The records would show what officials knew – and when – about a sheriff’s deputy found to have falsely stated in 74 different reports that he had booked evidence.
Tag: Evidence Booking Scandal
Posted inTop Stories
Secrecy Around Sheriff Evidence Misconduct Records Heads to Court Thursday
A judge will decide whether to unseal records about a deputy who was found to have made false statements about evidence in 74 different reports.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
OC Supervisors Stay Silent on Evidence Misconduct Revelations While Authorizing More Sheriff Spending
While authorizing new spending this week for the Sheriff’s Department, county supervisors continue to remain silent about mounting revelations of Sheriff’s Department evidence booking misconduct that could weaken thousands of criminal cases.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
At Least 91 Convictions Involved Missing Evidence, DA Says, Casting Doubt on Sheriff’s Statements
An ongoing review by prosecutors – as well as court documents – are prompting questions about whether Orange County’s top law enforcement officer has been telling the whole truth.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Norberto Santana Jr., Top Stories
Santana: DA Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes Clash Over Secret Booking Audits
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes continued to take aim at each other this week, in the wake of an evidence-booking scandal that has already triggered four fired and seven disciplined deputy sheriffs along with four ongoing probes inside the Sheriff’s department.
Posted inGovernment, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
OC Sheriff Kept Evidence Booking Crisis Secret for Almost Two Years
Sheriff Don Barnes’ spokeswoman declined to say why county supervisors and the district attorney weren’t told of the scale of the issue sooner.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Can DA Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes Survive The Evidence Booking Scandal?
A disturbing OC Sheriff’s Department Audit of late evidence bookings finds that 30 percent of evidence booked by deputies over the last two years didn’t comply with policy. While photos and videos are the majority of late bookings, there’s also cash, drugs and guns among the items booked into evidence late, sometimes by as much as a month. The audit, kept secret until recently, raises a host of issues for Sheriff Don Barnes and District Attorney Todd Spitzer and could affect thousands of criminal cases across Orange County.
