, a 2003 amendment to the law extends the obligation to the chief law enforcement of the city or town in which the seizure occurred, she said.  The change could be good news for the Benton County sheriff ’s office, where police agencies throughout the county have been transferring their old evidence since about 1998. 

In September, for instance, the Rogers Police Department transferred a batch of old drug evidence, some dating back to 1996, to the sheriff’s office. 

Davis, the sheriff’s evidence technician, hopes the deluge of drug evidence will ease. "We’re accepting all this drug evidence, but there’s no one to turn it over to," she said. "We have to abide by the environmental laws, but the law has made it impossible to dispose of this stuff."

HEADLINE: PERRY CIRCUIT JUDGE INVESTIGATED; FBI, STATE JUDICIAL PANEL FOCUS ON USE OF COURT REPORTERS, MISSING EVIDENCE

Both the FBI and the state Judicial Conduct Commission are investigating Perry Circuit Judge Douglas C. Combs Jr.'s office.

Lawyers and Perry County officials say an order by Combs last spring, asking a former court reporter to explain missing drugs from the evidence room in Combs' office, appears to have backlashed into an investigation focused on the judge.

David Johnson, a Hazard attorney who represents Kathy Pratt, the former court reporter who apparently helped trigger the investigation, said he was questioned by a judicial panel, which can sanction or remove sitting judges.

In September, Perry Commonwealth's Attorney John Hansen said missing evidence in a drug trial last spring initially attracted federal and state investigators' interest. 

On April 10, Combs gave Pratt two weeks to produce the missing evidence -- about $1,000 worth of OxyContin pills -- or show cause why she shouldn't be held in contempt of court.

On May 5, Pratt fired back a response denying any wrongdoing, but requesting a state police investigation into the use of substitute court reporters in Combs' office.

She listed at least five other court reporters, including Combs' wife, Mallory Hurst Combs, and Vicco lawyer John F. Faust Jr., the defense attorney in the drug case.

She said Faust had worked as a court reporter for at least eight weeks and had met with clients in the judge's chambers.

Pratt said all of Combs' employees knew the key to the evidence room in Combs' office was kept in a basket on a filing cabinet.

She claimed "no log or chain of custody" of evidence placed in the room, including numerous guns and drugs, "has been established during my employment." Perry County Sheriff Pat Wooton said this week a new lock has been placed on the evidence room.

Johnson said the questions investigators asked him had nothing to do with the judge's order about the missing evidence. "Mainly, they were asking about day-to-day courtroom stuff -- when does the judge show up, how many breaks does the judge take ... they really didn't get into anything else," Johnson said.

Wooton said investigators from the judicial panel asked him in September whether Combs had hired any of his deputies as part-time court reporters. He also said the FBI used his office last month to question one of his deputies who serves as a full-time bailiff in Combs' courtroom.

"My understanding is that's what they're talking to all these people about," Wooton said.  "Apparently, there are people who are being paid, or have been paid in the past with public funds for being part-time court reporters and, I would assume, not doing the job."

Carl Sizemore, a bailiff in Combs' court, confirmed he had been questioned by the FBI, but added, chuckling, "I got no comment, Buddy. I sure don't." Attempts to reach Combs for comment were not successful. His attorney, Peter Ostermiller of Louisville, declined to comment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Taylor and George Rabe, an investigator for the judicial panel, declined comment on any investigation or complaints against Combs.

It also could not be determined this week how many part-time court reporters Combs has hired since he became circuit judge in 1992 or how much money the state Administrative Office of the Courts has paid for court reporters in Combs' courtroom.

Documents obtained by the Herald-Leader show that during November 2002, Combs signed and dated five separate general orders on Nov. 1, Nov. 6, Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Nov. 27, appointing Debbie Baker, 32, of Hazard as a court reporter for 18 days at $75 a day. She was paid a total of $1,350, records show.

Pratt in her written response said Combs was in China all that month with his wife.

"Yeah, he was gone to China in November," Baker said, "But I worked. I did office work and I did dictation, I did court reporting for (domestic relations commissioner) Leonard (Brashear) and all kinds of stuff.

"I never got paid for something I didn't do," Baker said. "I never got paid for a day I didn't go in to work, if that's what you're getting to.

"Now, as far as what they turned it in for, court reporting or secretary, that wasn't really up to me," she said. "I done what I was told."

Baker declined to say whether she had been questioned by investigators.

Reach Lee Mueller - lmueller1@herald-leader.com

HEADLINE: Men Charged With Stealing Drugs From State Police

Three Magoffin County men are under arrest--charged with stealing drugs and money from the state police post they were hired to paint. 

Pike commonwealth's attorney Rick Bartley says somebody with a "skinny arm" was able to reach through a slot in an evidence locker and snag sealed envelopes. 

Under indictment for tampering with physical evidence are Salyersville residents Michael Burkes, Joshua Collinsworth and Bryan Prater.

HEADLINE: 3 indicted in evidence-locker theft 

Three Magoffin County men hired to help paint the interior of the Kentucky State Police post in Pikeville have been indicted for allegedly stealing drugs and money from a temporary evidence locker.

Pike Commonwealth's Attorney Rick Bartley likened the locker to a post-office drop box and said a suspect with a skinny arm "figured out a way" to reach through a slot and snag the sealed envelopes. 

The suspects, who worked for an unidentified contractor, were identified as Michael J. Burkes, 26, Joshua Collinsworth, 22 and Bryan M. Prater, 29, all of Salyersville. They were indicted Nov. 10 on charges of tampering with physical evidence, a Class D felony, he said.

"This had been going on for about two months," said Bartley, who noted that post workers had asked the painters to work after hours or on weekends, "when not very many people were around."

He said troopers used the drop box, located in a detectives' office suite, only when the post's evidence officer was not available to accept material.

Bartley said he does not think large amounts of money or drugs were stolen.

After discovering logged items were missing from the box, however, police set up a video camera in the room, Bartley said. It soon filmed one suspect, who implicated the others, Bartley said.

"The evidence locker has been modified so you can no longer put your arm into it," Bartley said.

HEADLINE: Ex-narcotics officer accused of removing methamphetamine

Saturday, November 22, 2003  -  ALAMEDA -- A narcotics officer who resigned this month in the middle of an internal and criminal investigation has been charged with felony possession of methamphetamine following accusations he removed, altered and mishandled police evidence. 

Edward V. Jaime, 39, who has worked for the Alameda Police Department almost eight years, resigned Nov. 5 after investigators found he had removed 94 grams of methamphetamine -- worth more than $9,000 on the street -- from an evidence locker at the Alameda Police station. 

Jaime returned the bags -- minus about three quarters of a gram -- the day after police brass announced a routine evidence audit was scheduled, court records show. 

Police had planned to audit drugs seized this year to ensure quantities matched what remained in the evidence lockers, said Lt. Jim Brock. Audits must be done before drugs can be disposed or burned, Brock said. 

Jaime, who had worked narcotics for three years, had opened baggies and was apparently contemplating snorting the drug when he spilled a portion of the drug under his desk and onto his computer terminal, court records show. 

He told his supervisors he was shuffling drug bags around -- sometimes keeping them in his desk, in a mechanical room, and under a recycling bin at the station -- as part of a plan to replenish the portion that was spilled, records show. 

Police said the drugs were tested when seized and again following the investigation. A cutting agent was not found. 

Jaime has never admitted to doing the drugs, but did confess to a supervisor he put the drug on his tongue to taste it, records show.  He told his supervisors he planned to make up the shortfall from the spill, but never had the opportunity to do so because other officers were always around, records show. 

"During the course of the criminal investigation we were unable to validate that portion of his story," Brock said. "We checked the desk and computer and we were unable to find any evidence." 

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office on Friday filed one count of possession of a controlled substance, a felony, against Jaime. 

Jaime was not in custody Friday, but has been sent a notice to appear in court, said Alameda County Deputy District Attorney John Jay. 

Jaime was not available for comment Friday and his attorney, Todd Simonson of Rains, Lucia, Wilkinson, a Pleasant Hill law firm, did not return calls for comment. 

Jaime was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the internal and the criminal investigation, but he quit before either was finished, Brock said. 

This is the first time in recent history an Alameda police officer has been accused of mishandling drug evidence. 

"The police profession is an honored profession, and there are a lot of dedicated professionals who work in this profession," Brock said. "We are as upset and angered as the community is. The Alameda Police Department has historically done an excellent job of policing its own, and we have management tools in place to catch this type of activity." 

Investigators also have no evidence that the drugs were being sold on the streets, Brock said.  "There is absolutely no evidence that it was reintroduced into the community," Brock said. 

During their investigation, police searched Jaime's car, several rooms in his home and his garage, but did not find drugs, records show. Police reports show Jaime was in possession of the meth for up to two weeks before the investigation. However, Jaime was a visibly different person in the two months prior to the investigation, according to reports. 

Jaime's supervisor, Sgt. Ron Jones, noticed that Jaime had "lost a considerable amount of weight, was often late to work and while at work was often suffering from exhaustion," reports show. 

At one point, Jaime fell asleep in his chair while talking to a supervisor, reports show. 

Jones had discussed the problems with Jaime, who attributed the weight loss to stress from a "disastrous financial situation," reports show. Jaime, who had previously received an "outstanding" performance review, told Jones he was exhausted because his children -- he has seven who live at home -- were often ill during the night, reports show.  Jaime said that family and financial stresses had driven him to consider using meth, reports show.

HEADLINE: Former officer charged with felony possession of drugs;
Investigators found officer had removed $9,000 worth of drugs from police station 

A narcotics officer who resigned this month in the middle of an internal and criminal investigation has been charged with felony possession of methamphetamine following accusations he removed, altered and mishandled police evidence. 

Edward V. Jaime, 39, who has worked for the Alameda Police Department almost eight years, resigned Nov. 5 after investigators found he had removed 94 grams of methamphetamine -- worth more than $9,000 on the street -- from an evidence locker at the Alameda Police station. 
Jaime returned the bags -- minus about three quarters of a gram -- the day after police brass announced a routine evidence audit was scheduled, court records show. 

Police had planned to audit drugs seized this year to ensure quantities matched what remained in the evidence lockers, said Lt. Jim Brock. Audits must be done before drugs can be disposed or burned, Brock said. 

Jaime, who had worked narcotics for three years, had opened baggies and was apparently contemplating snorting the drug when he spilled a portion of the drug under his desk and onto his computer terminal, court records show. 

He told his supervisors he was shuffling drug bags around -- sometimes keeping them in his desk, in a mechanical room, and under a recycling bin at the station -- as part of a plan to replenish the portion that was spilled, records show. 

Police said the drugs were tested when seized and again following the investigation. A cutting agent was not found. 

Jaime has never admitted to doing the drugs, but did confess to a supervisor he put the drug on his tongue to taste it, records show. 

He told his supervisors he planned to make up the shortfall from the spill, but never had the opportunity to do so because other officers were always around, records show. 

"During the course of the criminal investigation we were unable to validate that portion of his story," Brock said. "We checked the desk and computer and we were unable to find any evidence." 

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office on Friday filed one count of possession of a controlled substance, a felony, against Jaime. 

Jaime was not in custody Friday, but has been sent a notice to appear in court, said Alameda County Deputy District Attorney John Jay. 

Jaime was not available for comment Friday.

and his attorney, Todd Simonson of Rains, Lucia, Wilkinson, a Pleasant Hill law firm, did not return calls for comment. 

Jaime was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the internal and the criminal investigation, but he quit before either was finished, Brock said. 

This is the first time in recent history an Alameda police officer has been accused of mishandling drug evidence. 

"The police profession is an honored profession and there are a lot of dedicated professionals who work in this profession," Brock said. "We are as upset and angered as the community is. The Alameda Police Department has historically done an excellent job of policing its own, and we have management tools in place to catch this type of activity." 

Investigators also have no evidence that the drugs were being sold on the streets, Brock said. 

"There is absolutely no evidence that it was reintroduced into the community," Brock said. 

During their investigation, police searched Jaime's car, several rooms in his home and his garage, but did not find drugs, records show. 

Police reports show Jaime was in possession of the meth for up to two weeks before the investigation. However, Jaime was a visibly different person in the two months prior to the investigation, according to reports. 

Jaime's supervisor, Sgt. Ron Jones, noticed that Jaime had "lost a considerable amount of weight, was often late to work and while at work was often suffering from exhaustion," reports show. 

At one point, Jaime fell asleep in his chair while talking to a supervisor, reports show. 

Jones had discussed the problems with Jaime, who attributed the weight loss to stress from a "disastrous financial situation," reports show. Jaime, who had previously received an "outstanding" performance review, told Jones he was exhausted because his children -- he has seven who live at home -- were often ill during the night, reports show. 

Jaime said that family and financial stresses had driven him to consider using meth, reports show.

HEADLINE: Cincinnati Police Investigate One Of Their Own On Theft Accusations 

The items were supposed to be turned over to the property room but internal investigators said officer Edsel England took them home instead. The investigation began only two days ago. 

A woman called police asking if she could turn in her uncle's guns which police said is very common. 

Officer England, an eight-year veteran, responded to the home and picked the guns up but investigators became suspicious when he only turned some of them in. 

Police said requests are made all the time, especially among widows, to have guns removed from the home. 

Just two days ago a woman at a Cincinnati home called a dispatcher to have an officer pick up a number of guns belonging to an uncle. Police said Officer England responded and removed the items. The red flag came later when a communications employee curious about guns in general asked a supervisor to find out what kind they were. 

"When the supervisor looked into the book and then consulted with the person who had an interest in it, it was not consistent with the property expressed during the phone call," said Tom Streicher, Cincinnati Police Chief. 

Chief Streicher said Officer England only turned in two guns: a shotgun and rifle, but there were at least six items removed from the home including a Colt .38 caliber revolver, a Crosman pellet pistol, two gun-cleaning kits, a leather holster and a box of ammunition. 

Streicher said through search warrants, internal investigators located the missing items inside Officer England's car and at his home. According to his personnel file, the eight-year veteran has had nothing but high recommendations including this one saying: 

"Officer England demonstrates a high standard of professional conduct and actively strives to carry out the mission and goals of the Cincinnati Police Division."  However Chief Streicher said Officer England violated police procedure. 

"It's important for us to have processes and safeguards in place try and detect those things that occur and if they do then we need to take acton and that's what we're doing here," Chief Streicher said. Office England is facing five counts of felony theft from office.  If convicted he faces up to five years in prison.

HEADLINE: IPD board dismisses cop after long debate

An Indianapolis policewoman accused of misconduct was fired by the department's civilian merit board on Tuesday morning. Police said the officer failed to turn in evidence such as pictures of the officer's injuries and a videotaped recording of the fight. Ashton said the images had no value to the prosecution.

HEADLINE: Officer quit after meth theft inquiry

An Alameda police officer has quit after being accused of stealing methamphetamine from a police evidence locker.

Edward Jaime, 39, who worked seven years for the department, was charged Friday with a single count of possessing a controlled substance after a police audit of the locker allegedly revealed that evidence had been tampered with and a small amount of methamphetamine was missing. 

Police do not suspect that Jaime was selling the drug, but that he stole it for personal use. "It's an unfortunate circumstance for the department," said Alameda police Lt. Jim Brock, who said officers are held to the same standards as anyone else and face similar consequences.

Jaime returned about 94 grams of the controlled substance to the locker last month after he overheard supervisors discuss the audit and say they planned to destroy any drugs no longer needed for evidence, police said.

Less than a gram was missing, the audit revealed, and some of the material in evidence bags did not tally with what earlier records indicated. Meanwhile, officers reported they had noticed Jaime, a former East Palo Alto police officer, had lost a great deal of weight and was frequently showing up late for work.

While he allegedly admitted handling evidence in the locker, he denied wrongdoing and put the weight loss down to the stress of having financial problems. Jaime has seven children and commuted daily from Stanislaus County.

He quit Nov. 5 after the investigation by police and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. It included searches of his home, where no drugs were found.

The district attorney is expected to review any drug cases handled by Jaime during his three years with the narcotics unit to find out if his alleged drug use hampered the investigation or changed the outcome.