Monday, February 01, 2010

Nueces constable cleaning up evidence room mess; how many others are just as bad?

One consequence of 21st century constables taking on workaday law enforcement duties outside their traditional process-serving functions has been that these small, independent agencies with little accountability or oversight become responsible for managing complex processes for which they're not equipped, like the ins and outs of keeping their own evidence rooms.

In Corpus Christi, when a constable elected in 2008 took over he found their evidence room a wreck, with drugs and guns that should have been disposed of (or in the case of some of the guns, returned to their rightful owners) a decade ago or more. Reports the Caller Times ("Precinct 5 constable cleaning evidence room," Jan. 28):
A World War II Japanese bolt-action rifle has been sitting in the Nueces County Precinct 5 constable’s evidence room since at least the early 1990s.

A .45-caliber submachine stolen in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1983 has been in the constable’s small closet gathering dust since 1997.

There is confiscated marijuana, heroine and cocaine, too, some aging for decades on shelves.

Constable Dionicio “Don” Ysassi had enough.

“It’s time for us to clean house,” he said.

The drugs will be burned, and the weapons will be destroyed or returned if the owners claim them.

People have been asking Ysassi about their weapons he may have, some taken during routine traffic stops years ago in the precinct’s 320-square-mile jurisdiction.

There are 140 weapons approved for disposal, Ysassi said Wednesday. Court orders have been obtained to destroy 70 guns. Five others are evidence in pending criminal cases, and 65 have serial numbers cleared by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for people to claim.

“We have worked with the sheriff’s department for weeks to identify weapons not related to any crime,” said Ysassi, who inherited the property room when he took office following the 2008 election. “So people can now come to our office and request them back.”

Those being destroyed may have no serial numbers, have had barrels sawed off or were confirmed stolen by people who no longer want them, said Deputy Larry Thieme, who has researched the weapons’ history the past six months.

Anyone claiming a gun will have a background check to ensure they have no present criminal court action, Ysassi said.

“We just want to do the right thing,” he said, “and get people’s property back to them.”

Needless to say, it's not good to have a bunch of street-ready drugs and guns with serial numbers filed off laying around for years on end when they're not needed for an ongoing prosecution. This was a recurring issue with Texas' old drug task force system. Small, independent agencies with no oversight often have extremely lax management standards regarding evidence retention, and the result was a lack of accountability and frequent thefts of drugs, often in significant amounts.

Charley Wilkison of CLEAT likes to point out that many police unions were originally organized out of the evidence room in their department's basement because an assignment there historically is how departments punish or sideline officers with a history of disciplinary problems, who also happen to be among the most likely to agitate for unionization in order to protect their jobs. Whatever the benefits for unions, though, the public is better served when evidence rooms are run by dedicated, civilian professionals with clear policies and procedures about what should and shouldn't be in the evidence room, when, and why.

How many more constables, school district police, and other tiny, sub-jurisdictions have their own musty, neglected evidence rooms that could use a similar housecleaning? Quien sabe? I'm certain this Nueces County constable isn't alone in presiding over an evidence room that could generate negative press if reporters took time to look.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a prosecutor in a county that has an A&M branch school. I just signed a destruction order for marijuana that had been in the University PD drug locker since 1992. It would now be old enough to vote.

Anonymous said...

I have worked in both capacities as an Evidence Room "Custodian"; additional duty, and as a full time Evidence Custodian (After retirement as a "civilian").The "civilian" full time position was called "Compliance Evidence Technician".

IMHO a full time, non-certified required, position is the only way to operate an Evidence Depository.

Chain of custody, storage and final disposition of evidence are very important.

If the University PD had at least a yearly inventory of their evidence, the 1992 drug evidence should have raised the question, "What on earth is this still doing in your evidence depository; why hasn't it been disposed of"?

Retired 2004

Thomas R. Griffith said...

Hey Grits, Thank you for the topic.

I've been trying to solve a dilemma since 1999 re: a "MYSTERY GUN". Maybe someone here knows about evidence/exhibits and is willing to take time to assist?

NOTE: I've contacted everyone from my hired attorney, FBI, ATF, HPD, HC Sheriff, HC Adult Probation Dept., HC District clerk and the State Archives in Austin. I even confronted the ADA about it. Not one single person has a clue as to what the hell I’m referring to. No Records exist.

(Ham Sandwiches)
In 1984, a robbery victim said suspects with black hair & black skin used a .22 or .25 cal. revolver with a two-inch barrel. Two white males with brown hair & blonde hair were indicted as positive ids. No weapons recovered and/or listed in police and or probation reports.

(Case File)
The ADA is shown to have created two State's Exhibits docs. dated seven years apart. The 1984 doc. is handwritten and lists a .38 cal. Rohm as S-2. The 1991 doc. is typed and lists Judgment as S-2 & S-2A Photo of Gun. Three number twos.

(“MYSTERY GUN”)
The Docket shows a Court Reporter "checking out" a firearm and fails to mention from where. I wrote the Harris County District Clerk requesting all records regarding this "MYSTERY GUN" and never rec. a reply. I called and spoke with the Exhibit Clerk and was told that she “personally destroyed the gun in 1995”. She said Art. 2.21. allowed her to do so which explained why there are no Chain of Custody records, no Motions from the Sheriff and no Destruction Orders from the court. Therefore explaining why I would not be sold any more info.

QUESTIONS:
1. When a pistol is "Checked Out" by a Harris County Court Reporter, where would she have retrieved it from? 1984 and 2010
2. After it was removed from the table in front of the jury, where would it have been stored at from 1984 to 1995?
3. Would any docs. be created to show how the ADA came into custody of it?
4. Does Art. 2.21. allow Exhibit Clerks to take home firearms so they can "Personally destroy them?
5. Does Art. 2.21. exclude the need to create any docs. (Chain of Custody, Motion to Destroy, Court Order, etc...)
6. Can Assistant District Attorneys create two State's Exhibit docs. with three number twos, date seven years apart?

The Board of Pardons and Paroles found nothing wrong with indicting ham sandwiches and planting this “MYSTERY GUN” and has denied a full pardon twice. I always thought it was dirty cops that planted weapons. Had it not been for the Freedom of Information, we would have never known. Sorry it's so long. Thanks for any help in this matter.

Anonymous said...

If you provided ALL the information concerning your case, you may answer the questions all by yourself "Mr. Griffith".

Retired 2004

Thomas R. Griffith said...

Retired 2004, Hmm. Thank you. Not sure what you mean but thanks just the same.

I appreciate that you consider chain of custody,
storage and final disposition very important. I hope you enjoy your golden years.

Anonymous said...

There again problem no solution. Underfunded agencies, makes no difference if they wear a sheriff or constable badge, will have the same problems.

Somebody has to answer the call.

Are you in favor of state funding for rural/ poor county law enforcement or turning DPS into a state police agency?

Anonymous said...

7:48, Grits wrote about what can only be best described as lazy, lazy, lazy. Houston & Dallas are well funded as you know but if you dig around you'll see that they are lazy also. Have you seen any of the footage of those caught reading and sleeping in the cage?

But if you honestly think money is the reason, here is one possible solution. Bring in roving teams of police recruits. Supervised and Strip searched upon exiting of course.

You do provide us with a good joke to pass around. (Excuse our messy, clutered, dank house, for we are underfunded and live in a rural setting.)

As for the (DPS) The Texas Department of Public Safety, they are pretty much already a State Police Agency, like the Texas Rangers.

Anonymous said...

DPS is a good agency but they are not funded, staffed or set up to do general police work. Most are assigned to traffic enforcement and the rangers are mostly used to provide investigative support on major crimes to smaller agencies.


Try to get a trooper out to investigate the burglary of your house or respond to a family disturbance. They may backup the local sheriff or constable, but the local officer will handle the call.

Will funding fix it all? no. But Grits complains about poor staff, policies, facilities etc. To a certain extend you get what you pay for. Low budgets equal poor pay and less quality staff, facilities etc.

Carpet Cleaning Vancouver said...

The Docket shows a Court Reporter "checking out" a firearm and fails to mention from where. I wrote the Harris County District Clerk requesting all records regarding this "MYSTERY GUN" and never rec. a reply. I called and spoke with the Exhibit Clerk and was told that she “personally destroyed the gun in 1995”. Carpet Cleaning Vancouver She said Art. 2.21. allowed her to do so which explained why there are no Chain of Custody records, no Motions from the Sheriff and no Destruction Orders from the court. Therefore explaining why I would not be sold any more info.