An Orange County public defender is alleging multiple sheriffs’ deputies broke the law and department rules when they reused evidence to prosecute two people in two separate cases.
Tag: Sheriff’s Department evidence booking crisis
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Did An Orange County Sheriff Illegally Eavesdrop on a Prisoner He Was Investigating?
New court filings allege that a sheriffs investigator listened to multiple attorney-client privileged conversations even after being warned not to in the same conversations.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Here’s What OC Sheriff Staff Violated in the Last Couple Years, According to Their Department
Internal sheriff records obtained by Voice of OC are opening up a window into hundreds of sustained policy violations by Sheriff’s Department staff – ranging from excessive force to mishandling evidence, dishonesty and burglary.
Posted inCountywide
Charges Dropped in 67 Criminal Cases Due to Sheriff Evidence Mishandling, DA Reveals
The dropped charges include assault, battery and smuggling a weapon into the Orange County jail, according to prosecutors.
Posted inCountywide
Sheriff’s Supervisors Allowed Late Evidence Booking; Only Deputies Disciplined, Grand Jury Heard
Sheriff’s supervisors knowingly allowed deputies to book evidence late in violation of policy according to Sheriff’s officials testimony, the latest twist in the evidence-booking scandal.
Posted inCountywide
Deputy’s False Police Report Charge Came After Mountain of Testimony to Grand Jury
A probe into false statements by OC sheriff’s deputies escalated this summer, with a grand jury hearing testimony from a wide-ranging list of sheriff’s officials before indicting a deputy with a felony for filing a false police report.
Posted inCountywide
False Report Charges Against OC Deputies Prompt Ethics Questions
A flurry of recent felony charges against OC sheriff’s deputies – including falsifying police reports – is prompting questions about honesty and integrity lapses within the department.
Posted inCountywide, Government, NEWS, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Sheriff Defends Handling of Evidence Booking Scandal
Barnes declined to discuss specific cases, citing laws protecting police officers’ privacy. But he laid the evidence booking problem squarely on individual staff members and “gaps” in evidence booking protocol.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
DA Says He Was Told in May of Decision to Not Prosecute Deputies Over Evidence Handling
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Wednesday he was informed four months into his administration about a decision days after he was sworn in to not file charges against a sheriff’s deputy found to have made 74 false reports about evidence booking.
Posted inGovernment, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Questions Mount for Sheriff and DA About Systemic Errors in Preparing Criminal Cases
On Tuesday, it was publicly disclosed in Orange County Superior Court that sheriff officials kept a deputy in the field doing investigations months after they learned he made numerous false statements in police reports about evidence booking.
