HEADLINE:  Police officers to take lie tests

BYLINE: Stephanie Nelson

Officials with the Florala Police Department are expected to begin polygraphing employees today after $400 in evidence money was reported missing.

According to FPD Capt. Mark Anderson, the missing money was noticed after it had been sent to the Covington County Circuit Clerk’s office on Thursday, April 6.

In a press release, Anderson said $1,109 in cash and two firearms were seized on Oct. 6, 2005, as the result of a search warrant issued based on reports of drug sales at a residence in Florala.

“We got the money on Oct. 6,” Anderson said during a phone interview. “It stayed in a box until Feb. 6, when all the evidence seized was logged out to go to the State Forensics Lab. The money was in there in a small envelope and later put into a large evidence bag and sealed.”

Anderson said before the money was placed into an evidence bag, the envelope containing the money stayed in his drawer for several days until it was time to send all the evidence to the lab.

“It wasn’t counted,” he said. ‘We had already counted it several times after we seized it. You wouldn’t think there would be any reason to count it. We knew how much was in there. I never dreamed it would come up short.

“The box stayed locked up under a padlock in the evidence room. While we were processing the evidence, we got a call that morning in Lockhart. Instead of locking it back in the evidence room, I put it in the top drawer of my desk and locked the door.”

Anderson said that nothing else was missing from the room and that no other items of evidence were taken.

Because of the limited number of persons with access to the money, polygraphs are being conducted to rule out any wrong doing within the police department, the release said.

“I can’t believe at this point that anyone employed at the Florala Police Department will be responsible for the disappearance of the money, but whomever is responsible will deeply regret that they took the trust bestowed upon them and disgraced themselves and this department, if it is later determined that has, in fact, happened,” Anderson said. “I promise if that is the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the money, that person will never work in law enforcement again and will also see the Covington County Jail from the same perspective as the people who has been incarnated by that officer. Poetic justice would be for that person to be in the same jail block with some he has put there.”

HEADLINE: D.A. Defends Botched Murder Case

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Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard testified Thursday that a wiretap placed on a murder suspect’s California phone line revealed that the suspect’s brother helped cover up the murder of a Buckhead millionaire in 1996. The revelation came as defense attorneys grilled D.A. Howard for a second day about the disappearance of 44 pieces of evidence in the case.

The attorneys for Scott Davis, a one-time gubernatorial candidate in California, are attempting to have the case thrown out of court and their client released due to the lost evidence and the delay in getting the case into court in the first place.

Police contend that Davis, 41, murdered David Coffin Jr. nearly ten years ago after learning that Coffin was dating his estranged wife. Davis was arrested soon after Coffin was found shot to death in his burning Buckhead mansion in December of 1996, but the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence. Davis was re-arrested last November when investigators said they came up with new evidence in the case.

Howard testified on Thursday that a new witness in the case came forward in late 1999. In 2005, Howard said he decided to wiretap Davis' telephone line in Palo Alto, Calif. where he had moved after being released in Atlanta. Howard said the wiretap revealed that Davis had help after the crime, in which the victim was shot and a fire set to his home.

Aside from the delay in asking for an indictment against Davis, Howard was questioned about the 44 pieces of missing evidence in the case, including the murder weapon, shell casing, and fingerprints.

"What efforts did you, as the District Attorney of Fulton County, take to make sure that the evidence seized in the case was secured and preserved?" Howard was asked.

"What I did was proceed with the normal arrangement with the District Attorney's office and the police department," Howard responded.

Howard said that because so much time had elapsed, he is not exactly sure how the evidence was misplaced. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which tested the evidence, said most of it went back to the Atlanta Police Department. Officials at the police department said they never received it. Either way, defense attorneys said they cannot get a fair trial because they have not had a chance to test the evidence themselves.

"We've never seen it. We've never touched it. We can't analyze it. We can't inspect it. We can't have an expert testify," said defense attorney Bruce Morris.

While the District Attorney's office admitted that it's tragic and embarrassing that some of the major evidence against Davis has vanished, the prosecutor argued that enough evidence exists to prove Davis is guilty of murder.

"It's tragic but it doesn't stop the prosecution of a case. It doesn't stop the state from indicting someone for murder if the state can prove it otherwise," said prosecutor Sheila Ross.

The prosecutor said some 44,000 weapons are being searched in order to find the gun police believe Davis used to shoot Coffin before setting his home on fire.

HEADLINE: Dallas County Sheriff's Office investigated for missing cash

BYLINE: JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS, REGISTER STAFF WRITER

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State agents are investigating the Dallas County sheriff's office after some money seized during a traffic stop came up missing three days later.

Dallas County Sheriff Brian Gilbert's rural Adel house was searched Thursday by state investigators, who took a personal computer, compact discs, sales receipts from places such as the Rec Room Plus and Travel World, and a note on yellow sticky paper, according to documents filed Thursday in Dallas County District Court.

The investigation was initiated on March 21 after an undetermined portion of the hundreds of thousands of dollars seized in a traffic stop by a sheriff's deputy was found to be missing, according to Eugene Meyer, director of the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

Chief Deputy Kevin Frederick said Friday that Gilbert himself requested the investigation, that the sheriff said he is on vacation now, and that Frederick is temporarily in charge of the department.

While Gilbert could not be reached for comment, his attorney, Montgomery Brown, said: "As a former assistant Dallas County attorney and a lawyer practicing in Dallas County for over a decade, I know that Sheriff Gilbert has dedicated his life to law enforcement in Dallas County.

"When the issue under inquiry was brought to his (Gilbert's) attention, he immediately contacted the county attorney, and they contacted the Division of Criminal Investigation. We want them to conduct a full and fair investigation."

According to court documents, the episode began on March 15 when Sheriff's Deputy Scott Faiferlick stopped an Audi with Illinois license plates at mile marker 110 in rural Dallas County because the car had tinted windows.

The car had fresh paint and smelled of adhesive, the documents said, and Faiferlick became suspicious that the man and woman inside gave conflicting stories. The man agreed to drive the car to a Department of Transportation garage a mile away so that it could be searched.

Faiferlick and other deputies found 27 packets of money in secret compartments throughout the car, the court documents said. The man and woman — unidentified in court papers — were taken to the sheriff's office, questioned and, apparently, released. They forfeited the money found in the car, saying that it wasn't theirs.

Back at the DOT garage, Sheriff Gilbert and Chief Deputy Frederick arrived, the documents said. The bags of money were photographed and taken in a vehicle driven by Gilbert to his office.

However, the documents said, Gilbert stopped at his home to close his garage door. Although he was not the last person to leave the DOT garage, he was the last person to arrive at the sheriff's department, several minutes after the last deputy involved had arrived.

The packets of money were unloaded and taken into the sheriff's office, where Faiferlick noted that one of the plastic sacks seemed to be missing. He mentioned it out loud, the documents said, and "someone replied to him, 'It is all there.' "

The men decided not to count the money that day because they wanted to get an electronic bill counter. Gilbert and Faiferlick carried the money to the evidence room, where it was locked up for the night, the court papers said. Faiferlick told Deputy Steve Bandy, who is the department's evidence custodian, that a "property sheet" form would be completed in the morning.

The next day, Faiferlick arrived at the office at 10:30 or 11 a.m. to find that Gilbert and Deputy Adam Infante had placed 26 packages of money on the conference room table. They took a photo of the money at that time.

The men took the money out of the packages and left it on the conference room table. Because the electronic bill counter had not yet arrived, the men decided to leave the money in the conference room and go to lunch, the documents said.

Infante "stated that he had . . . concerns over doing that, and he was reassured by Sheriff Gilbert that the (money) would be fine," the documents said.

After lunch, the money was counted with the bill counter. During that time, the deputies were joined by the sheriff's wife, Tina Gilbert, and former Dallas County sheriff Art Johnson, among other people.

They counted $781,724.

The money was placed in an evidence tub and locked in the evidence room.

Two days later, as Faiferlick compiled his official report, he played over in his mind the events of March 15 and 16 and became suspicious, the documents said. He compared the photos of the money taken at the DOT garage with the photos taken at the sheriff's office and decided that there was one package missing in the office photos.

Faiferlick went to Infante's home, the documents said, and shared his concerns. The two talked with Bandy, who looked at the photos and also concluded that one package of money was missing.

On March 21, they told Gilbert of their concerns and requested an independent investigation by an outside agency, the documents said. After consulting with the Dallas County attorney, Gilbert requested an investigation by the state DCI.

Meyer, the DCI director, said his agents and state auditors are trying to determine how much money is missing.

He wrote in a news release Friday: ". . . at the appropriate time we will provide our . . . findings to the Polk County Attorney's office. The Polk County Attorney has agreed to review this investigation at the request of the Dallas County Attorney."

Meyer did not say that Gilbert himself was under investigation, and authorities said no charges were filed against him on Friday.

Brown, Gilbert's attorney, said, however: "I think it's safe to assume that (a person is under investigation) when your house is searched." 

HEADLINE: BRIEFLY

BYLINE: Staff and Wire Reports

1 Dallas officer fired, 1 still under scrutiny

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle fired four-year police veteran Cory Adams on Thursday for failing to put evidence in its proper place and for engaging in sexual conduct while he was on duty. Adams, 31, was fired for having sexual relations with a prostitute while he was on duty in May 2005. An investigation determined that Adams was also negligent for not bringing seized drug paraphernalia to the police property room. Patrick Taylor, another Dallas police officer under scrutiny, remains on administrative leave with pay pending the results of an investigation being conducted by Tarrant County authorities. Taylor, 25, has been accused of soliciting a minor. Arlington police arrested Taylor on March 22 outside of the apartment where he was supposed to meet a 14-year-old student.

 --Mitch Mitchell

HEADLINE: Dallas Co. investigation to include audit

BYLINE: REGISTER STAFF REPORT

Link to Article
 

An investigation into money missing from the Dallas County Sheriff's Office will include an audit of about $2 million seized in drug cases and traffic stops over the past five years, a state agent in charge of the investigation said today.

John Quinn of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said state auditors will look at so-called "disclaimer" money taken from people who give up their right to it, as well as cash from criminals that has been awarded by a judge.

An undetermined amount of money is missing from more than $780,000 that sheriff's officials found hidden in a car during a March 15 traffic stop on Interstate Highway 80 near the DeSoto.

HEADLINE: State now looking at seized $2 million

BYLINE: JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS, REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Link to Article
 

Investigators say some of the $781,000 seized from a California man is now missing.

The state has expanded a criminal investigation into allegations of missing money at the Dallas County Sheriff's Department to cover about $2 million seized in drug cases over the past five years, a state agent said Monday.

The probe has so far focused on more than $781,000 in alleged hidden cash taken from an out-of-state driver who was stopped near De Soto last month.

Some of the money allegedly vanished between the time it was discovered and its arrival at the sheriff's office, where it wasn't counted until the next day.

Court records show Sheriff Brian Gilbert was in charge of transporting and counting the cash. Agents searched Gilbert's home last week, but no charges have been filed.

John Quinn of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said the investigation will look specifically at other examples in Dallas County of so-called "disclaimer" money, in which suspects waive their right to the cash even though they are not charged with a crime.

It is one of two methods authorities use to seize money from suspects. Cash is also awarded to local officials through court action after a conviction. Records from both will be examined, Quinn said. The department's evidence room will be part of the investigation.

Dallas County officials on Monday would not turn over footage from a dashboard camera that recorded the March 15 traffic stop, in which a blue Audi with Illinois license plates was pulled over on Interstate Highway 80 near De Soto at about 1 p.m.

Authorities can withhold the footage if it is considered part of a criminal investigation.

Court documents allege that photographs taken at a state garage where the car was searched showed 27 plastic packages of cash, but that photos taken later at the sheriff's department showed 26. The 26 packets totaled $781,724, documents said.

The money remains in a safe at the sheriff's department, Chief Deputy Kevin Frederick said.

Gilbert reportedly told investigators that he stopped at home briefly to close a garage door on his way to the sheriff's office with the cash. When the packets were unloaded at the office, Deputy Scott Faiferlick said he noted that one was missing. He mentioned it, court documents show, and "someone replied to him, 'It is all there.' "

Officials on Monday would not release "trophy" photos taken March 16 that show the deputies with the money.

Gilbert's house was searched Thursday by state agents who took a computer and papers. Frederick said Gilbert is on vacation, but that he called for the investigation before he left. Gilbert could not be reached Monday for comment.

His attorney, Montgomery Brown, said the sheriff plans no public statement about the case. Brown declined to discuss specifics of the case, but suggested that some deputies might have tried to tarnish Gilbert's reputation to advance their own careers.

"It's common knowledge that there's pretty significant politics and alliances historically in the Dallas County sheriff's office," Brown said.

He would not elaborate.

Frederick said "there is the simple fact that the office of sheriff is elected. If that makes it political, that will be determined by . . . the investigation."

Police and sheriff's departments across the country have used forfeiture laws to acquire millions of dollars in cash, cars and other property from people involved in drug dealing or other crimes.

Almost $1 billion in cash, cars, boats, real estate and other property was forfeited last year. Most of it was labeled as drug-related, and much of it ended up with local agencies, which spend the money on equipment and training.

State auditors in 1999 told Dallas County sheriff's officials to change the way they accounted for forfeited property. Auditors said the money should be put in a special account controlled by the Board of Supervisors. No evidence was found that the cash had been improperly handled.

Supervisor Brad Golightly said the system was changed so that forfeited cash once held in a local bank account now becomes part of the county budget, and that sheriff's officials must ask the board for permission to spend it.

Frederick said the department has seized about $2 million since 2001. About $200,000 was spent recently for in-car computers for the deputies, and miniature tape recorders. As of Monday there was $174,000 left in the special fund, county officials said. The amount does not include the March 15 seizure.

Meanwhile, the allegations of missing cash are "the buzz of the town," said Vicki Harrington of Adel as she worked Monday at her coffee shop, Cool Beans.

"I'm cynical enough about politicians in Washington; I don't want to have to become cynical about officials here," Harrington said.

As for Gilbert, she said, "I would certainly give him the benefit of the doubt."

"He's been with the department so long," Harrington said. "I hope they find it's a misunderstanding of some sort."

Diana Bonus of Adel agreed that Gilbert should not be prematurely blamed, but added: "He shouldn't have stopped at home" with the seized money.

HEADLINE: $781,000 seized from driver

BYLINE: JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS, REGISTER STAFF WRITER

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The driver of a car with Illinois license plates that authorities say was stopped in Dallas County with more than $781,000 hidden in secret compartments was driven by a California man who was not charged with a crime.

Deputy Scott Faiferlick issued a warning ticket for tinted windows to Jesus Quinonez-Jimenez, 30, of Stockton, Calif.

Faiferlick said he then noticed the car had fresh paint and smelled of body putty. Court documents show the deputy became suspicious when Jimenez and a female passenger told conflicting stories.

Jimenez gave permission for the car to be searched at a nearby Iowa Department of Transportation garage, where deputies allegedly turned up 27 packets of money in several hidden compartments.

Frederick said the garage is used regularly for such searches.

"We have access to tools and jacks there, so it makes things easier," he said.

Jimenez reportedly signed a form that stated the money did not belong to him or his female passenger, whom officials did not identify. Sheriff's officials Monday refused to provide a copy of the signed form. Chief Deputy Kevin Frederick said the couple was allowed to leave. The car, however, remains in Adel at the sheriff's department.

Scott County Sheriff Dennis Conard, whose deputies often encounter suspicious vehicles in high-traffic areas near Interstate Highway 80 in eastern Iowa, said Dallas County deputies did not break from normal practice, either in the stop or the cash seizure, when they released Jimenez and his passenger.

Conard pointed out that carrying large sums of money is not a crime. And if the vehicle's occupants say they were unaware of the hidden cash, there simply might have been no probable cause to arrest them, he said.

"You have to first build a case before you can put them in jail," Conard said. "Once you've identified them, you can find them again" should evidence of a crime surface.

Bill Vaughn, the Polk County sheriff's chief deputy, agreed.

"We've had a couple of stops out on the interstate . . . and yes, we've done just that," Vaughn said.

He said deputies would carefully document the car's passengers and, if evidence later incriminated them, "we would go and secure an arrest warrant and have that person picked up."

Reporters were unable Monday to locate Jimenez through public records.

HEADLINE: A Sad Ending;
Charges likely for veteran Berkeley cop who allegedly stole drugs from evidence.

BYLINE:  Will Harper

A veteran Berkeley narcotics officer suspected of stealing heroin from an evidence locker for his personal use is likely to be charged criminally in the next week according to a source close to the case. The source says Sgt. Cary Kent is negotiating a plea arrangement wherein he will plead guilty to felony charges of grand theft and possession of heroin and face up to one year in county jail.

Asked last week if Kent would face criminal charges Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff would only say, "That's what we're looking at." Orloff confirmed his office was in talks with Kent's attorney to resolve the case.

In January Berkeley Police Chief Doug Hambleton put Kent on paid administrative leave after he and others became suspicious that the administrative narcotics sergeant was using heroin he stole from evidence envelopes. Feeder has uncovered previously unreported details of what tipped off police brass.

According to a search warrant filed last month by DA investigator Mark Scarlett Kent's troubles became apparent last September when Lt. Al Yuen returned to supervise the special enforcement unit after finishing another assignment. He noticed that Kent looked "unhealthy," had poor hygiene, and sweated so much that the sergeant sometimes had to "change his clothes in the middle of the day due to a recurring, strong body odor." Other times, Yuen saw Kent coming to work in the same clothes he'd been wearing the day before.

Kent even nodded off at his desk while Yuen was talking to him on more than one occasion the warrant says. Yuen also groused that Kent wasn't showing up for work on time, and that projects assigned to him went unfinished. When Yuen confronted him about his poor performance and appearance, Kent explained that he had lupus and his medication made him tired.

Kent was one of five officers who had access to the police department's drug vault where contraband seized during busts was kept. In early January after Kent's supervisors became suspicious, Yuen and others randomly examined fifteen manila evidence envelopes and discovered that most had been tampered with and were missing heroin, the warrant says. In one instance, the drug had been replaced by a broken white pill.

After the audit Hambleton phoned Kent and ordered him to come to the police station. When Kent didn't show up after half an hour, the chief and others became worried. They called Kent again and he agreed to come to the station as long as he wouldn't be arrested, the warrant says. After turning in his badge and gun, Kent purportedly told the chief, "If you only knew what I was going through; if you only knew the position I was in. I don't want to be an embarrassment to myself, to the department, or to my family. I just want to make it all go away."

Afterward Hambleton asked the DA to investigate the case along with a Berkeley officer. That joint investigation found that at least 181 evidence envelopes had been tampered with according to the warrant. A county crime lab found Kent's fingerprints on three evidence items inside a sample of 25 envelopes it looked at. Kent was not supposed to have access to evidence inside the sealed envelopes the warrant says.

Kent's lawyer Harry Stern, conceded that the warrant "sets forth a disturbing set of circumstances. ... On the other hand, Sgt. Kent has had a storied career and done great things to make Berkeley a better and safer place," he said.

DA Orloff says the missing evidence didn't compromise any other cases. That's because the H was taken from inactive cases and was scheduled for destruction anyway. A police spokesman says that Kent who spent nearly twenty years with the department, has retired from the force.

Thou Shalt Not Spin Concord Mayor Susan Bonilla a devout Christian, has been the inside fave to succeed outgoing Contra Costa County Supervisor Mark De Saulnier, and enjoys the backing of the local Democratic establishment. But in recent weeks, Bonilla has been spending a lot of time clarifying her views on abortion to skittish Democratic supporters. A few weeks ago, a "statement of faith" purportedly signed by Bonilla surfaced. The statement is a twelve-page document describing the educational philosophy of Berean Christian High School where she teaches and her kid studies.

The statement contains some potentially controversial stuff such as denying evolution and condemning homosexuality. Here's an excerpt from its "civil government" section: "Magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Lord of the conscience, the coming Prince of the Kings of the earth."  But the key passage, politically speaking, addresses abortion this way: "We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death."

One of Bonilla's liberal opponents Gary Eberhart, has seized on the school's statement as evidence that the Concord mayor is out of step. "It just doesn't seem like the right district for that ideology," says Eberhart, a board member of the Mt. Diablo Union School District.

Bonilla meanwhile, sounds irritated by the dustup. The mayor says she didn't sign the 12-page statement that appears on the school's Web site. Rather as a teacher and parent, she signed a one-page statement of faith that says nothing about abortion, but simply affirms her belief in the Bible as "the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant word of God."

As for abortion Bonilla says she supports a woman's right to choose as spelled out in Roe v. Wade. "I am proud of my faith," Bonilla tells Feeder. "It is where I draw my personal strength and it's where I get my motivation for public service. Unfortunately, my opponents have deliberately misrepresented and sought to stereotype my personal faith for political purposes."

Eberhart acknowledges that he raised the issue while trying to secure endorsements for himself. Despite Bonilla's insistence that she's pro-choice Eberhart sounds unconvinced. He questions her support of what he considers anti-choice organizations that discourage pregnant women from having abortions.  "It seems to me there's some ambiguity in what's being said," he sniffs.

Eberhart might not be convinced but other Dems are: State Sen. Tom Torlakson and DeSaulnier reaffirmed their endorsements after Bonilla clarified her position, she says. Supervisor John Gioia, who represents West County, also is satisfied. "My sense is she'd be a good representative for her district," he says.

HEADLINE: Officials say prove under way into missing marijuana evidence

DATELINE: GREENWOOD Miss.

An investigation is under way after it was determined that drug evidence is missing from the Greenwood Police Department, according to Mayor Harry Smith.

Smith said Thursday that he was notified this week that the evidence, about 90 pounds of marijuana, could not be accounted for.

"At this time an in-house investigation is under way under the closest personal supervision of Chief (Henry) Harris," Smith said in a statement.

"In addition to that, both the Mississippi Narcotics Bureau and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation have been notified and asked for help," the mayor said.

Any speculation on the results of that investigation would be premature, he said.

The evidence was in the possession of the police department and hadn't made its way over to the Leflore County Courthouse, said Sheriff Ricky Banks.

Authorities declined to release information on where the marijuana had been seized.

It is the second this year that items have gone missing from the police department.

An undisclosed number of weapons were reported missing in early January.  Smith and police officials have also declined to provide specifics on the type of weapons.

Smith said the secrecy was requested by state investigators and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which are participating in the weapons probe.

Information from: The Greenwood Commonwealth, http://www.gwcommonwealth.com

HEADLINE: W.D.M. police take control of evidence in Dallas County case

BYLINE: MELISSA WALKER, REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Link to Article

Control over criminal evidence at the embattled Dallas County sheriff's office has been turned over to police in West Des Moines, where an employee stole seized drugs and cash last year.

A Dallas County deputy has charged that a portion of the nearly $800,000 in suspected drug money discovered during a traffic stop last month disappeared before it could be counted.

Deputies said the cash was stashed in a car driven by a California man pulled over March 15 near De Soto. The driver received only a ticket for over-tinted windows, and allegedly claimed that the money was not his.

Allegations that some of the cash later vanished prompted an investigation by state crime agents, who searched Sheriff Brian Gilbert's home on March 30. No arrests have been made.

The state probe has since expanded to cover an estimated $2 million seized by Dallas County authorities over the past five years.

Door locks on the county's evidence room were changed Friday. West Des Moines police and state auditors have the keys, said Police Chief Jack O'Donnell.

The evidence will remain at the sheriff's department, he said, and West Des Moines will provide a full-time officer to collect, record and monitor it "until after the audit is completed," O'Donnell said.

Chief Deputy Kevin Frederick said Division of Criminal Investigation agents requested the move.

County Attorney Wayne Reisetter made the recommendation, which county supervisors have yet to approve. Reisetter did not return telephone calls for comment. An e-mail to Frederick said the decision "appears advisable to assure accountability and chain of custody" of evidence in the room.

West Des Moines police underwent an internal audit after the department's former evidence room technician was charged last fall in the theft of $10,000 and drugs from the evidence room. Charles Edward Graham, 43, of Cumming pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Police officials have since overhauled evidence room policies and added additional levels of oversight. For example, cash is no longer kept at the department if the evidence is not needed immediately.

HEADLINE: Evidence oversight to cost $5,000 over 4 weeks

BYLINE: JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS, REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Link to Article

Adel, Ia. — Dallas County deputy sheriff Kevin Frederick told county supervisors this morning that he estimated the county would spend about $5,000 over the next four weeks for West Des Moines police to supervise the county's evidence room.

Dallas County handed over the keys to the room last week amid a state investigation into the alleged disappearance of a packet of money that was part of a seizure made during a traffic stop in March.

"Personally, I believe this is a step that needs to be taken,'' supervisor Mark Hanson said of West Des Moines' supervision of the county's evidence room.

In all, Frederick, who is temporarily running the sheriff's office, spent about 15 to 20 minutes this morning briefing supervisors at a regularly scheduled meeting. Dallas County Sheriff Brian Gilbert has been on vacation since last month when the state began investigating the disappearance the packet that allegedly was part of a seizure worth more than $780,000.

Court records show that Gilbert was in charge of transporting the cash after it was removed from a car at a state garage. Agents searched Gilbert’s home, but no charges have been filed. Nor have investigators said Gilbert, specifically, is under investigation.

At this morning's meeting, Frederick also told supervisors that state auditors began working in the county's evidence room on Monday. Frederick said he did not know how long it would take for auditors to match up evidence in the room with paperwork on a case-by-case basis. He also said West Des Moines police oversee the county's evidence room until the audit is complete.

After the meeting, Frederick said that when the audit is complete possible changes in evidence policy and procedure would be discussed with the county and the West Des Moines police department.

HEADLINE: Murder case evidence gone

BYLINE: BETH WARREN

Fulton County prosecutors seeking a murder conviction against a onetime California gubernatorial candidate accused of killing a Buckhead millionaire have hit a huge snag.

They can't find the alleged murder weapon, the suspect's fingerprints, the bullet that caused the death, shell casing and other physical evidence,

The missing evidence in the death of David L. Coffin Jr., whose body was found Dec. 10, 1996, inside his burning mansion, has prompted a defense attorney to ask a judge today to dismiss murder charges against his client.

"I would say it's unusual and appalling," said Atlanta attorney Bruce Morris, who said this is the first time he's seen this much evidence lost in his 31 years practicing law.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Tom Campbell is scheduled to hear the case today and could decide to free defendant Scott Winfield Davis, 41, who is accused of killing Coffin. Coffin was heir to a Connecticut chemical company fortune.

Davis, who once ran for governor of California, has remained under house arrest in Atlanta since November.

District Attorney Paul Howard's office blames Atlanta police for much of the missing evidence. The lead police investigator, Sgt. Rick Chambers, would not comment Tuesday about the evidence but is expected to testify at today's hearing.

But Chambers said, "I'm 100 percent certain he's the guy who committed this crime. If not, I would not have put him in jail."

Prosecutors say after Davis learned that his estranged wife was dating Coffin, 41, he flew into a jealous rage, stealing the victim's Porsche, shooting him in the head and then torching Coffin's West Conway Drive mansion.

Within days, Davis, then 31, was arrested on murder charges. He was also charged with stealing the victim's Porsche, which was found burned in a vacant DeKalb County lot, and with two break-ins at Coffin's home in the days before the shooting.

But three months later, a Fulton judge granted Davis bond because prosecutors waited too long to take the case before a grand jury. Davis' parents secured a $500,000 property bond with their Tuxedo Drive home in Buckhead.

Howard, who had just begun his first term, didn't feel the case was strong enough.

In 1999, the victim's family offered $200,000 --- then believed to be the largest privately posted reward in state history --- for information leading to the killer.

Last Nov. 18, Howard eagerly announced the grand jury indictment of Davis.

The prosecutor said it was possible to finally move forward with the case because of new evidence, including the recovery of the murder weapon, which is now apparently missing.

HEADLINE: Evidence theft kills drug case

BYLINE: BORYS KRAWCZENIUK

A Jessup police officer’s theft of suspected marijuana and other evidence from the borough police station prevented the arrest of a drug dealer, the borough’s assistant police chief testified Tuesday.

Assistant Police Chief Anthony Ligi made the statement at the preliminary hearing in Lackawanna County Central Court for suspended Police Officer Robert G. Santarelli, who was not directly involved in the investigation of the drug dealer on Jan. 25, only hours before the theft.

Police Chief Patrick Kane later confirmed the testimony and said the dealer could not be prosecuted because the chain of custody of the evidence was interrupted. Establishing a chain of custody, which shows police were in control of evidence at all times after they took possession of it, is crucial to protecting against evidence tampering. The inability to establish a chain of custody risks the dismissal of a case, according to previous court rulings.

Chief Kane said the suspected drug dealer still lives in the borough and police are keeping an eye on him.

“We don’t think he is” dealing, the chief said. “We hope he’s not.”

Officer Santarelli is charged with burglary, theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia at police headquarters early Jan. 26.

After a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Magisterial District Judge John Mercuri ordered all charges sent to county court.

Testimony at the hearing showed the officer took bolt cutters from the borough garage, cut open a padlock on the borough evidence-room door and stole a small amount of suspected marijuana, three hypodermic syringes, unspecified prescription pills, a shotgun and two rifles. He replaced the damaged padlock with one he bought at a supermarket shortly after 4:30 a.m. — a sale recorded by the market’s security cameras, according to testimony. The officer later admitted the theft, a state trooper testified.

Chief Kane and Assistant Chief Ligi testified they had the only keys for the original lock. Chief Kane said he found the evidence door with the lock unsecured. When he locked it and tried to open it again, his key didn’t work. Neither did Assistant Chief Ligi’s. They cut the new lock open with bolt cutters and discovered the evidence was missing.

The lost arrest was one of several developments before and during the officer’s hearing:

# Before the hearing, Officer Santarelli’s lawyer, Lawrence Moran, asked county Judge Michael J. Barrasse to allow his client to enter the county’s drug treatment court for addiction to painkillers. The drug treatment court is an intensive program conducted under strict court supervision. Defendants who complete it can have their charges dismissed. Because state Deputy Attorney General James Reeder objected, the judge rejected the application.

# Trooper William J. Castaldi, who investigated the case, said Officer Santarelli, in an interview, tried to point the blame at another borough police officer. Officer Santarelli claimed he bought the new padlock for another officer, Trooper Castaldi said. Mr. Reeder declined to comment on whether the other officer is a suspect. Efforts to reach Chief Kane for comment were unsuccessful.

# Video cameras pointed at the evidence room and outside police headquarters did not record anything because of an apparent problem with the videotape in a recorder in the borough secretary’s office, Chief Kane testified.

“Something happened to the tape. We don’t know,” he said.

Trooper Castaldi testified he found scrapes near the office door’s lock, which suggest a break-in, but no one is charged with breaking into the office.

The case against Officer Santarelli is rooted in the Jan. 25 drug investigation by Chief Ligi and county Detective Robert Mazzoni, who tailed the alleged drug dealer as he drove from home and then pulled him over. In the suspect’s home and car, they found two handguns and the drug-related evidence the officer is accused of stealing, plus a heart-shaped box with small plastic bags containing residue of suspected heroin, Assistant Chief Ligi said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

HEADLINE: Citizens Ask For Probe Into Missing Drugs

BYLINE: Judith Scherr (04-14-06)

Link to Article

Citizens spoke out before and during the Wednesday night Police Review Commission meeting at the South Berkeley Senior Center, demanding commissioners investigate allegations that Berkeley Police Sgt. Cary Kent tampered with drug evidence locked in the Berkeley Police Department vault.

Kent, who has not been charged with a crime, was placed on administrative leave in January and subsequently retired from the department.

The public learned of the allegations through an East Bay Express report based on Search Warrant No. 2006-0098 filed Feb. 15 in Alameda County Superior Court.

A March 14 Freedom of Information Act request by the police watchdog group Copwatch for all public documents relevant to the missing drug evidence—police had sent out a press release about the missing drugs in January—was denied in a March 17 letter by Chief Douglas Hambleton. The request was denied on grounds that the investigation was in process, despite the existence of the search warrant, which is a public document.

“Drugs are a community problem from the halls of the police station to the ghetto,” said attorney Osha Neumann, in an interview before addressing the 25 people rallying outside the South Berkeley Senior Center.

If the officer “was a black kid in the ghetto, no way would he be walking around not charged,” Neumann said.

Speaking on the steps of the senior center, Andrea Prichett of Copwatch, who organized the rally, also raised the question of equal justice.

“Do (the police) get thrown on the ground?” she asked rhetorically, implying that Berkeley police intimidate suspected drug dealers. “Do they get their doors kicked in?”

She said she wasn’t suggesting harsh retribution for Kent.

“I feel bad for Sgt. Kent,” she said. “I feel bad for all addicts.”

Jacob Crawford of Copwatch also spoke.

“How many other officers patrolling are high on drugs?” he asked, noting, “To this point, Sgt. Kent is yet to be tested.” Kent refused a blood test as part of a physical ordered by the department.

Crawford also pointed out that four other officers had access to the evidence room, but the others were not named in the warrant.

Inside the PRC meeting room, the public addressed the commissioners directly during the public comment period. Because the issue of the missing drugs was not on the agenda, commissioners could not respond, though they promised to place the issue before the commissioners at the next meeting.

Karen Hilton was among those addressing the commission. She pointed out that no one knows how long the tampering has been going on. And Jacob Crawford called on the body to investigate whether the drugs are being sold back on the street.

Councilmember Kriss Worthington promised to call on the City Council to restore the commission’s budget cuts, so that in-depth investigations can be funded.

Janice Schroader asked the commission to use its power of subpoena to look at the case. She reminded commissioners that on police cars it says “serve and protect,” but, she said, “I don’t feel safe.”

Vacationing in Maine, Mayor Tom Bates said, through his Chief-of-staff Cisco De Vries, that he thought the PRC would be the appropriate venue for a public discussion on how the situation could have occurred and how to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Photo by Judith Scherr:
Attorney Osha Neumann condemns police practices that allow alleged drug theft by police and calls on Police Review Commission to investigate at a rally called by Copwatch on Wednesday before the PRC meeting.

HEADLINE: Sheriff's investigator admits stealing $133

BYLINE: ANNE MILLER and MIKE GOODWIN Staff Writers

Richard Vore fined, must pay restitution for theft from evidence locker

SCHENECTADY - A veteran investigator with the county Sheriff's Department pleaded guilty Monday morning in City Court to stealing $133 from an evidence locker late last year.

Before he was fired this past winter, Richard Vore had logged 27 years with the Schenectady County Sheriff's Department, the last two as head of internal affairs at the Schenectady County jail.

In the last six months of his career, Vore was lauded as a savior for rescuing two children from a Strong Street fire and condemned as a thief and fired from his job.

The theft became public in December, when Buffardi released recordings of Vore admitting to taking the money and promising to return it to the sheriff.  Buffardi recorded Vore with a wristwatch equipped with an MP3 player. On the recordings, Buffardi also promised to keep the theft quiet. The sheriff defended the move Monday.

"I certainly wanted to make full disclosure for any issue that is a matter of public trust," he said.

The sheriff and Vore had been friends. Buffardi recruited Vore from the Albany County Sheriff's Department.

"I'm glad it's over," Buffardi said.

In addition to ordering Vore to make restitution, the judge levied a $250 fine against him for the misdemeanor petit larceny charge, said prosecutor Amy Burock.

Vore's attorney, Cheryl Coleman, spoke after the proceedings.

"The media tends to categorize people - you're a hero or you're a thief," she said Monday afternoon. "In the final analysis, Dick Vore is the sum total of his experience. None of us should be defined by either our best act or our worst act."

Anne Miller can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at amiller@timesunion.com.

GRAPHIC: Photo
Vore

HEADLINE: Bexar auditor, sheriff settle forfeiture spat - sort of

BYLIINE: Tracy Idell Hamilton, Express-News Staff Writer

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The spat between the county auditor and the sheriff has ended with a whimper, not a bang.

Sheriff Ralph Lopez responded to Auditor Tommy Tompkins' critical audit of the way the Sheriff's Department handles seized and forfeited assets with a curtly worded but not detailed letter that acknowledges some changes would be made.

The auditor said he would not respond to the letter.

"I've gone as far as I can go," said Tompkins, adding he was disappointed that Lopez didn't get into specifics and that no one else in county government seemed to care. "My job is to audit, but I have no enforcement power."

Tompkins' audit, released in mid-February, cited haphazard record-keeping of items seized during drug arrests, including automobiles and electronics. The report said the process of writing receipts for such items "exposes the county to misappropriation of property."

When Lopez denied Tompkins' request for access to the department's property room, the auditor asked District Attorney Susan Reed to bring in the Texas Rangers, but she refused, saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

Lopez responded to the audit last week in a four-page letter. The first two pages outline the auditor's duties and suggest that Tompkins' office overstepped its statutory bounds and was meddling in the department's affairs.

It also said that with the proper notice, an auditor would be given access to the evidence room log book, and that any individual item the auditor wanted to see would be brought out from the evidence room for inspection.

Lopez said Wednesday that auditors were never denied access to the property room, but rather to a separate room that contains crime evidence.

"I don't go into the evidence room," he said. "The district attorney doesn't go into the evidence room, and she sent a letter to the auditor telling him that."

On other issues, Lopez said he talked with the contractor that ultimately sells seized and forfeited assets, and he agreed "we can tighten up on stuff."

The real problem, Lopez said, is not the contract or the property room, but Tompkins' misunderstanding of how the Sheriff's Office works.

"It's just a matter of style," Lopez suggested, referring to the auditor's previous clashes with Reed and other county department heads.

But Tompkins, who came to Bexar County from Harris County three years ago, said the problem is that county officials are not used to being audited.

"This is not a personality conflict," he said. "This is my job."

County commissioners, who were divided on the conflict between the two department heads, have received a copy of the sheriff's letter.

County Judge Nelson Wolff said there are no plans to place the matter on any future agenda.

Auditor's Report: http://www2.mysanantonio.com/news/graphics/auditorsreport.pdf6

Sheriff's Response: http://www2.mysanantonio.com/news/graphics/response.pdf

thamilton@express-news.net

HEADLINE: Haverstraw police lose track of man's guns at station

BYLINE:  RON X. GUMUCIO,  rgumucio@lohud.com THE JOURNAL NEWS

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HAVERSTRAW - A Thiells man says the Haverstraw Police Department lost his submachine gun and other weapons after his wife brought them to the station in 2004 for safekeeping while the couple were estranged.

Richard Fenner said he was told by Detective Henry Soto on Thursday that the police didn't have his five guns and that a person claiming to be either his father or brother had picked them up.

Fenner said no one in his family had retrieved the guns, but if someone did the police should have a record of it.

"I haven't seen my father since I was 3, and my brother lives way out near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border," Fenner said.

Police asked Fenner to fill out a lost or stolen property form while he was at the station. A copy will be made available to him after Chief Charles Miller reviews it, Fenner said.

"What bothers me so much is, how could somebody lose something that is in police custody?" Fenner said. "If it was a DVD player, I wouldn't care. I'd go buy another one. But you're talking about weapons. Something that could hurt another individual. How could you dismiss it? Guns just don't disappear. They don't just walk off."

Miller said the firearms were not in the station and the department was checking with the sergeant who took in the firearms about what he had done with them. Miller said it could take a few days because the sergeant, whom he would not identify, had since retired.

"At one point in time, we were in possession of them," Miller said. "For how long, I can't tell you, or how they came to us and went to someone else. We're looking into the matter as thoroughly as possible and trying to find out what happened."

Fenner said his wife brought the guns to headquarters in November 2004, during a period when he and his wife were separated and she didn't want them in the house. Fenner said the guns had not been used in a criminal offense or to threaten his wife. They since have reconciled.

"The weapons were voluntarily surrendered by my wife and held in the property room, and not the evidence room, at the station," Fenner said.

Miller said weapons brought to the station for safekeeping are normally stored in a locker, and a receipt is given to the person who drops them off.

The person who picks up a weapon must be the owner or have written permission from the owner, Miller said.

Fenner, who works in construction, said he had owned the weapons — a Kel-Tec SUB-2000, a shotgun and hunting rifles — about four years and used them for hunting and target practice. The value of the weapons, with their sights and cases, was between $2,800 and $3,500, he said.

Miller said he was concerned about any type of gun missing from police headquarters.

"It's pressing either way, whether we misplaced a shotgun or not," Miller said. "The fact that he said it's a submachine gun makes it even more pressing."

Fenner's lawyer, Bob Conklin, said he wanted the Police Department to compensate Fenner for his firearms.

"I'd like to think that this was a good-faith mistake," Conklin said. "I just can't believe that the Police Department, or anyone on the force, would have taken them. That's just not in the realm of possibility."

Fenner said that if the police handed the guns over to someone, he should have been notified.

"I want to get my guns back, but I want to get to the bottom of this," Fenner said. "It's not OK with me that the guns just disappeared. What happens if those guns ... hypothetically are used in a crime? I asked the cop and he said I would be exempt. But they have no proof that they were signed out."