Missing Evidence Prompts State Investigation

The Asheville police department is cooperating with the District Attorney’s office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to address a matter related to evidence missing from the property room of the Asheville police department.

Staff Reports

A statement issued by police Lt. Wallace Welch on behalf of Chief Hogan stated: “An instance of missing evidence related to a criminal drug offense prompted the investigation. A third party audit is forthcoming and evidence will be opened, examined and compared against logs to identify if this was an isolated case or if other evidence was compromised. The property room has been sealed and outside auditors will complete an inventory to verify and ensure the integrity of evidence.”

This is not the first time seized property and evidence has gone missing in Buncombe County. Former Sheriff Bobby Medford, now serving a term in state prison for corruption, could not account for a large number of firearms that were discovered to be missing after he lost reelection to the current sheriff, Van Duncan, in 2006. When asked about the missing guns, many of which had been seized from people charged with or convicted of crimes, he asserted that they had been buried in the concrete forming the base of the recently built jail annex. No evidence has ever been produced to support his contention, and many in the community believed that the guns had been sold on the black market.

The Asheville Police Department is apparently taking a more active
role in determining what has happened to the evidence missing from their
evidence room. The department’s statement asserts that there will be
“seamless cooperation” with the investigation by the SBI and the
District Attorney.

Several area attorneys have already filed motions to exclude some
evidence from upcoming cases due to the allegations of mishandled
evidence, including those representing the “Asheville 11” suspects
charged with vandalizing downtown businesses in May of 2010.