HEADLINE: Agency officer fired for lying about evidence

BYLINE: Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.

Jun. 1--The state's top alcoholic-beverage officer in Orlando has been fired after investigators determined he lied about evidence that was left unsecured in a locker for years.

State investigators say Capt. German Garzon Jr. lied to cover up his failure to secure and account for seized evidence, including unspecified drugs from old cases that should have been destroyed.

Specifically, the internal report says Garzon wrote an e-mail to his superiors Feb. 9 -- the day of the audit -- falsely claiming that he had just learned that drugs had not been entered into an inventory.

A burglary of the evidence room was reported to Orlando police in December but it is unclear what was stolen because of incomplete inventories. It's also unknown what items, including drugs, guns and money, might have been taken from the room while Garzon was in charge.

Investigators found that Garzon "failed to ensure the safekeeping of evidence " by allowing everyone access to an unsecured metal cabinet and "failed to timely dispose of old narcotic evidence as required by policy."

Garzon, who was terminated late last week, declined to discuss the case.

"I'm not in a position . . . to talk to you at this time," he said.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. The agency found that Garzon was negligent, failed to perform his duties as a supervisor, showed insubordination and did not follow evidence rules.

Director Steven Hougland, head of the alcoholic-beverages division, said the evidence problems were limited to the Orlando district office, one of 13 statewide.

"It [the internal-investigations process] gives us an opportunity to improve, and so we have taken advantage of that by instituting the new policies," Hougland said Wednesday.

As a result, he said, the division designated two vault custodians per district, and employees will be retrained.

Garzon, who had headed the Orlando office since 2000, was a 15-year veteran who supervised 25 law-enforcement officers and support personnel. As part of his duties, he oversaw an operation targeting underage drinkers during the fatal accidental shooting of a University of Central Florida police officer Sept. 24 outside the Citrus Bowl.

An administrative review of that incident found a lack of planning and coordination by Garzon's office and a failure to submit written reports on time, but he was not disciplined.

During the incident, the state agency and UCF police used plainclothes officers to target underage drinkers as part of their joint "Operation Knight Watch."

Mario Jenkins, a UCF officer, was fatally shot by an Orlando police reservist after a confrontation with unruly fans before a football game. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report in January cleared the reservist in the shooting but found a lack of coordination and failure to follow basic police procedures between the agencies that day.

Pedro Ruz Gutierrez can be reached at pruz@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620.

HEADLINE: Lawmen decode alleged plot to kill boy, attorney

BYLINE: Megan V. Winslow staff writer

DATELINE: STUART

In the opinion of his former attorney, Wayne Anthony Rotella might have been reading too much Shakespeare.

"The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers," Stuart attorney Robert Udell said Thursday, quoting Dick the Butcher from "Henry VI, Part 2."

But Udell insists he never feared for his life after learning Rotella had devised a secret code to hire a hit man to steal incriminating evidence and then kill Udell and the young boy Rotella allegedly propositioned in a Port St. Lucie Wal-Mart.

"I know he didn't think much of my legal skills, but this is ridiculous," Udell said.

Rotella, a Jensen Beach resident and boat-builder, is charged with conspiring to tamper with evidence after he allegedly devised a code from a paragraph in the Jan. 16 edition of "The Watchtower," a Jehovah's Witness magazine, to relay instructions to his family about a partial payoff for the "the hit man."

Once the hit man, "Jerome," proved to Rotella, 43, that he could obtain and destroy a hard drive containing child pornography from the Martin County Sheriff 's evidence room, he was to arrange for the murder of Udell and the child.

Conducting the sting was undercover Martin County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. John Silvas, who posed as the crooked cop acting as Rotella and "Jerome's" go-between.

'FIGURE OUT A PUZZLE'

"I need you to figure out a puzzle for me," Rotella said in a recorded conversation with his sister made from the Martin County jail on Feb. 20. "I couldn't figure it out and I thought you might be able to figure it out."

Calmly, Rotella proceeded to read a series of numbers with each number representing a letter from the magazine paragraph, "The monarch of a mighty empire cannot believe his eyes. Three men sentenced to a fiery destruction are rescued from the jaws of death! Who has saved them? The king himself says to the three so delivered:"

The finished message, intended for Rotella's brother John, said "Jack drop off at Palm City Post Office money order for three hundred to P.O. Box 2141, Palm City, Jerome, Tuesday morning."

But when Rotella's cryptic instructions initially left his sister puzzled and flustered, Rotella revealed the magazine he was using as a cipher as well as the issue and page number where the paragraph appeared.

That information allowed detectives to crack the code.

'NOT THE DA VINCI CODE'

Rotella was arrested in April for allegedly propositioning the 10-year-old boy in a Port St. Lucie Wal-Mart SuperCenter. When the child ran and told his mother, Rotella reportedly confessed to soliciting the child as well as to possessing child pornography on his computer.

Udell represented Rotella on both charges until Rotella fired him.

"The real outrage here is that he was soliciting the killing of the boy he allegedly molested," Udell said.

Over the course of his investigation, Silvas listened to more than 450 phone calls Rotella made to family members.

In all his years of duty, he said at a news conference Thursday at the Martin County Sheriff's Office, he has never come across anything like the Rotella code.

"It's not the Da Vinci Code, but it is unique in how he tried to get the message out to family members," Silvas said at a news conference Thursday at the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

Rotella's bail is set at $750,000.

GRAPHIC: Color photo provided by Martin County Sheriff's Office: This is a printout of a code inmate Wayne Anthony Rotella allegedly used to plot the murder of his former lawyer and a boy he allegedly propositioned. Color photo by Deborah Silver, staff photographer: Martin County sheriff's Detective Sgt. John Silvas answers questions and plays audio from his computer while explaining a mruder plot that involved code-breaking and posing as a "dirty cop." color Rotella

HEADLINE: LAW & DISORDER; 

BYLINE: GARY WHITE The Ledger

DATELINE: ZOLFO SPRINGS

ZOLFO SPRINGS' EMBATTLED POLICE FORCE GENERATES SMALL-TOWN STRIFE

Lt. Chris Baty, wearing a black uniform weighted down by a service revolver and other gear, strode into the road on a scorching afternoon and took charge. Baty extended a hand toward a car, prompting the driver to stop and allow a trio of smiling girls to cross Sixth Avenue on their way home from Zolfo Springs Elementary School.

Baty, filling in for an absent crossing guard on the final day of school, seemed content to do the kind of unglamorous work police officers perform in a small town that hasn't seen a murder in about a decade.

The Norman Rockwell scene, though, belied the turbulent recent history of the Zolfo Springs Police Department, a bastion of controversy that has bitterly split the town government and led some to suggest the city would be better off without its own police force. 

Zolfo Springs, a town of 1,640 bisected by U.S. Highway 17 a few miles south of the Polk County line in Hardee County, has endured dizzying turnover among its police force, with at least eight appointed or acting chiefs in the past three years.

One former chief, David Scheid, is awaiting trial on felony charges, including selling guns taken from the department's evidence room. A former officer has threatned to sue the town for the actions of its previous mayor. And disputed arrests during Scheid's tenure raise the prospect of additional suits against a town perpetually struggling to meet its modest budget.

A private investigator hired to screen a potential police chief concluded a recent report by declaring, "I have never seen a more dysfunctional police agency than this one."

A new regime vows to reform the department and to regain residents' confidence, but it won't be easy, if Robert Ballard is any indication. Ballard, a businessman and lifelong resident, remains steadfastly mistrustful of the Zolfo Springs police after two run-ins with officers.

"I don't have nothing to do with them," Ballard said. "I don't want them on my property. If I need police, I call the sheriff's department."

A TOWN IN TURMOIL

One afternoon in early January, agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement escorted a handcuffed Scheid from the Zolfo Springs police headquarters. Scheid, who joined the force in 2004 and became chief the following year, was charged with five felony counts and one misdemeanor, the result of an investigation begun after complaints from three officers.

Scheid has been indicted on charges of falsifying records, tampering with a witness and fabricating evidence, in addition to the weapons charge. The indictment by Assistant State Attorney Stephen Houchin also charges Scheid with stealing gold coins from Ballard's restaurant while investigating a robbery -- a second-degree misdemeanor.

The state attorney's affadavit alleges Scheid forced a police clerk, under threat of arrest, to concoct records for the missing guns. Scheid, 47, is free on bail awaiting a trial scheduled for August in Hardee County Circuit Court.

Jack Gillen, a spokesman for the Lakeland Police Department, said police agencies are expected to turn over surplus weapons -- unclaimed found items and evidence from closed cases -- to the local sheriff's office for disposal.

Scheid's arrest roiled a town government already divided about the chief. Former mayor Marilyn Aker, who hired Scheid and staunchly supported him against various complaints, suspended him without pay after the arrest but declined to fire him. Aker, a controversial figure in her own right, resigned under intense citizen pressure in February.

Her replacement, Mike Schofield, fired Scheid last month, citing problems separate from the indictment.

The drama reached an emotional climax Tuesday night with a special hearing on Scheid's appeal of the firing. Residents crammed the council's small meeting room as Scheid pleaded his case. In the end, the council voted 3-2 to support his dismissal.

Scheid, a compact, sandy-haired man with a prominent tattoo on his left forearm, vowed to sue the town.

The two votes against Scheid's firing came from council Chair Roger Green and Vice Chair Roberta Meyer, consistent supporters and acknowledged friends of the former chief. Green has admitted to FDLE agents he accepted two guns from Scheid that came from the Police Department, though he said they were gifts and not sales, according to an affidavit.

Both said their friendship with Scheid had no bearing on their votes.

"I like to believe I have the intelligence to be able to separate my private life from my elected official's life," Meyer said. "When people are elected by the town, I don't think that gives the town the right to tell them who they can have as friends."

Green, a retired auto worker who wears a suit and tie to council meetings, said he knows many in town consider him biased in Scheid's favor.

"I'm very unbiased," Green said. "As soon as I walk into the council chamber, I don't have any animosity or bias. I want everybody to leave their animosity outside door. Whether they do or not is their prerogative."

Mayor Schofield's case for the firing, presented at the hearing by lawyer Rich McCrea, involved Scheid's role in a background check of officer Warren Brittingham in 2005. Brittingham became acting chief after Scheid's arrest, but resigned when a private investigator Schofield hired found discrepancies in his job application.

Scheid argued at the hearing that the responsibility for screening Brittingham belonged to Aker because he was the department administrator and hadn't yet been named chief. City Attorney Gerald Buhr disputed that, saying the mayor lacks such authority.

Scheid's own background didn't come up during the hearing, but records show he was twice disciplined for improper behavior when he worked for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.

After nearly an hour of often contentious exchanges, council members George Neel, Minnie McKenzie and Maggie Belcher voted to affirm the dismissal.

Scheid remained defiant afterward, saying questions about the Brittingham review had been just a cover for getting rid of him. He held a copy of a glowing performance review from last July, when Aker was mayor.

"This wasn't about a background check; it was all about the good old boys getting back into power," Scheid said. "When I got here, they had certain people working here and one by one they slowly left during my administration for one reason or another, and I got blamed. But now I'm away ... they're all coming back."

Of course, Scheid is facing more serious penalties than the loss of his job, even though he projected unconcern about his upcoming trial. If convicted on six counts, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 25 years.

"I feel very confident," he said. "Me and my attorney feel very comfortable and confident going in."

His Bartow-based lawyer, Gil Colon, did not respond to an interview request.

OFFICER TURNOVER

Scheid's apparent demise is only the most dramatic example of woes that have plagued the Zolfo Springs Police Department for years. The town's fiscal weakness results in low pay for its officers, and that's one reason for the force's high turnover rate. (See related story ...)

Former town clerk Jack Logan said the Police Department under Scheid was a secretive agency answerable only to Aker, who gave him unquestioned approval. After Scheid's arrest, the department fell into apparent disarray.

In January, Officer Brittingham reportedly entered into a high-speed chase, reaching a speed of 90 mph, with a civilian passenger in his patrol car -- the mother of fellow officer Robert Mushrush. Aker fired Brittingham, but the town council reinstated him. Brittingham later resigned.

Stanley House, a Scheid hire appointed acting leader after Brittingham's resignation, abruptly left the department without explanation, Councilman Neel said. Mushrush, a part-time officer, was dismissed about the same time. Town officials say he refused to return his patrol car, claiming his father was owed money for repairs to the vehicle. The town eventually posted bond in court to get the car back and is disputing Mushrush's claim he is owed $1,800 for the vehicle.

In addition, Neel said problems with record-keeping and equipment storage have emerged in recent months. He said items ranging from protective vests to laptop computers are missing, though it isn't clear whether they disappeared during Scheid's tenure or earlier.

It didn't help matters that Hurricane Charley destroyed the town's combined police and fire headquarters in August 2004; since then, the departments have shared a portable structure about the size of a double-wide manufactured home. Zolfo Springs is negotiating with Hardee County on a new police headquarters the county would build and lease to the town.

Aker, the previous mayor, fired and rehired police officers and other city employees with almost comical frequency. Mark Gizas, who joined the police force in 1995, was fired by Aker in 2004 and reinstated by the Town Council before finally resigning under pressure in 2005. Gizas has threatened a defamation-of-character lawsuit based on disparaging statements Aker made about him at a public meeting, though he said he might drop the suit now that Aker and Scheid are gone.

Gizas, recently hired by a Police Department in another state, said dysfunction has been part of the department since before Scheid arrived. He said a former chief, for example, poisoned his dogs and shot bullet holes in his chair.

Logan, Zolfo's town clerk for 12 years before leaving last June in frustration with Aker, said the town has developed an unfortunate reputation for low standards in hiring police officers.

"I've always sort of felt like a lot of officers we had in Zolfo Springs were there because they couldn't get a job somewhere else," said Logan, now a purchasing director with Hardee County. "Part of that problem comes from the fact they can't pay a lot of money, so people aren't willing to take a job and stay for any length of time."

Asked what Zolfo residents think of their police officers, Ballard, the restaurant owner, said, "They don't even know who they are; they change every few weeks."

Some said they think Zolfo Springs would be better off dissolving its Police Department and contracting with the Sheriff's Office, an approach taken by Polk City, a town of similar size. Zolfo Springs residents have twice voted down measures to abolish the Police Department.

"In hindsight, yeah, I think that would have been better," Logan said. "But the townspeople look at the Police Department as their identity. People in town don't want to give up their Police Department."

Baty, the acting police administrator who hopes to become chief, said the town needs its own Police Department. Baty, 44, worked in the nearby Wauchula Police Department for eight years before joining Zolfo in March.

"Every police agency, unless it's a big town, is going to be a (financial) burden on the city," said Baty, technically a part-time officer with no benefits. "Police departments really can't be self-sufficient. Is it affordable? Yes, it's affordable."

CONFLICTS HEIGHTEN TENSION

Ballard, owner of Rooster's Restaurant for 12 years, may be the Police Department's most virulent critic. He said Scheid came to his restaurant last year to investigate a robbery and left with one or two gold coins, saying he needed them as evidence.

The coins were never returned or recorded as evidence, and Ballard's complaint led to a petty theft charge against Scheid.

That wasn't the end of Ballard's conflicts with the local police. Last September, Officer Ricky Selph pulled him over and charged him with carrying a concealed weapon, which was in his car. By the time Ballard, 71, reached police headquarters, he faced an additional charge of aggravated assault on an officer, though Ballard said he has a bad back and couldn't run at Selph as the arrest report claimed he did.

William Fletcher, Ballard's lawyer, said two other officers quoted Selph as telling Ballard, "You can beat the charge, but you can't beat the ride." All the charges were eventually dropped on a technicality, in part because other officers attested that Scheid, rather than Selph, wrote the arrest report.

Selph, a seven-year veteran and currently Zolfo Springs' only full-time officer, declined to comment.

Some residents said they think Scheid orchestrated the arrest in retaliation for Ballard's complaint about the coins.

"That was a trumped-up thing," said Neel, the councilman. "That's why it got thrown out of court."

Despite that outcome, Ballard said the notoriety has badly hurt his business. On a recent day, the parking lot was nearly empty at the dinner hour.

"This is a small town, and people talk," Ballard said bitterly. "(Selph) put me in jail; I was (branded) a criminal, and people don't want to come in and do business with a criminal."

Another disputed arrest during Scheid's reign as chief involved a longtime resident, Bill Brown (he asked that his real name not be used). Brown answered a knock at his door one night last August and was taken off in handcuffs, charged with possession of drugs within 100 feet of a church.

The arrest report says a juvenile found with marijuana told officers she got the drugs from Brown. The charge was dropped when the State Attorney's Office found insufficient evidence to support the girl's claim.

Gizas, who said he became familiar with the drug users in town during his decade as an officer, said Brown "was not one -- not even close."

Brown had been a city employee, and many residents found the arrest troubling, coming at a time when Aker and Scheid were replacing veteran employees with handpicked ones. Brown resigned after the arrest. Aker has since left the state and couldn't be reached.

Brown's ex-wife has become Scheid's companion, and knowledgeable sources said she told Brown a few days before the arrest, "You're going down."

Brittingham, who was the arresting officer, insisted Scheid didn't order the arrest and said the juvenile's story offered sufficient probable cause.

Brown said he was traumatized by the experience and hasn't been able to hold a job since it happened. Friends have urged him to sue the city, but he prefers to avoid further tension. Speaking before Scheid's firing, Brown clearly feared the possibility of the ex-chief's return to power.

"If he comes back," the man said, "I'm leaving town."

FIXING THE FORCE

Schofield, with his casual attire and droopy gray mustache, gives the appearance of an aging hippie, but he's actually a retired Army sergeant first class. A former town councilman, he was the only person to file for the mayor's position after Aker resigned. He took office in March.

Schofield, who operates a lawn service and works as a stocker at Wal-Mart, seems determined to clear the taint from the Police Department. Addressing the laxness of past police hiring practices, he has vowed to hire a private investigator to screen all potential officers.

"It'll be cheaper in the long run because then if anything is discovered, I don't have to hire them," said Schofield, 56. "We're not going to just take anybody off the street. I think that's where a lot of the problems arose before."

Lt. Baty said there's no reason Zolfo Springs can't attract qualified officers, even on its current pay scale.

"You can't blame (past problems) on low pay; that's just bad administration," Baty said. "As far as candidates, I'm a cop and I'm not a guy who looks for money. If you've got somebody who's a real cop, money doesn't matter. I believe I can get some good officers in here."

Brittingham, for his part, doubts Zolfo Springs will ever have a quality Police Department.

"Lt. Baty has the ability to turn that Police Department around," Brittingham said. "The problem is the town is willing to pay police officers (only) $10 an hour and not hire anyone full time and not give anyone benefits, and that prevents anyone in leadership in that department from building anything worthwhile, and the best bet for the Police Department at this point would be to turn things over to the sheriff's department. That's what they need to do."

The department has been pared to four officers, and Baty -- with Schofield's support -- has avoided scheduling any  of the part-time officers Scheid brought on board. Schofield said the holdovers from before Scheid -- Selph and Jose Ventura -- will be given a chance to prove themselves.

Baty, a stocky man with dark hair shaved along the sides of his head, said the department has changed its approach under his interim leadership. He said officers are more visible and spend more time patrolling residential areas and less time stalking speeders along U.S. Highway 17.

Councilman Neel said the department now requires all equipment to be signed out and expects officers to submit purchase orders for anything they buy, a procedure he said Scheid ignored. The department's four police cars are all now painted with the town's name in blue and gold, ending a practice of using unmarked cars, which Schofield said was unnecessary and caused suspicion among residents.

Neel, a Methodist minister, said he once favored abolishing the Police Department but has since changed his mind. He said the recent changes have restored his confidence in the force.

"I've lived here since 2002, and they've got the best police department they've had since then," Neel said. "Chris (Baty) is doing a great job."

Brown, the man arrested on the disputed drug charge, said, "Zolfo is peaceful now."

Baty said he thinks residents are becoming more receptive to the police.

"I think in the last couple of months (the department) really has come full circle," Baty said. "I think it's going to take some time with some people because they were treated badly or ignored by the old administration."

CULTURE OF ANIMOSITY

Healing the rifts in the Town Council may be no less a challenge than repairing the reputation of the Police Department. Brittingham, the former officer, said some in town government devote more energy to battling each other than to serving Zolfo's residents.

"That city has got management issues that will never allow that city to operate without constant turmoil," he said. "The problem is members of the city council are constantly researching and trying to get dirt on this person and that person, and a couple members of the city council are out searching for dirt on the mayor. ... It's just poor management, and some members of that government are not looking out for what's best in town, and that will consistently lead that town to headlines in the newspaper that are usually bad."

The council's monthly meetings are known in town as the "Monday night fights," and the fractious gatherings have turned off some residents from civic involvement. Jed Jewell, owner of the Pioneer Restaurant and a car dealership, said he no longer bothers to attend council meetings.

Said Jewell: "I don't care to go and sit and listen to them argue and fight."

Gary White can be reached at gary.white:theledger.com or at 863-802-7518.

GRAPHICS:

RICK RUNION/The Ledger: Zolfo Springs police Lt. Chris Baty helps schoolchildren cross a road in May. The high rate of officer turnover and several incidents have eroded the small Hardee County town's trust in its own police department.

MICHAEL WILSON/The Ledger: Tampa lawyer Richard McCrea, left, questions Zolfo Springs police Chief David Scheid, second from right, during a meeting this week at which the town council voted to affirm Scheid's termination. In the background, from left, are City Attorney Gerald Buhr, Mayor Howard Schofield, Council Chairman Roger Green and Concil member Minnie McKenzie.

MICHAEL WILSON/The Ledger: Zolfo Springs police Chief David Scheid, left, answers lawyer Rich McCrea's questions this week during a town council meeting on Scheid's termination. 

RICK RUNION/The Ledger: A private investigator hired to screen a potential Zolfo Springs police chief concluded a recent report by declaring, "I have never seen a more dysfunctional police agency than this one."

HEADLINE: Police detective charged in firearm thefts

DATELINE: ATLANTA, June 3

A former Georgia police detective has been charged with stealing and selling firearms from an evidence room.

The former officer, Joseph Heatth Mathews, 32, is accused of stealing and pawning weapons from the evidence room he was overseeing in McDonough, Ga., the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Mathews, who surrendered to Henry County Jail hours after being charged, resigned from the McDonough police department last March, the newspaper said.

He said Friday that he is innocent.

"It's just a big mess, a mix-up," Mathews said. "Everything will come to light when it is supposed to come to light."

Mathews is charged with felony thefts involving 13 firearms, and four counts of writing false statements. Mathews also allegedly stole a utility trailer from the evidence room, police charge.

He posted a bond of $50,000 the day of his arrest.

District Attorney Tommy Floyd said Friday that the department has recovered all but four of the guns Mathews allegedly took.

HEADLINE: A TALE OF TWO CITIES --- AND THEIR POLICE CHIEFS

BYLINE: HOWARD GOODMAN COMMENTARY

Belle Glade is one of the poorest cities around.

Boca Raton, a 60-mile drive across Palm Beach County, is one of the richest.

But they have more in common than you'd think.

Take their recently departed police chiefs.

Each got in trouble for basically the same thing. Only the settings were different.

Different like catfish and caviar.

Belle Glade's chief, Albert Dowdell, was removed from duty last week, along with a sergeant, after a grand jury found a host of irregularities in the handling of a shooting and an assault.

Boca's longtime chief, Andrew Scott, resigned in December after coming under fire for his irregular handling of a disorderly conduct arrest.

In Boca, the chief's downfall involved a wealthy developer.

In Belle Glade, it was a 29-year-old woman from the poorest part of town.

In Boca, the catalyst was an incident at a downtown restaurant called Luna Pazza, where the bar serves fine wines and the Vitello alla Milanese goes for $28.

In Belle Glade, it was Bobby's Market, where the grimy front door opens to a sour-milk smell, an empty meat counter and an inventory that's almost entirely soda, beer, candy, snacks and cigarettes.

In Boca, developer Greg Talbott tussled with off-duty cops at Luna Pazza after allegedly hassling women at the bar. Chief Scott drove to the station when Talbott was brought in late at night. He let him go home, though other cops wanted him jailed overnight on a domestic battery charge.

In Belle Glade, a woman named April Ridford allegedly hit a man named Darren Hatcher with a Heineken bottle. Before police could answer Hatcher's call for help, Ridford ran to Chief Dowdell's house.

According to the grand jury report, Ridford told Dowdell that Hatcher had hit her -- because Hatcher thought she'd named him in an unsolved shooting of a month before.

The chief demanded that Hatcher be arrested for that alleged shooting. When another officer pointed out that Ridford ought to be arrested for smashing a bottle on Hatcher's head, the report said, Dowdell became "very irate, and started cussing."

"He, the chief, didn't care, but you were going to arrest him for something, she was not going to jail," as the grand jury report rather ungrammatically put it.

Hatcher was arrested and spent 30 days in jail until he was released for lack of evidence.

Not Ridford. She "was protected and not arrested," the grand jury said, despite the glass shards in Hatcher's hair.

The police didn't exactly look like CSI: Miami on that earlier shooting, by the way. The cops didn't interview witnesses. The victim, who'd been shot in the leg, wasn't shown a photo lineup. "Less than minimal" is how the grand jury described the police work.

In Boca, it was the police union that blew the whistle on its chief. Everyone soon had lawyers and spokespersons and partisans.

In Belle Glade, things aren't that refined. A grand jury speaks. The mayor yanks the chief.

But strip the trappings off the two cases, and you get exactly the same thing: A police chief who bent the procedures to favor an acquaintance over the protests of other officers.

Boca, at least, is on its way to reform. One of the advantages of a wealthy community is the ability to solve a problem with a good new hire. The new chief, Dan Alexander, seems exactly that.

The Dowdell incidents came to attention mainly because some out-of-town police were in Belle Glade to help out after Hurricane Wilma -- and couldn't believe what they saw.

You've got to figure that lousy police work has been the norm in Belle Glade, and that people just haven't paid attention. It takes some special ineptitude to lose 120 guns from your evidence room.

In 2004, the last full year for which figures are available, Belle Glade police reported clearing just 12 percent of reported crimes, one of the lowest rates in the county.

It shouldn't be this way. Rich or poor, people should be able to believe in the integrity of their police.

Howard Goodman can be reached at hgoodman@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6638.

HEADLINE: Criminal lawyer; Mason preyed on people's trust to exploit the evidence handling system

BYLINE: By PHIL DAVIDSON

From city prosector to convicted felon - a look at the fall of Kimball Mason.

Even for a prosecutor, Kimball Mason spent an unusual amount of time at the Idaho Falls Police Department.

He lifted weights there with officers and chatted them up. He also was a regular at the evidence room, which he often left with guns in hand.

Some might have thought it curious, but few questioned him. Most thought he was following the law and destroying the evidence he took.

Mason had done it for years and was such a fixture at the Bonneville County Courthouse that many considered him the expert on how evidence and weapon forfeitures were supposed to be handled.

Evidence custodians trusted the court orders he presented were valid, attorneys trusted the guns he gave them were legally obtained, and judges trusted that Mason's word was airtight.

The few times anyone did question him, Mason had answers ready.

When Detective Zuella Nelson asked him once why he wanted brass knuckles, he told her he was selling them to pay for a new computer for his office.

It wasn't until August 2005 that his scheme began to fall apart.

That's when defendant Jimmie Caudle presented the IFPD with a valid court order and demanded that guns that were seized when he was arrested be returned.

The guns weren't there. Three months earlier, Mason had seized them with a court order that didn't have a case number, which technically made it invalid.

The conflicting court orders further roused Police Chief J. Kent Livsey's suspicions. He was already skeptical of Mason after the prosecutor requested that police let him keep an SUV they had seized for his own use.

How it began

Mason approached Capt. Roger Smart in May 2005 about the 1993 Chevrolet Suburban. He had gotten a judge to release it to the city and asked Smart if he could keep it.

The vehicle was seized as part of a drug arrest, and Mason had filed a civil case in April 2005, requesting that the truck and $960 officers seized from its owner, Gustavo Gutierrez-Dimas, be forfeited.

Gutierrez-Dimas had already been extradited to Washington on an outstanding warrant, so he wasn't here to fight Mason's request.

On April 14, Magistrate Judge Ralph Savage ordered the truck and cash be forfeited to the IFPD, in accordance with state law.

Before he gave Mason an answer, Smart checked with Livsey.

It's not uncommon for narcotics officers to use such vehicles for future busts, but Livsey said he denied Mason's request because he didn't think it was right because Mason only handled misdemeanor cases.

Smart relayed Livsey's answer to Mason.

But Mason disregarded it. He went behind Smart and told Sgt. Bill Squires the Suburban was his. Squires delivered the keys to him June 7.

He told state investigators later that Mason gave him the impression that his bosses had OK'd the deal.

No evidence has been found to support that.

Sometime later, Mason sold the vehicle to Darren Robins, a former Bonneville County Prosecutor, for $4,000, which he kept.

There is a gray area as to whether Mason had the authority to use the truck in his official capacity as prosecutor. But what is clear is that Mason used his position to get the Suburban even after Livsey had quashed his request.

When Livsey and Idaho Falls City Attorney Dale Storer found out, they called in Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins Jr. Between the Suburban and Caudle 's guns, they knew something was wrong.

Watkins requested the Idaho Attorney General's Office take over the case.

On Nov. 28, 2005, the investigation began.

Trust but verify

Mason is now a convicted felon. He is in jail for at least six months and could be facing a longer prison sentence.

Those he duped now see how flawed the system was. Everyone trusted Mason. No one questioned a man they had worked with for more than 20 years. There were no checks and balances.

"The mistake is putting too much trust in one individual," Watkins said. "That is the lesson in this whole thing for everyone."

The state's lead investigator found three cases where Mason brought evidence custodians orders to release guns that only he signed. Without the written approval of a judge, the orders are not recognized by the court.

Most of the guns released to Mason were done so with orders judges signed under the auspices that they were agreed upon in plea deals. But in six cases, those orders did not contain the defense attorney's signature.

Watkins said if there's no agreement between the two parties to release the guns, there should at the least be hearings before a judge.

Some of these orders were signed by Magistrate Judges L. Mark Riddoch, William Hollerich and Keith Walker. Walker signed an order Mason presented to him May 8, 2003, that didn't have a case number.

All of this disturbs Livsey, who believes Mason would have been discovered sooner if there had been more oversight of the prosecutor.

"The controls on prosecutors are judges," he said.

The aftermath

The Mason saga is not yet over.

Police raided his Idaho Falls home Friday and found several guns Mason swore to investigators he destroyed.

In the meantime, the Mason case will likely change the way evidence and property is signed over by the courts and looked after by police.

Livsey said they will spend $7,000 on an independent auditor to review the evidence room and how procedures are followed. The IFPD also will no longer seek to have property seized during misdemeanor arrests forfeited.

Watkins has heard that judges are going to exercise much more scrutiny before signing orders.

This is also a lot less likely to happen again now that Watkin's office has taken over prosecuting the city's misdemeanor cases. Bonneville County has eight prosecutors subject to the oversight of an elected official.

Mason's improprieties were one reason why Mayor Jared Fuhriman decided to contract with the Bonneville County prosecutor instead of hiring another city prosecutor.

"(He) embarrassed public officials and citizens he was sworn to defend," Fuhriman wrote in a letter to Woodland prior to Mason's sentencing. "In sum, it will take many years before we can regain the trust of citizens in Idaho Falls and Bonneville County."

Cops and Courts reporter Phil Davidson can be reached at 542-6750.

HEADLINE: Montrose sheriff's office reports $7,500 missing

BYLINE: Ellen Miller, Special to the News

Montrose County Sheriff Warren Waterman announced Monday that $7,500 in cash is missing from his department's evidence room.

One of two employees with access to the room has resigned. An auditor is preparing a final report and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is looking into the matter, Waterman said.

"The discrepancy was noticed April 25, and I called CBI April 26," Waterman said. "We don't know if it was theft or what happened. I'm extremely troubled."

The missing cash came to light when a former prisoner brought in a court order demanding that the sheriff's office return cash that had been seized, but the money couldn't be found, Waterman said.

In all, the sheriff's department owes $7,500 to seven individuals who obtained court orders to have cash returned to them, he said.

The sheriff wouldn't disclose the names of the two employees who had access to the room, one of whom works in administration and the other as an investigator.

"I don't even have a key to the room or combination to the safe, and neither does the undersheriff," Waterman said.

The cash was seized during execution of search warrants or when prisoners were booked into jail, he said. All cash is supposed to be booked into the evidence room with an accompanying report. The cash is stored in a safe until it can be taken to the bank and deposited.

Reports existed for the missing funds, Waterman said, "but they never made it to the bank."

A preliminary audit showed about $7,500 missing, said Waterman, who acknowledged that the cash account was last audited in 1998.

The missing cash is the latest in a series of troubles for the sheriff, who was kept from running for a second term earlier this spring when Montrose County Republican delegates denied him a spot on the ballot.

Instead, Mesa County Deputy Chris Franz is facing former Montrose Deputy Rick Dunlap to succeed Waterman.

In January, a jailer was accused of kicking a prisoner and now faces trial.

Last week, another jailer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment in a domestic incident involving his wife, and still another jailer pleaded no contest in March to harassment for hitting an inmate in the face.

HEADLINE: Trooper faces drug charges;

BYLINE: ANDRE L. TAYLOR The News Journal

19-year veteran of force accused of stealing confiscated evidence

A state trooper was indicted Monday on charges of stealing confiscated drugs from evidence lockers, following a six-week investigation.

A Kent County grand jury indicted Sgt. Charles R. Mullett, 45, a 19-year veteran, on 10 counts of felony theft of drugs, two counts of possession of hypodermic needles and syringes, two counts of possession of cocaine, and two counts of official misconduct. Arrangements are being made with Mullett's lawyer for him to turn himself in, state police spokeswoman Sgt. Melissa Zebley said.

"Police officers are a microcosm of society," state police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. MacLeish said in a statement. "When the state police identify potential criminal conduct by a trooper, we will deal with the conduct very seriously and hold troopers accountable to the high standards of the Delaware State Police and our law."

State police officials are continuing an audit of evidence in storage across the state and working on ways to better safeguard evidence in the future, Zebley said.

"We are looking at a variety of national best practices and technology to enhance our evidence and property management systems," MacLeish said. "Our internal review of all policies and procedures is still ongoing and will involve enhancements."

Sgt. Vincent Fiscella, president of the Delaware State Troopers Association, could not be reached Monday night. He said in May that Mullett developed "unbearable" pain from an injury, which he did not specify. "It's unfortunate that I or others within DSP failed to identify the problem until it was too late," he said.

Mullett was suspended with pay April 23, the same day he went to Milford Memorial Hospital, presented himself as a trooper "and requested drug paraphernalia," state police have said. He remained suspended Monday, Zebley said.

The probe in which he was targeted became public when a state police detective testifying in a Kent County marijuana case acknowledged what had been rumored for weeks: that an officer at Troop 3 had allegedly tampered with drug evidence. Legal experts said the probe could weaken cases that hinge on drug evidence stored at Troop 3.

After Mullett was suspended, an investigation found he removed "drug evidence" from Troop 3, where he was assigned to the criminal investigation unit, MacLeish said. MacLeish would not say whether Mullett had access to the drug evidence locker area, which is restricted to a handful of officers.

Contact Andre L. Taylor at 324-2890 or andretaylor@delawareonline.com.

HEADLINE: Mason 'dishonest to the end' - I.F. police chief says he didn't believe guns were destroyed;

BYLINE: By PAUL MENSER

J. Kent Livsey said that police didn't have cause to search the ex-prosecutor's home until Thursday.

Idaho Falls Police Chief J. Kent Livsey says he never trusted Kimball Mason's claim that he destroyed 33 of the guns he took from the police evidence room. "Nobody would throw that kind of stuff away," he said.

But police needed more than suspicions to search the former Idaho Falls prosecutor's residence. They needed specific information about where the guns were hidden to convince a judge there was probable cause for a search.

And they didn't have that until Thursday, when they got a tip that people associated Mason were removing guns from his home.

"Just because you know someone is a thief doesn't mean you have the right to search his home or storage unit," Livsey said Monday.

Police searched the house for the first time Friday and removed more than 30 firearms and rifles, one of which still had evidence tape on it.

Had they searched a few days earlier, they might not have found anything.

The week before his sentencing, Mason asked a friend and fellow attorney, John Stosich, to keep his guns because it is unlawful for felons to possess firearms. Stosich complied, but on May 31, the day after the sentencing, he called Mason's son to come get them.

Without the tip, police wouldn't have been able to search his house and the guns likely wouldn't have been recovered. The tip contained such specific information that police were able to use it to get a search warrant.

Probable cause isn't easy to prove, Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins Jr. said. Information has to be reliable, accurate and timely in order for a judge to agree to let police search a person's residence.

"You have to have your ducks in a row," Watkins said. "You are asking ajudge to let you intrude on their privacy."

Steve Bywater, who heads the attorney general's investigative unit, said officials are sifting through the evidence taken from the home.

It will be up to the Idaho attorney general's office whether Mason will face any new charges. No additional charges had been filed by Monday night.

Mason pleaded guilty in March to two counts of grand theft and one count of falsifying a public document. He was sentenced May 30 to three concurrent terms of one to five years. District Judge William Woodland retained jurisdiction, meaning Mason would be evaluated by the Department of Correction for 180 days before any final sentence might be pronounced.

In the course of their investigation, officials believed Mason had taken 51 guns from the evidence room but were able to trace only 18 of them. Mason said he had destroyed the rest.

Livsey said Mason's attempt to hide the guns at his home was in keeping with everything he'd seen since last fall, when the city prosecutor first came under scrutiny.

"I think a lot of people think that Kimball Mason was a good man who made a mistake," he said. "Kimball Mason is a criminal with criminal intent. He lies and continues to lie. He was dishonest to the end."

Staff writer Paul Menser can be reached at 542-6752.

''I think a lot of people think that Kimball Mason was a good man who made a mistake. Kimball Mason is a criminal with criminal intent.'' J. Kent Livsey Idaho Falls police chief

HEADLINE: Trooper arraigned on 17 charges of stealing drugs

DATELINE: DOVER Del.

A veteran state trooper accused of stealing drugs from an evidence locker turned himself in Tuesday and was arraigned on 17 criminal charges, authorities said.

Sgt. Charles R. Mullett, 45, was released on $8,500 unsecured bond after being formally charged with 10 counts of felony theft of drugs; two counts each of possession of hypodermic needles and syringes, official misconduct and possession of cocaine; and one aggregated count of theft.

Following his arrest, Mullett resigned effective immediately from the Delaware State Police, where he had served for 19 years.

Officials said the DSP will ask the Delaware Council on Police Training to begin decertification proceedings against Mullett.

A Kent County grand jury returned a 17-count indictment against Mullett on Monday.

Mullett was suspended with pay April 23, when he went to Milford Memorial Hospital, announced himself as a trooper "and requested drug paraphernalia," state police said. After Mullett was suspended, an investigation found that he had removed drug evidence from a police troop where he worked in the criminal investigation unit, authorities said.

Sgt. Vincent Fiscella, president of the Delaware State Troopers Association union, said last month that Mullett had developed "unbearable" pain from an unspecified injury.

HEADLINE: Waite Park leadership needs plan for change

BYLINE: Randy Krebs

There is no denying that Waite Park's government is a mess right now.

The police chief is charged with assaulting a fellow officer. The deputy police chief retired while on paid leave during an internal and criminal investigation. Guns might be missing from the city's evidence room. And, oh yeah, the mayor faces a felony perjury and three misdemeanor charges in connection with accusations of spying on the e-mail of a city administrator who was later fired but not connected to the police problems.

The bad news is that final answers to any or all of the above matters probably remain weeks, if not months, away. But that doesn't mean city leaders should wait for complete closure before crafting and perhaps even implementing reforms.

We speak specifically about the City Council's decision Monday to retain public safety consultant Gary Waller through Sept. 1.

Since January, the city has contracted with Waller to review its fire and police departments. The goal is to restructure them. Meanwhile, criminal and personnel investigations involving the police department have sprung up.

The city wants Waller to withhold his final report until those investigations are complete. That's fine. However, we urge the city to request Waller compile an interim report immediately. This report should be a rough draft of sorts, outlining his suggested long-term changes.

It can be based on the weekly reports he already has provided to the city and he and city leaders certainly can amend it as developments warrant.

But at this point Waller has compiled enough information and the city is spending enough money to begin forming a vision for long-term changes. Remember, Waite Park is spending almost $40,000 on Waller alone and another roughly $45,000 for Stearns County's help while city police leaders have been sidelined.

Plus, it seems unlikely indeed, we hope it's unlikely that more new developments will occur that would nullify many of Waller's findings to date.

And most importantly, we believe such a report could give Waite Park residents a glimmer of hope amid some pretty dark times.

Of course, Waller crafting such a plan is only half the solution. To make this happen, City Council members must be willing to step out from behind the lawyers and show courage and leadership.

Unfortunately, as Waite Park residents know all too well, they have yet to do that.

HEADLINE: Springs police evidence unit blasted

BYLINE: Dick Foster, Rocky Mountain News

DATELINE: COLORADO SPRINGS

The Colorado Springs police evidence unit was a haphazard operation characterized by a disregard for guidelines, a new report on the improper disposal of evidence concludes.

In a 26-page report, City Auditor Jeff Litchfield painted a picture of an evidence locker in disarray, understaffed with poorly trained people who did not follow any system of categorizing evidence by time or type of crime.

His was the second report within a week addressing the department's loss of evidence that may have compromised dozens of criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Evidence in more serious cases such as rapes, homicides, kidnappings and child abuse were mingled with evidence from less serious cases, Litchfield said.

Piling all evidence together runs the risk of losing crucial evidence from serious crimes when items from less serious cases are discarded, the auditor said.

That's exactly what happened when the evidence unit freed up space by disposing of 134,000 items last year, officials confirmed Friday.

A police department audit showed that evidence was improperly disposed of in 553 of 5,014 cases. Of the 553 cases, 478 were inactive or had developed no suspect information.

But the 75 remaining cases included 67 ongoing investigations and eight that had resulted in criminal charges filed by the district attorney's office.

The discarded evidence would have no effect on six of the eight filed cases, the DA's office said. But lost evidence in a $40 forgery case resulted in dismissal of charges, and lost DNA evidence in a 1997 sexual assault case would have a "major effect" on prosecution of the suspect, although he is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Canada.

Evidence had also been discarded in six unsolved missing persons cases.

Litchfield's audit report recommended adding staff to the evidence unit classifying and separating evidence by crime categories, and retaining evidence in more serious crimes.

HEADLINE: Springs audit: Sloppy staff lost evidence

BYLINE: Miles Moffeit Denver Post Staff Writer

Everything from poor managerial oversight to a messy storage room where murder-scene evidence was stacked next to minor-crime supplies led to the mass trashing of evidence by Colorado Springs police employees during the past two years, according to a city auditor report released Wednesday.

Largely echoing the findings of a recently released internal Police Department report, the city's watchdog office blamed shoddy practices fueled by a rush to clear out mounting piles of evidence devouring space.

Still, the city's protocols - tailored for preserving evidence in cases where the statute of limitations hasn't run its course - were adequate to have prevented the improper purging, had they been observed, wrote auditor Jeff Litchfield.

He also indicated that no illegal activities were found, in keeping with the police's own findings.

"It should be noted that during our review, we did not identify any instances where evidence was disposed of for personal gain," Litchfield said.

The auditor made 13 recommendations for stricter controls, including formal training programs for evidence custodians; an automated "purging" system; reorganizing evidence in a "logical" way; and improved data sharing with the El Paso County district attorney's office.

Last week, police disclosed that they had mistakenly discarded materials in 553 cases since September 2004. Of them, 75 cases were deemed "severely" affected, but the specific fallout is still being studied.

Evidence was lost in at least seven homicides and another six missing-person cases considered unsolved murders.

One high-profile case against a convicted serial rapist faces major prosecutorial problems because the rape kit evidence was lost, according to the DA's office. The DNA allegedly tied Patrick Adkins, who has served more than a third of a 20-year prison sentence in Canada on other charges, to a Colorado Springs victim. Adkins was captured after an ``America's Most Wanted'' broadcast. The DA's office still plans to pursue extradition and prosecution based on eyewitness testimony.

Submitted by: Ian McShane

HEADLINE: Supreme Court upholds Providence police officer's conviction

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A police officer can be convicted of embezzling a confiscated minibike even though the officer discarded it, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The decision means that state officials can face criminal charges for improperly discarding seized property even if the officials don't directly profit from it.

Providence Officer John Lough filed the appeal after he was convicted of embezzlement and fraudulent conversion for throwing away a $350 minibike seized from a child three years ago.

Lough took the bike, which had a scratched-out serial number, after a rookie officer seized it because he suspected it was stolen, the ruling said. Police officers told the young driver he could get the bike back if he showed proof of ownership at police headquarters.

Instead of driving the minibike back to the police station, Lough left it behind a trash bin after he got into a traffic accident.

When the child arrived at police headquarters with his mother the following day, the bike was missing. Lough retrieved it from the trash bin that day, but lied to internal affairs investigators about how it went missing.

Lough's attorney appealed the conviction by arguing that a defendant can only be convicted of embezzlement and fraudulent conversion if they benefit from taking another person's property.

But Judge Francis Flaherty said public employees commit embezzlement when they improperly treat seized property as their own, regardless of whether they benefit from it.

HEADLINE: Ex-Dover cop sent to parole program

BYLINE: BY PEGGY WRIGHT DAILY RECORD

Former Dover police Detective Steven Brennan, who admitted to swiping cocaine from an evidence locker, was admitted Thursday into an early-parole program after serving 105 days of a three-year state prison sentence.

The 42-year-old Brennan pleaded guilty in January to official misconduct by admitting he stole a small amount of cocaine from a department evidence locker on June 13, 2005, at a time when his personal life "was spinning out of control.

He was sentenced on Feb. 24 to three years in prison and immediately applied for acceptance into the state's Intensive Supervision Program, a rigorous early-parole program.

Brennan, shackled and wearing a tan prison jumpsuit, appeared in Morristown Thursday before a three-judge ISP panel that unanimously agreed he was an appropriate participant for the program that accepts only first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Remove shackles

Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto, who coincidentally sentenced Brennan and also serves as an ISP judge, made the dramatic pronouncement of acceptance: "Your shackles may be removed."

Brennan served 105 days behind bars at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown. Under ISP, he will be closely monitored on parole, must abide by a curfew, hold a job, have a community sponsor and regularly receive substance abuse and mental health counseling.

His initial acceptance into ISP is good for 90 days. If he is doing well, he will remain on ISP for 16 months before his parole ends. If he violates any terms, he could be sent back to prison to complete his original three-year term.

ISP Judge Eileen Davis called Brennan one of the best possible candidates for the program but said he must be vigilant about dealing with the problems and stressors that caused him to steal the cocaine in 2005.

"Mr. Brennan probably will gain more from this program than any other kind of defendant because he's known both sides," Davis said.

As part of his plea agreement in January, Brennan forfeited the job he held for 17 years with the Dover Police Department and he can never hold a law enforcement or public position again. Defense lawyer Peter Gilbreth said Brennan has a job lined up, but he declined to say where.

Brennan's fiancA(c)e told the ISP panel she will help him through the program, and four Dover police officers, including Chief Harold "Butch" Valentine, were in court to support him.

Immediately after his arrest last year, Brennan checked into the Sunrise House substance abuse facility in Lafayette and completed a 28-day inpatient stay. He completed an outpatient program at Morristown Memorial Hospital, and will have to continue intensive substance abuse counseling while on ISP.

Peggy Wright can be reached at (973) 267-1142 or pwright@gannett.com.

HEADLINE: Hall of Justice a health risk?

BYLINE: Karl Fischer, CONTRA COSTA TIMES

RICHMOND: Workers file claims citing exposure to mold, asbestos, floodwater, human waste

In the small interview room where police detectives once settled rape victims for tense, often tearful debriefings, a bulbous brown crust -- possibly mold -- basked in plain view on a window ledge.

Down in the basement, where the property vault holds a raft of criminal evidence, clerks have spied mosquito larvae wriggling in dark floodwaters that can reach 10 inches after long winter rains.

One worker photographed a "rainbow sheen" across the grimy tide, trailing from the cabinets where they store confiscated drugs.

The menu of dangers at Richmond's Hall of Justice runs long and unwholesome, according to a statement attached to five workers compensation claims on March17:

"Prolonged exposure to: Molds, fungus, asbestos, medical waste, chemicals, corrosive materials, toxins, smoke, lead, concrete dust, untreated human waste, stagnant water, mosquitoes, flies, rodent droppings, submerged electrical cords; slippery, flooded floors with standing water in depths ranging from one to 10 inches, medical and biohazard waste, human blood and body fluids."

Nobody who works there knows if the decrepit building contributes to their ailments. But they worry about it. And after remaining relatively quiet about it for decades, many have begun to agitate.

So far this year, at least 28 workers in the building have filed claims citing exposure to mold and asbestos, city records show. The complaints document symptoms that range from persistent coughs to recurring skin infections. Some upstairs complain of dizziness and nose bleeds.

Most expect no compensation. They filed the claims to document their working conditions, laying a paper trail should they fall seriously ill, said Detective Kevin Martin, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association.

"It's become so noticeable that the city can no longer ignore it," he said.

New Police Chief Chris Magnus "immediately recognized the problems when he came here," Martin added. "Because of that, I think a lot of officers are no longer afraid to bring it to management's attention."

Magnus agrees that the current building is unsanitary and structurally unsound. But with a new Hall of Justice still two or three years away, he faces a dilemma.

If the health risks are verified through recent testing, will parts of the department need to move out? And if so, where?

"Our absolute first concern is the health of the people working here," he said. "The bottom line is I will not allow conditions to continue if they are putting people at risk."

History of hazards

Government offices moved out of City Hall to a rental property in 2003 because of safety concerns. It's no secret that the Hall of Justice, built next door in the same 57-year-old complex, has similar problems. Both are "likely to suffer partial collapse" in a large earthquake, according to a 1996 city report.

But most police employees interviewed by the Times were more concerned about what happens when it rains.

The roof leaks every winter. Water dribbles through ceilings and walls on all four floors. It collects in the basement, where police store records, seized property and criminal evidence.

"The evidence techs always just walked around in the water. I couldn't believe it," said Ray Rodriguez, an officer who retired in 2004. "It flooded every year I was there. I was hired in 1975."

Current employees, including several who filed claims, would not speak publicly about their concerns. Some said they were wary of retribution from City Hall.

Claims began rolling in Feb. 16, when seven workers complained of "exposure to mold and suspected asbestos" in the second-floor offices of the Family Services Unit, which investigates sexual assaults, domestic violence and juvenile crimes.

That office leaks in winter. Garbage pails collect drips. Mildew forms around windows, and crusty lumps of an unknown material -- some thought it was mold -- nestle near heater vents.

The department moved the employees out in May to begin renovations.

Where the water goes

Years ago, reserve officers used to gauge the power of recent storms by how far the wooden pallets in their locker room would float.

They stood on the pallets while they dressed, to keep their pants dry.

Near that basement locker room, in the office leading to the property vault, clerks dwelt in a surreal environment that included neatly arranged office furniture, computers, family photos, desktop trinkets and, every winter, an inch of water across the floor.

Richmond's public works department has battled water for years. Workers have unclogged and reconfigured drains, and ground furrows in the concrete floor to improve the flow. But every year, new problems arise, or old ones resurface.

"I think this certainly is an issue where management feels pretty much the same way as the employees," Magnus said. "It's really frustrating that I have no answers to the questions that people are asking."

Photos snapped by workers show submerged power cords plugged into wall sockets. Inside the property vault itself, employees say conditions grow much worse.

In metal file cabinets and modular shelving, some raised on wooden blocks, police store confiscated firearms, toxic and explosive materials taken from drug labs, DNA samples in a refrigerated locker and more mundane evidence, mostly stacked in paper bags.

The whole place floods to some degree, employees say.

"Being an evidence technician, I frequently handled ... bloody clothes, rape evidence, a lot of sensitive material," said Joe Deville, an officer who retired in 2004. "Having to handle it while ankle deep in water? I think that was a concern."

Magnus said he does not believe any evidence or records have been compromised. That said, the department has not recently audited the vault.

Hoping for high ground

Magnus demonstrated great zeal for eradicating grime during his first four months in Richmond, starting with a whirlwind of repairs started days after his arrival.

The Public Works department spent about $250,000 this spring on the Hall of Justice, mending the roof, painting, replacing broken windows and ripping out water-damaged ceilings.

The claims poured in soon after, and the city ordered air sampling around the building for mold and toxins. Martin said the union encourages officers to file claims; they have proven effective in drawing city resources to long-ignored problems in the building.

So far, neither workers nor city have sought aid from outside agencies, officials from the Contra Costa Health Services department and state Department of Industrial Relations said.

Results of last month's air tests still have not returned, Magnus said this week.

Tests last fall and in 2003 detected nothing harmful.

"I understand the inclination to assume the worst, but at the same time, we don't know what the situation is yet," Magnus said.

If the new results indicate an immediate health risk, the department may need to move the property vault, possibly out of the building.

Magnus hopes to avoid that logistical nightmare -- finding a secure facility nearby that meets legal requirements for storing evidence -- at least until the city builds a new police department near 24th Street and Barrett Avenue.

Design work for that project, part of a $78 million renovation of the Civic Center, has begun. City officials plan to finish the new Hall of Justice by 2009.

"This has never been a priority, at least not on the chief's part," Martin said of earlier administrations. "I've got to hand it to this guy, he's really trying hard to fix this problem."

Staff writer John Simerman contributed to this article. 

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.

HEADLINE: Evidence loss lures AG New review of Springs cop blunder

BYLINE: Miles Moffeit Denver Post Staff Writer

CASES UNDERMINED The state will look into the mistaken purge of crucial items, as prosecutors fear how cases will be affected.

The Colorado attorney general, responding to deepening concerns among Colorado Springs leaders about the improper destruction of evidence in hundreds of criminal cases, will begin his own investigation Monday.

At least two representatives of John Suthers' office are scheduled to visit the city to begin examining the city Police Department's recently released internal review, which largely laid blame at the feet of an evidence room supervisor. City leaders sought the outside probe after publicly criticizing that audit, released two weeks ago, as too superficial and falling short of exposing weaknesses at higher levels of the police agency. Some council members also are concerned that a veteran homicide detective has been demoted after voicing concerns to them about the audit.

Meanwhile, missing evidence in two dozen major crime convictions wending their way through Colorado appellate courts has El Paso County prosecutors alarmed that some criminals could go free if cases are sent back for new trials.

In a memo to Colorado Springs police authorities, District Attorney John Newsome ranked 25 cases on appeal as his "biggest concerns" emanating from the evidence-destruction debacle. He detailed possible pitfalls, including several lost DNA samples central to convictions.

"The potential impact on victims and the serious nature of these cases are a really explosive combination," Newsome told The Denver Post on Friday.

Appellate reversals aren't common, but Newsome and his staff are chilled by the prospect that improperly discarded evidence could be used as a basis for appeals or - in a more likely scenario - cripple prosecution attempts if any new trials are ordered as a result of other trial errors.

Among the cases causing worry:

Lost 911 tapes in the case against Cesar Deanda, convicted of killing 18-month-old Donavin Bader in 1995. The discarded tapes could prove pivotal in a pending appeal related to his counsel's effectiveness, according to the DA's memo.

Forty-five discarded pieces tossed in the 2003 case against Julian Garcia, convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Colorado Springs woman. Appeals are pending.

"If reversed, a significant impact" on a retrial is expected, according to Newsome's memo.

Twenty-two of 24 pieces destroyed in the conviction of Adolph Sherrod for attempted murder in 1999. Though the missing evidence could pose serious problems in a new trial, the DA still pledges to pursue prosecution if it comes to that. Sherrod is in the process of appealing his conviction.

The losses, including a previously reported missing gun linked to two homicide cases, continue to fuel concerns of prosecutors about the improper destruction of evidence in more than 500 cases by Colorado Springs police. City officials have termed the destruction, believed to be the accidental result of pressures to relieve a lack of space, as a "colossal" law enforcement breakdown.

At least three felony cases - two forgeries and a drug case - so far have been dismissed or thrown out of court as a result of missing evidence, while several other cases are believed to be facing postponements or hang in a legal twilight state. More than a dozen homicides or suspected killings have incurred losses.

There also have been frequent scares, Newsome said. As staff members pore over case files to measure impacts, they have discovered discarded evidence in some of the city's most notorious cases, including some handled by Newsome himself.

One involves the so-called "Memorial Hospital rapist," David Lee Johnson, serving a 55-year sentence for the 1998 rape of a nurse in the facility's parking lot. While a cigarette containing his DNA was destroyed, the forensic traces had been separated from the butt, so the impact shouldn't be major, Newsome said.

"When his name showed up on the list, I can tell you there was a lot of concern," Newsome said. "Just one item was improperly disposed in the grand scheme and will not have a major effect. But it points to the dangers of the disposal that took place."

Other cases pose problems, however. It is possible that some defendants will try to wage an ineffective counsel argument on appeal if their lawyers did not seek to verify that evidence within a case was present, said Lisa Kirkman, chief deputy DA.

In the memo to police, the DA's office expressed concern that the Deanda case could pose ineffective counsel issues. He is accused of fatally abusing the child of a girlfriend then giving five different accounts of what led to the injuries. The young Bader is believed to have died from shaken baby syndrome.

The fact that a huge portion of the evidence in the Garcia case was tossed makes it particularly troubling to prosecutors, Kirkman said.

Among the lost pieces: victim's clothing, recordings of the suspect, victim photos and biological samples from both.

"It would be tough" to prosecute if the verdict were overturned, Kirkman said. "Plus, there are issues in locating the victim."

Attorneys in the Garcia case and others could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, a veteran police officer with the major-crimes unit was reassigned last week, only days after the release of an internal review of procedural lapses that led to the purge.

According to City Council member Jerry Heimlicher, the detective was demoted almost immediately after he criticized the Police Department's internal audit in personal conversations with Heimlicher and other council members.

Staff writer Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303 820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com.

HEADLINE: BELLE GLADE

ISSUE: THE CITY TAKES STEPS TO HAND OVER ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT TO THE SHERIFF.

This change was a long time coming for embattled Belle Glade. With its high crime rate and eroded faith in the city police department, handing over its law enforcement duties to the proven professionals at the Sheriff's Office probably would have been welcome years ago.

Back when a largely white police force had lost all hope of earning the trust of the largely black community. Back when a black man was found hanged and the community was certain police had covered up a lynching, despite a judge's finding of suicide.

Today, it's even clearer that nothing short of an overhaul will restore respectability to the department. With a grand jury report suggesting the current police chief may have orchestrated an innocent man's arrest, with 100 guns missing from the evidence room and questions mounting over the department's ability to perform even basic police work, Belle Glade's police department is in need of rescue.

The City Commission voted to pursue serious negotiations with the Sheriff's Office for a takeover, which appears to offer the solution this community sorely needs. The sheriff's ample resources and established credentials will bring better-paid, better-trained officers to the city's crime-weary streets -- and at a substantial savings to the city.

But commissioners were right to demand a contract proposal first. After so much disappointment, city leaders need to get a full, written accounting of what's being promised, and what they can expect.

Before making a final decision, city leaders should investigate how the sheriff is doing in nearby South Bay and Pahokee after taking over those departments recently. It may be too soon to determine the impact on crime rates, but not too soon to gauge whether city officials are satisfied and whether residents feel safer.

This is a big move. Belle Glade should be comfortable and confident it is the best thing.

BOTTOM LINE: A sheriff's takeover seems best, but take the time to make sure it is.

HEADLINE: Ex-West Mifflin police chief pleads guilty

BYLINE: Karen Zapf

Former West Mifflin police Chief Frank Diener engaged in a pattern of public corruption that included instructing officers to fix cases and stealing drugs and other items from the police department's evidence room, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said Monday.

Buchanan's remarks followed Diener's guilty plea yesterday in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to deliver cocaine and marijuana and obstruction of justice.

Immediately after his plea before U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti, Diener, 57, of West Mifflin, was taken into custody by state police and taken to Pittsburgh Municipal Court, where he was arraigned on 19 state charges including theft by unlawful taking and obstruction.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said other arrests in the case are expected.

"The majority of law enforcement officers do act in the interest of the public," Buchanan said. "Unfortunately, some act in their own selfish interest. That was Frank Diener."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Stallings said that in March -- after learning the FBI was investigating him -- Diener gave a paint can containing marijuana and cocaine to one of the FBI's cooperating witnesses.

Stallings said Diener told the witness to destroy the drugs, which Buchanan said came from the West Mifflin police evidence locker.

In a criminal complaint, state police said Diener took numerous items from the borough and police department including a $21,000 skid loader, a video gambling machine, a $5,000 trailer, $10,000 in tools from the trailer, a $2,000 generator and computers.

The state police complaint charges that Diener instructed two borough police officers to void traffic citations. State police also have charged him with obstructing investigations of an assault and a burglary.

Diener resigned as West Mifflin police chief in October 2005 after being suspended various times by Mayor John Andzelik. Diener's pension is about $42,000 a year.

West Mifflin police Chief Joseph Popovich said he is concentrating on "putting this behind us and moving the department forward."

Conti set a $10,000 unsecured bond. Diener's sentencing in federal court is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Brookline District Judge Charles McLaughlin set bond at 10 percent of $50,000. Diener's preliminary hearing on the state charges is scheduled for Thursday, but Diener's attorney, Robert Stewart, said the hearing will be postponed.

Stewart said that in pleading guilty to the federal charges, Diener is "accepting responsibility for things he did wrong."

HEADLINE: Drug trial to start without the evidence marijuana

DATELINE: GREENWOOD Miss.

Authorities could find out this week when an alleged drug dealer goes to trial just how damaging the theft of more than 80 pounds of marijuana from an evidence room really is.

Lorenzo Tarver's felony drug trial is set to begin Wednesday but the case could hinge on the prosecution's ability to convict someone without evidence to back up possession charges.

Tarver has been awaiting trial on charges of possession of 81.5 pounds of marijuana. However, the marijuana was reported missing from the Greenwood Police Department in April.

In a hearing Tuesday, Tarver's attorney, Ali ShamsidDeen of Jackson, argued that his client couldn't be tried because the evidence was gone.

Without the evidence, ShamsidDeen said, the case against his client amounted to nothing more than hearsay.

Assistant District Attorney Brad McCullouch countered the evidence was available for inspection during a routine forfeiture hearing after Tarver was arrested.

The loss of the evidence from police custody was in no way an indication of bad faith on the part of the prosecution, McCullouch added. Such bad faith would have to be demonstrated for the case to be dismissed.

Circuit Court Judge Ashley Hines ruled the case will be tried on Wednesday.

ShamsidDeen said he was "very disappointed" by Hines' ruling.

Additionally ShamsidDeen wanted the case dismissed because it had been delayed for so long.

He claimed Tarver had been in jail for more than 280 days, which violates his client's right to a speedy trial.

However, Hines ruled against ShamsidDeen, saying the length of time between Tarver's arrest and his trial has been because of Tarver.

After the hearing, McCullouch said if the case had progressed normally and without so many delays, the marijuana likely would have been available for evidence during the trial.

At the time of his arrest in 2004, Tarver was on parole on federal drug charges. Bond was set at $250,000 at that time.

Initially, Jackson attorney Chokwe Lumumba was to represent Tarver. Lumumba was suspended from practice by the Mississippi Bar Association.

HEADLINE: Meigs County wants probe ended

BYLINE: Margaret Harding, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Money stolen from sheriff's office in '05

Meigs County officials want the state to end its yearlong investigation into money stolen from the sheriff's office, even if no arrests have been made.

Commissioner Jim Sheets said he wants the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to conclude its investigation because the county's insurance company will not pay the $11,070 until an investigation is completed.

"We don't want things pending for two or three years," Sheets said.

Bob Beasley, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said only a prosecutor can ask to end an investigation.

Still, Beasley said he expects the bureau's report to be handed over to the prosecutor and the sheriff's office next week.

He declined to comment on the specifics of the probe.

In May 2005, cash that was being held as evidence in a drug case was taken from the evidence room. More than one person had a key to the room, Sheriff Robert Beegle said.

"Two people had the key, but I didn't know it," he said. "I assumed there was only one key, which you're not supposed to assume."

Now, cash held as evidence is stored in a bank safety-deposit box that only the sheriff can access, he said.

When the money is recovered, a judge can order it to go to the sheriff's office or the county, Beegle said.

Even if the investigation is closed without any prosecutions, that can always change, Sheets said.

"If the investigation is complete and they have no leads, then it's done. They can always reopen it if a suspect comes up."

HEADLINE: Dupont station missing evidence: 

BYLINE: David Weiss, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

DATELINE: Jun. 14 -- DUPONT

Police chief says items were removed while he was in Iraq. Cases could be thrown out.

As many as eight cases, mainly drug cases, are in jeopardy of being tossed because a slew of evidence is missing from the borough's police station, the chief said.

"Without the evidence, the case is gonna get thrown out the window," Police Chief Anthony DeMark said Tuesday.

Here's what's missing:

   -- heroin;

   -- cocaine;

   -- marijuana;

   -- guns;

   -- about $10,000 in cash from drug busts;

   -- numerous files.

"Even the (evidence) log book disappeared," DeMark said. "There's no paper trail."

DeMark said the items were removed when he was serving with the Air Force in Iraq. He learned about the disappearance of the evidence when he returned to police duty in late April.

He's not sure if the items were stolen or moved elsewhere.

"I don't know where the heck they're at," he said.

He believes the items were removed by someone within the department or borough because there is no evidence of a break-in. Whoever moved the items had keys to the evidence locker, he said. "It wasn't anybody that broke in."

DeMark said the evidence was supposed to be logged in, transferred to the state police crime lab for testing, then returned to the station for storage.

That never happened, he said.

Now, DeMark wants state police to investigate the case. He's meeting with a state police sergeant today to discuss details. He says it's all in the hands of state police now.

Dupont Borough Council wrestled with the issue at a meeting Tuesday night that DeMark called "a disaster." The council suspended four part-time officers and then, amid a crowd DeMark said was irate, tried to make a motion to reappoint the officers but no one would make it.

At that point, DeMark said, the council went into executive session and when they emerged announced they had rescinded the four officers' suspension and put them back on duty for one month on temporary status until the investigation is complete.

DeMark is the borough's lone full-time officer. The borough also relies on eight part-time officers, he said. "If they hadn't done that, it would've been just me. It's just crazy."

DeMark said he's not pleased with council's actions because he's concerned about the safety and welfare of residents who deserve police protection.

An officer was placed in charge of the department while DeMark was in Iraq. "I have no idea what went on," DeMark said.

Council president Stanley Golembiewski did not return a message Tuesday, and Mayor Daniel Lello could not be reached.

Times Leader staff writer John Davidson contributed to this report

David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.

HEADLINE: IN BRIEF / The State / SAN DIEGO;

BYLINE: From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Officer Pleads Guilty to Income Tax Evasion

A former San Diego police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to evading $63,000 in income taxes from 2001 to 2003 on his salary and money he made selling property stolen from the police evidence room on EBay.

James Estrella, 46, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 5 in federal court. He has also pleaded guilty in Superior Court to four counts of receiving stolen property.

HEADLINE: Cop facing trial wants job back;

BYLINE: By DAVE WEDGE

Kinky past includes assault conviction, drug charges

An embattled state police sergeant whose descent into a sleazy underworld of drugs and swinging became painfully public hopes to beat a cocaine theft rap and get back on the job.

"Pretty much all my life I wanted to be a police officer. It's all I've known in my life,'' suspended state police Sgt. Timothy White told the Herald,
breaking his silence for the first time since a 2003 drug and assault arrest. I certainly intend to get back and pursue some type of law-enforcement career. Whether that's with the state police or not, I don't know.''

A 16-year trooper, White was once one of the department's most respected members and for years served as media spokesman. But it all unraveled when he was charged with assaulting his wife, Maura, selling drugs and using his position on the Narcotics Inspection Unit to pilfer 13 kilos of cocaine from evidence storage.

Last year, White was convicted of twice assaulting his wife during fights at their Stoughton home - one of which occurred during an armed standoff with police. The jury, though, cleared White of more serious charges of assaulting her at gunpoint, and deadlocked on five drug charges.

Monday, Attorney General Tom Reilly's Office will re-try White in Dedham Superior Court on drug charges, including trafficking cocaine and stealing drugs from the department.

"We feel strongly this case involves serious misconduct and abuse of the public trust by a police officer, so we're committed to pursuing it,'' said Reilly spokesman David Guarino.

But White's attorney, Robert George, said the government's case falls apart because there were lax rules in the drug unit that allowed White and other troopers to take drugs home.

Also, George said, the others involved in the case were given deals for their testimony. Robert Crisafulli admitted selling stolen cocaine and was given a three-to-five year sentence to testify against White. Maura White was given immunity and testified at her husband's last trial that their marriage spiraled into a kinky life of wild, drug-fueled group sex romps.

"The government's refusal to acknowledge the fault lines in their case is repulsive,'' George said. "The fact that (White) has re-established his life and now has to face this again is sickening.''

White served a 2 1/2-year sentence and was released from jail last July. He is free on $25,000 bail while awaiting trial and has been working as a construction laborer.

Because the assault convictions were misdemeanors, he remains on the state police force, although he's suspended without pay. He and his wife are going through a divorce and White recently was awarded overnight visitation with their two young daughters, ages 10 and 8.

"The last 3 1/2 years have been very frustrating. I had to sit and listen to things that weren't true,'' White said. ``I certainly want to put this behind me and move on with my life. I've worked very hard to get where I was and I intend to be back on that plateau again.''

GRAPHIC: TRY, TRY AGAIN: Suspended state police Sgt. Tim White is facing trial on charges he stole cocaine on the job. His wife, below, previously testified that the drug fueled the couple's sex parties. STAFF PHOTO BY MATTHEW WEST; HERALD FILE PHOTO 

HEADLINE: Dothan gun audit shows lack of internal controls in department

DATELINE: DOTHAN Ala.

An internal city audit of firearms in the Dothan Police Department's evidence room showed little care was given to tracking guns, some of which ended up in the hands of officers who considered them as "perks of being an officer."

The findings of the audit were reported by The Dothan Eagle, which got a copy of the audit Friday through a public records request.

Among the findings: Guns were taken for personal use and guns listed as destroyed were being used by officers; guns assigned to one officer ended up with another; guns reported stolen were never returned to owners but kept by officers; and weapons were "checked out" to city employees in other agencies and even to private citizens.

More than 760 firearms were verified as existing in the room and recorded in the department's computer system, but 170 guns listed were not found, the newspaper reported Saturday.

City internal analyst Valerie Harris completed the firearms audit report in February and it was released after a May 31 public records request. The weapons audit stemmed from a larger investigation of alleged misconduct within the department that Dothan City Manager Mike West completed last year. The audit revealed problems with the evidence room that date back 10 to 15 years.

Firearms held in evidence can be used for law enforcement purposes as long as they have been condemned by a court. During the audit, Dothan Police Chief John Powell ordered officers to turn in any firearms not issued by the city. Forty officers turned in 102 weapons 68 of which were associated with a case. Two former officers turned in four guns.

Nineteen weapons had no information as to which officer had them, the paper said. Thirty-two guns were listed as condemned by a court, but only one officer returning a gun had a condemnation order. Five guns were listed as having been destroyed.

The audit report stated that officers talked of using guns for hunting, spare parts or a backup weapon.

A list of guns turned in by officers but not associated with cases was sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for review. Some of the weapons were found to be stolen and listed with the National Crime Information Center.

Powell said he is finishing his own investigation of the findings and will work with the city's personnel department to take any needed action.

Information from: The Dothan Eagle

HEADLINE: Dothan gun audit prompts call for disciplinary action

DATELINE: DOTHAN Ala.

Disciplinary action will be recommended for Dothan police because an internal city audit of firearms in the department's evidence room found little care was given to tracking guns, some of which ended up in the hands of officers.

Chief John Powell's recommendations to the City of Dothan Personnel Board will include letters of caution, reprimand and suspension. But Powell said he will not recommend any terminations and that none of the policy violations reveal criminal action.

"We've followed down all the leads we had and have recovered as many guns as I think we are going to," Powell said Tuesday. "I want to commend the officers that returned the weapons."

Powell stressed that the audit goes back many years and that many of the officers involved were not aware of the department's policy or that they were breaking those policies.

The findings of the audit were reported by The Dothan Eagle, which got a copy of the audit Friday through a public records request.

More than 760 firearms were verified as existing in the room and recorded in the department's computer system, but 170 guns listed were not found.

Among the findings: Guns were taken for personal use and guns listed as destroyed were being used by officers; guns assigned to one officer ended up with another; guns reported stolen were never returned to owners but kept by officers; and weapons were "checked out" to city employees in other agencies and even to private citizens.

Information from: The Dothan Eagle

HEADLINE: Testimony details problems with Hopewell police Property and Evidence Unit

BYLINE: F.M. Wiggins, Staff Writer

HOPEWELL - More details surrounding the investigation of the Hopewell Police Property and Evidence Unit were revealed in Circuit Court Wednesday during an hearing on evidence in the case of Rontal Taylor.

Some of those details include that, at one point, as many as six and perhaps more people had access to the Property and Evidence Unit office; the doors were sometimes left wide open; and that police Chief Rex Marks' own children were sometimes seen in the Property and Evidence Unit office.

Taylor is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm while in possession of cocaine. His attorney, Mary K. Martin, filed a motion to compel evidence with the court May 19. The motion led to the hearing Wednesday.

Marks was summoned to court for the hearing, but on a motion to exclude witnesses was not in the courtroom for the hearing.

"This hearing is for Ms. Martin to examine the police officers because the commonwealth doesn't have the information to give," said Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Sylvester.

Robert Lichtenstein, representing Alonzo Sykes, was also present at the hearing Wednesday. Lichtenstein had filed a similar motion to compel evidence with the courts.

Martin called Jean Cameron as her first witness. Cameron is currently on administrative leave with Hopewell police as a property and evidence technician.

Since Jan. 30, several officers and support staff with Hopewell police have been on paid administrative leave. Three dispatchers and a lieutenant have since returned to work, having been cleared of allegations of misconduct through an administrative investigation.

Others, including Cameron, remain on leave while a separate criminal investigation is still being conducted. The others' identities have not been released.

Cameron said that she was hired by the police in October 2002 and requested an inventory of the Property and Evidence Unit shortly thereafter. She said one was never provided.

She also said she would have attempted to perform an inventory on the Property and Evidence Unit; however, she did not have the space or the time to do so.

Cameron described the Property and Evidence Unit as three interconnected rooms in police headquarters. The police headquarters is in the basement of the Hopewell Municipal Building.

Additionally, evidence is stored in a holding cell at the police headquarters and occasionally in another room at that location. "There is also a shed where larger pieces are stored," said Cameron.

The shed is located at the Department of Public Works.

"There was one time where there were several large televisions stored in the shed," said Cameron. "But there were also old murder cases stored there."

Cameron said that she and Sgt. Kenny Bage, since retired, attempted to inventory the evidence. She added that then she worked with Officer Daniel Hoke on the project and later Bernard Oliver.

She also testified to how at least six keys may have been in circulation within the department at one point allowing those individuals access to the evidence storage area.

"The evidence was coming in at the same time, and we were trying to destroy evidence that could be destroyed if the case had been closed out and we had the courts' approval," said Cameron.

Cameron said that in some evidence still being stored at the department was approaching 20 years old.

After Marks arrived in August 2004, Cameron said that she took the chief on a tour of the evidence storage areas and expressed concerns she had on the disposal process and the storage of evidence as well.

As a result of that tour, the decision was made to go to a computerized evidence inventory system, Cameron said.

"I still had concerns after the tour," Cameron said.

A second part-time position was created to provide Cameron some assistance. However, according to Cameron, this caused more concerns.

"I would sometimes come back from a break to find the doors open to the Property and Evidence Unit," Cameron said. She said that not only were the doors unlocked but standing wide open, but the part-time evidence technician was nowhere in sight.

"I expressed myself extremely strongly that I had no control over what they could and could not do," Cameron said.

Cameron said that there were at a minimum four or five incidents that she found the doors standing wide open.

She added that though police headquarters has several secured doorways with electronic number pad locks, civilians and non-police personnel have been known to sometimes come into headquarters.

"[Citizen Action Support Team] members would sometimes be in the department. I've found someone who somehow got on the elevator in the Municipal Building and ended up in the police headquarters," said Cameron.

Cameron said she at one time found at least one of the police chief's four children in the Property and Evidence Unit's office.

Outside of court, Marks said that many people are allowed in the Property and Evidence Unit office and that evidence is not stored there.

Cameron, during testimony, said that besides office supplies, money being held as evidence and occasionally drugs have been stored in that room.

Cameron described how in one incident $20,000 and some drugs were stored in the outer office area in brown paper grocery bags. "Nobody but me seemed to be too concerned about it," said Cameron.

Two officers who are currently working to inventory the Property and Evidence Unit also testified.

Officer Daniel Hoke said that two rooms have already been inventoried and put into a new up-to-date computer inventory system.

Hoke said that the shed and holding cell have not yet been inventoried.

Investigator Paul Intravia started to testify saying he wasn't sure why he had been assigned to the duty of the Property and Evidence Unit when he was cut off by Judge Sam Campbell.

Campbell said that Intravia's testimony was not worth further exploration if he didn't even know why he had been assigned to the Property and Evidence Unit.

"Quite frankly, I don't know what exculpatory evidence could take the taint away from that room," said Campbell. "We've heard hours of testimony and it appears the problem has lingered on."

Campbell said that Martin and Lichtenstein could file any motions to suppress evidence before their respective clients' cases come before the court again.

* F.M. Wiggins may be reached at 732-3456, ext. 254.

HEADLINE: Ex-cop gets home detention in drug theft

BYLINE: By Kristin Bender, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- A former Berkeley police sergeant who has admitted to stealing heroin and methamphetamine from the department evidence locker will spend a year in an electronic home detention program.

Cary Kent, who spent 18 years with the Berkeley Police Department, was in charge of the drug evidence locker when he tampered with 286 evidence envelopes, authorities said.

He pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of grand theft by embezzlement and one count each of possessing heroin and methamphetamine.

Kent, who appeared briefly Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court, is scheduled to return to court July 27 so Judge C. Don Clay can formally place him in the home detention program supervised by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

Kent also is enrolled in a drug treatment program and will spend five years on probation.

In front of the courthouse Tuesday, members of Berkeley Copwatch picketed and demanded further investigation.

In a statement, Copwatch said it wants "a complete, open and impartial investigation into the extent of both Sgt. Kent's crimes and the involvement of fellow officers."

But Berkeley police Chief Doug Hambleton has said a joint investigation by his department and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office found that Kent was the only officer involved in mishandling drug evidence.

Prosecutor Jim Panetta said Kent received a harsher sentence than most first-time drug offenders in Alameda County because he took advantage of his position of public trust.

Panetta said most first-time offenders are placed in a drug treatment program and do not have to serve jail time.

Kent retired in March rather than cooperate with the department's internal affairs probe.

Wire services contributed to this report.