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Evidence Problems Spoiled Highlands Court Cases

Image from Highlands County Sheriff's Office

This frame taken from undercover video shows the many marijuana plants seized by the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.

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By STEVE ANDREWS

sandrews@wfla.com

Published: November 20, 2008

Prosecutors thought they had a solid drug trafficking case against Jose Miguel Rosales, 40, until they discovered problems with the evidence taken from his home.

Highlands County Sheriff's Office drug investigators raided Rosales' Avon Park home on Disney Boulevard in September 2007. They discovered water pumps and electrical timers attached to a breaker box. They found another room filled with marijuana plants - a grow house complete with climate control, an irrigation system and grow lights.

The state charged Rosales with drug trafficking as well as grand theft for stealing $20,000 in electricity for the operation. Drug trafficking carries a three-year minimum prison term.

In 2007, the sheriff's office had no adequate room to store evidence in the Rosales case or evidence from dozens of other grow houses detectives raided.

So the sheriff's office placed the marijuana in a 60-foot semi-trailer, where exposed to the Florida heat, it decayed and turned into a maggot-infested mushy liquid.

Prosecutors reduced Rosales' charges to attempted drug trafficking, a charge that carries no minimum mandatory sentence. Instead of a stiffer sentence, Rosales got less than a year in the county jail plus 5 years probation.

"We have had some cases that have resulted in lesser pleas than I would've liked because of evidence problems," said Jerry Hill, state attorney for Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties.

Among them were Rosales and defendants in a dozen drug cases.

"We've had to deal with some cases that we had to alter the charges on because what we believe was the original evidence was not there," Hill said. "A sheriff's office ought to know how to handle evidence."

Marijuana Allowed To Rot

Sheriff Susan Benton admitted she knew of problems in her evidence room as early as 2005, but says they have been resolved. She denies any criminal sentences were reduced because of problems with her evidence room.

Dozens of grow house raids in 2007 overwhelmed Benton's already cramped evidence room.

"Just the volume coming in hampered our ability to conduct the regularity of disposal," Benton said. "The concentration had to be on the management of what was coming in."

In January 2008, the sheriff's office was seeking to become an accredited department. As part of that process, it assigned Stephen Newell, a law enforcement veteran of 34 years, to conduct a partial inventory of its evidence room. Newell found problems.

"There were many, many, many items that were not where they were supposed to be," said Newell.

His report, issued in February, revealed "several of the paper bags containing cannabis and marked as such, were torn open ... anyone having access … could easily grab a handful of cannabis."

The marijuana stuffed in the semi-trailer had decomposed.

"The evidence tags on the marijuana had mingled and deteriorated so that they couldn't even read the labels," Newell said. His report stated the decaying material was becoming "a biohazard condition."

Newell's report documented that 31 pieces of DNA evidence, including pieces from unsolved Highlands County murders, were missing.

At first, Newell said, the sheriff and her staff appeared eager to discuss the missing evidence and handling procedures. By August, the atmosphere soured. Newell resigned in protest.

In his letter of resignation to the sheriff, Newell wrote, "On at least two occasions, you misrepresented my work product. I protest the continued mishandling of the truth regarding the inventory I conducted."

FDLE Found More Problems

By the end of August, Hill sent a letter to Benton demanding her immediate attention to the handling of evidence.

"There are some serious cases that may be adversely impacted," Hill wrote. "Answers are needed sooner rather than later, as evidentiary concerns have indeed begun to influence our cases."

Benton promised a more thorough inventory and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for its expertise.

FDLE determined even more evidence was missing, such as cocaine, marijuana, prescription medication, even a Nintendo Gameboy.

After months of searching, Benton thinks some of the missing evidence was placed near items meant for disposal then inadvertently tossed out.

"I don't want to minimize at all the fact that we have any items missing, we should have zero," Benton said. "But I can tell you with certainty that no criminal has gone free or the sentence reduced specifically because of an item we have missing."

The evidence room problem became a political issue in the months leading up to Benton's successful re-election bid in November.

The sheriff's office changed procedures to satisfy the state attorney. It also found the money to make improvements, many of which were recommended months earlier by Newell.

Steve Andrews can be reached at 813 221-5779.

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