The Houston Police Department (HPD) is changing how it stores and processes evidence after a rodent infestation damaged old marijuana kept in the evidence property room. Mayor John Whitmire said the issue stemmed from the vast amount of unnecessary evidence accumulating over time, leading to an unhealthy environment and a potential risk of contamination. HPD and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will work together to ensure proper evidence handling and destruction of outdated materials.
The Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced a change this week to how evidence is stored and processed for criminal cases after a rodent infestation caused some issues. Police Chief Noè Diaz announced in a press conference that in October the HPD noticed the rats were consuming old marijuana in the evidence property room.
Now that this has come to light, I think you're going to see a lot of pushback from the defense about the integrity of evidence used against people they represent,' said Anthony Osso a criminal defense attorney in Houston. All narcotic evidence obtained before 2015 will be cleared from the shelves and destroyed with the cooperation of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Forensic Science Center. Records of the evidence will be kept indefinitely.
EVIDENCE STORAGE RODENT INFESTATION HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DRUG EVIDENCE
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