Author Archive: communications

Chapter 5 Meeting Minutes – February 2018

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Meeting called to order at 10:00 A.M. by Beverly Hunt

Thanks to Lee County for providing the venue. Introductions were made with some new faces in attendance.

Program was presented ahead of our normal business meeting to accommodate the speakers’ time commitments.

Program presented by – Department of Homeland Security Investigations

●  Special Agent John Yancey – Department of Homeland Security Investigations

●  Juan Molinary – Department of Homeland Security Investigations Evidence

●  Joshua Turner – Computer Forensic Analyst for Department of Homeland Security Investigations

●  Christina Rademakers – Department of Homeland Security Investigations Evidence

H.S.I. – Homeland Security Investigations has 20 agents stationed in Lee County working between 5 counties, to include Lee, Collier and Hendry. They have created a Title 19 Taskforce which is a combination of 5 agencies. Homeland is going to have a class in March to try to expand the partnerships between agencies.

Homeland can only hold narcotics, currency and guns for no longer than 72 hours, after that they will get with the local agencies to assist in holding evidence while the investigation is ongoing.

The main branch for the Department of Homeland Security in Florida is in Tampa. All major items get sent to them. Homeland follows the Seized Asset Management & Enforcement Procedures Handbook (SAMEPH).

Bulk currency does not get counted by the agency. If there is a seizure of bulk money it gets sent to LOOMIS or a bank to be counted and is always accompanied by two agents. Bulk currency would be if it consisted of mostly small bills over a couple thousand or if there was a possibility of inconsistency with the amount.

Key points mentioned by Joshua Turner concerning electronic/digital evidence:

  • When cell phones are taken into evidence, place them on airplane mode, take the battery out and if the battery cannot be removed shut it off. Reasoning behind this is: so that anyone outside of the location cannot go into the phone and clean/clear it out.
  • Same goes for Laptops.
  • Computers: If the computer is on: take a picture of the screen, check to see if there are

    any encryptions running before shutting it off. DO NOT just power it down by going to

    the start menu, UNPLUG it from the wall. If it is off, leave it off.

  • Bypassing pass codes on cell phones:
    • I phone 8 can be bypassed.
    • I phone 5-7 are “dead” as far as bypassing the code.
    • Any phone older than 2016 cannot be bypassed.

Meeting Business

There were two officer positions up for election this year. Since no nominations for President or Secretary were received prior to Chapter 5’s meeting, Beverly asked Vice-President Cory Mundy to open nominations from the floor.

  • Tonya Jennings, Hendry County SO, was nominated by Kay Bradshaw for Secretary.o Tonya agreed to accept the nomination. Vote was taken with no one opposed.
  • Beverly Hunt, Lake Placid PD, was nominated by Kay Bradshaw for another term as

President

  • Beverly accepted the nomination for another term. Vote was taken with no one opposed.

Results will be sent to the Executive Committee.

Topics discussed:

  • Flyer is being worked on for the Annual Conference set for August 27-31
  • Conference is a full 3 days Monday Aug 27t​ h​ thru Wednesday Aug 29t​ h
  • Cost is $300 for 3 days
  • 1 night – dinner/party (which is included if bringing a guest it will cost $75)
  • No banquet
  • Thursday Aug 30t​ h​ is the 1 day Certified Evidence Specialist Class
  • Cost is $200 for the Class and test without the Conference
  • Friday Aug 31s​ t​ is the Test (being taken in the morning)
  • Cost is $100 for just the test without the Conference
  • Conference is being held at the same hotel that it was last year.
    • Wyndham Orlando Resort – 8001 International Drive, Orlando, FL
    • Rate per night is $109 plus tax unless agency has a tax exempt form.
    • **** if there is any issues with the HOTEL please get with Beverly, DO NOT handle yourself, this way it can be discussed with Conference Committee for future knowledge***
    • Possibly going to have a 2 hour time frame for pre-registry on Sunday. May set up by Chapter or alphabetical order. ** Still in process**

Departments asked about giveaways or things to do such as items with logo (1-2)

Also if anyone knows a person who does a really good presentation or subject to be presented at the conference **PLEASE send to Beverly so that the agenda can be done by the end of May beginning of June.

A Conference Committee has been set up; all members are encouraged to participate so that there is more involvement from the members.

Round-table discussion included:
Do evidence personnel take the keys home or do they get locked up each night?

Responses ranged from taking keys home to being locked in office or having card readers Are evidence personnel responsible for redacting digital submittals?

Responses were mostly no.
Suggestions as far as speakers go for meetings were:

Asking 4-5 Vendors to come to the meeting and speak instead of just the conference

Treasurer reported prior to February 15t​ h​ meeting there was $220 in the Chapter fund. There was $48 collected from this meeting, which brings the Chapter fund to $268.

Next Chapter 5 Meeting will be in May, date and location to be determined.

Meeting was adjourned at 1145 and lunch provided by Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Those in attendance wanting a tour of the facility were able to do so following the lunch.

Submitted by:

Tonya Jennings

Chapter 4 Roundtable – March 2018

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PEAF Disposal Roundtable Discussion

DNA- How long do agencies keep after disposition?

60 days after the appeals have been exhausted or 30 days after the sentenced has been served, whether by plea or conviction. **Prosecution may commence after the DNA identification of the accused regardless of the Statute of Limitations.

Deadlines regarding Court Orders to return property – Example: Receive a court order to return property to a relative. 2 years later, relative has not picked up. How long do you wait to dispose of evidence?

Some agencies send a certified letter to the owner as well as the attorney informingthem of a timeframe within which they’ll hold the property. Some will only hold it for 60 days unless there are special circumstances (owner is out of town, lives out of state, etc.) It’s not unreasonable to hold property for 6 months to a year after aCourt Order under those circumstances.

Attorney sends a letter asking us to preserve evidence – what is our obligation when no criminal charges were filed?

Send a letter outlining a reasonable timeline that you’ll hold the evidence. Once the Statute of Limitations has expired, send a reminder letter with a deadline. If there is still no response or action taken by the Attorney, dispose of the evidence. If your agency hasn’t filed criminal charges but another agency has, the evidence should betransferred to them. Also, you only have 4 years to file a civil suit.

Found property: phones, computers, tablets- Return to finder or dispose? We had someone call requesting a phone that was found on their property and the owner was unknown.

The most important thing is to wipe all electronics prior to turning them over to anyone. Unless a finder has expressed his or her interest in getting the property, you can dispose of it after it is wiped. If a finder does want to claim the property, some agencies charge a non-refundable fee to be paid within a few days of submitting it.

Gunbusters- Would it be ok to use Gunbusters rather than bringing our firearms to the Sheriff for destruction? If not, why not? Are any agencies currently using Gunbusters?

Currently, all agencies, except those under the Home Rule, turn their firearms over to the Sheriff after 60 days of the case being disposed. The Sheriff holds the firearms for an additional 6 months prior to destroying them.

Does property from a traffic homicide/fatality (where someone has been charged) fall under the same standard as a homicide? If not, what statute governs traffic homicide/fatality as far as the purging of items?

There isn’t a statute for this, so it should go by the Statute of Limitations for whatever the person was charged with. If the case is closed and the appeals window has passed, it should be ok to dispose of the evidence. If someone hasn’t been charged and there is DNA, you’ll have to follow those protocols.

Do you send all cases to SAO for disposal approval or just serious felonies?

This depends on your agency and its policies. Some agencies feel more comfortable having the SAO sign off while others are ok making the decision in- house. Some agencies must have the SAO sign off on the narcotics cases prior to disposal.

What do you do with the evidence for cases with multiple defendants where one has had his case expunged? Destroy everything or have the case officer review it to see what might be related to the specific expunged person?

If the case is still open for some defendants, hold all the evidence. If it’s closed, you can destroy everything. One agency’s attorney said that sealed/expunged cases have nothing to do with evidence. The longest records retention law is 7 years.

For sealed cases, do you hold the evidence for a specific period of time or destroy immediately?

If there is one defendant, the case is closed, and the record is expunged, you may destroy the evidence immediately. However, if the record is sealed, you have one year to view the evidence so don’t destroy it until the year is up.

Will the new firearm Legislation affect Property and Evidence and if so, how?

Many agencies are using FDLE’s Firearm Eligibility Service or FES when returning firearms. This puts the burden on the state instead of the agency. However, agencies’ attorneys and policies can dictate how to deal with this issue.

Chapter 4 Meeting Minutes – March 2018

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Attendance:

Elizabeth Kamerick, President-Hollywood PD
Larry Bauer, Vice President-PBSO
Amy Husted, Secretary-Ft. Lauderdale PD
Mindy Chotiner-Advanced Filing
Lori Fletcher-Aventura PD
Caralee Daugherty-Boca Raton PD
Dana Neitz-Boca Raton PD
Daniel Cline-Boynton Beach PD
Eric Reynolds-Boynton Beach PD
Maria Kerner-Coral Springs PD
Sheila Lustigman-Coral Springs PD
Stephen Morrissey-Coral Springs PD
Charrin Hanson-FAU PD
Tory Heslop-FIU PD
Kerstin Frashier-Jupiter PD
Nicole Lunsford-Jupiter PD
Demesha Moore-Lauderhill PD

Lori Eller-Margate PD
Jacqueline Morris-Miami Gardens PD
Brandon Pilot-Miami Gardens PD
Priscilla Pullins-Miami Gardens PD
Chalita Bizzell-PBSO
Marylou Doss-PBSO
Renee Bassett-Riviera Beach PD
Christine Ives-Riviera Beach PD
Kimmarley James-Riviera Beach PD
Paul Hoffman-Seminole Tribe PD
Margaret Ortiz-Seminole Tribe PD
Scott Lustigman-Sunrise PD
Debbie Hernandez-West Palm Beach PD
Liset Lowe-West Palm Beach PD
Kathryn Muscat-West Palm Beach PD
Greg Parkinson-West Palm Beach PD

The meeting was held at the Intracoastal Park Clubhouse in Boynton Beach and called to order at 10:10 hrs.

Marylou Doss made a motion to accept the minutes from the January meeting which was held on January 25, 2018. Greg Parkinson seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Jacqueline Morris from Miami Gardens PD won the raffle.  There was no winner from the Ace of Hearts 50/50 drawing. The pot now stands at $57.

Special thanks to the Daniel Cline and Eric Reynolds from the Boynton Beach Police Department who hosted the meeting.

Old Business

We are still waiting on the certification pins. They will be distributed as soon as we receive them.

New Business

Registration for the upcoming PEAF conference is ongoing. All but one speaker havebeen booked. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting the next meeting sometime in May. Time and place are to be determined.

Discussions

Roundtable discussion regarding the disposal of evidence. Please see attached. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 hrs.

Chapter 1 Meeting Minutes – January 2018

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Yesterday we had our first quarterly meeting of 2018. Thank you Colleen and Sebastian PD for hosting! Our guest speaker was Wayne Walker from the Indian River Crime Lab, and he did a wonderful presentation about CODIS and eligibility for entry. Please see attached for a synopsis of his presentation. His contact information is included in that document as well.

As for PEAF business:

Please be sure to log on to your MemberPlanet profile, and confirm that your contact information is correct.

For those who passed their certification test at the 2017 conference, and have not received your pin, those should be sent out//arriving shortly.

  • Keep your eye out for the 2018 first quarter Newsletter
  • The 2018 conference will be held August 27th to 29th, at the Wyndham resort, same location as the previous years. The certification test will be held on the 30th, and the test will be held on the 31st. For more information, please see http://www.peaf.us/id1.html

• Please let us know if you have any requests for guest speakers, and if you’d like to host at your agency.

• PEAF is looking for items to be raffled off! If you have any items from your department that you’d like to donate, please let Colleen know.
• Don’t forget that in order to maintain your status in PEAF, you must attend at least onemeeting per year, and one conference per three years. You may attend meetings of other Chapters, if that is easier for you due to location and time.

Chapter 5 Meeting Minutes – May 2018

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Meeting called to order at 10 A.M. by Beverly Hunt

Thanks to Naples Police Department (Andrea “Andi” DeLisle) for providing the venue.  Naples Chief of Police Tom Weschler welcomed attendees.

Introductions, including visiting members, PEAF President Sheila Lustigman; Scott Lustigman

Due to previous engagements by some of the speakers and the number of speakers present, our business meeting was held after the speakers.

Speakers included:

  • Cynthia Rossen, PA – SAO
  • Femi Young – SAO Post Conviction Unit
  • Chris Van Bomel – FDLE – Firearms (Tampa Office)
  • Rachel Aponte – FDLE – Biology (Crime Lab Analyst) Ft Myers Office
  • Jen Licata – FDLE – Biology Supervisor Ft Myers Office
  • Kimberlee Barton – FDLE- Latents (Ft Myers Office)

Attorney Cynthia Rossen – Post Conviction Relief and how long we might be required to keep evidence.  Rules mentioned were:

3.801 – items that are not evidence but credit for time

3.850 – motion PCR, vacate judgment and sentence

3.851 – death penalty cases

3.853 – DNA claims — Defendant has 2 yrs from claim to the end of appeal

Cases conclude 60 days after a sentence with a 30 day appeal chance and then anytime after the appeal is complete.

SAO Femi Young– Spoke about the actual releasing of evidence and/or items not considered needed further

  • Cases SAO will not be seeking items
    • Suicides
    • Abandoned Property
    • Misdemeanor or resolved cases
    • TR cases
      • *LEO doesn’t intend to file criminal charges*
      • Items can be returned.
    • Cases SAO may or may not be seeking evidence
      • Injunctions
      • Open criminal cases
      • Civil/probate cases — open warrant/summons
      • Current in custody
      • Defendant on probation
      • Or where DNA may be obtainable
    • Cases SAO advised to keep
      • Sex offenses
      • Homicides

??? If part of the evidence is used / left in court for a trial, why can’t the rest of the evidence be purged?  SAO answer is: Evidence cannot be gotten rid of because of a possible re-trial with different witnesses in the new trial.

  • Evidence in misdemeanor cases need to be kept for a max of a year.
  • If defendant is out of custody and on probation, they can file an appeal so agencies have to keep evidence until their sentence is complete, including appeals.

FDLE Firearms – Chris Van Bomel

  • Firearms processed last
  • 5 firearms limited per submission, NOT per case.
  • Revolvers NOT eligible for NIBIN (will still work but only violent/shots fired cases)
  • FDLE NOT taking cartridges without witness/victim, must have a victim/intended victim or an indication of a crime
  • Bullets do not go into NIBIN but will work if a violent case
  • If you are sending off a firearm for a Serial number restore, DO NOT try to restore yourself, send off as is.
  • Guns located in water… Submit the firearm in the water it was recovered in, if you cannot then in fresh water
  • NOTIFY WHEN A CASE IS CLOSED.

FDLE Biology – Rachel Aponte (Crime Lab Analyst)

  • SAKs – Agencies have 30 days to submit to FDLE, FDLE has 120 days to return.
  • Homicides – submit 5 items on 1 submission
  • Other cases – submit 3 items on 1 submission
  • Burglaries – 1stsubmission is 1 item per subject
  • Touch/wear not accepted unless Violent Crimes
  • NO bullets/cartridges accepted for touch DNA without blood
  • Criminal parentage — Buccals for child, mother and alleged father. If child is unborn, submit fetal tissue.

FDLE Latents – Kimberlee Barton

Latent submissions (Latent cards)

  • BIS – no subject listed
  • Latent’s case – subject listed

FBI Database (Next Generation Identification)

  • Reserve hits from FBI

Submission Guidelines

  • 10 items per submission 1 lift = 1 item
  • Can send more once the report from the 1stsubmission has been released.
  • If sending to process, DO NOT process first.
  • NIBIN requests – 72 hrs for a RUSH
  • If officer’s print shows on tape being submitted for latents, place “X” through it to indicate that print does not need to be processed.

Meeting Business:

  • Secretary Tonya Jennings gave a short rundown of the last meeting.
  • Announced that there will be a vacancy for Vice President, current VP Cory Mundy will be stepping down due to moving out of state. *Good Luck to him in his new endeavors.
  • Discussed upcoming Conference in August and how to register and book room.

Informal Round Table Discussions

  • If you have a firearm that was purchased by an 18 year old prior to the new law, where no one under the age of 21 can purchase a firearm, can you return that firearm or do you follow current law?
  • Do agencies use the FDLE – Firearms Eligibility System (FES) and does that fully determine whether or not a firearm gets returned or do you still rely on your agency deputy/detective to sign off on it?

Next Chapter 5 Meeting will be held in August, date and location to be determined. Treasurer‘s report was not available.  Meeting was adjourned at 11:55 and lunch was provided by Naples PD.

Submitted by:

Tonya Jennings, Secretary

Chapter 3 Meeting Minutes – May 2018

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Attendance:14

The meeting was called to order at 1002 hours, FDLE in Tampa hosted.

Minutes for the February 16, 2018 were passed out for review.  Pam Schmidt motioned to accept the minutes, Kimberly Barkman seconded. The minutes were accepted.

Information sheet on the upcoming PEAF conference was distributed. See attached.

At 1019 hours FDLE Firearms Section presented an informational presentation on what FDLE Firearms Section does.  Analyst Jennifer Michelon and Forensic Technician Marlene Thurber presented the information.  Handout attached.

FDLE Electronics/digital Section Analyst Connie Bell spoke in reference to a new program to help unlock cellphones and computers.

At 1145 hours the meeting continued.

Old Business

  • Topics or speakers members may be interested in for Chapter meetings.
    • RPO – Kaley Tinley will be speaking with the Attorney in charge of the program at the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office. Kaley provide a few of the training manuals to members.
  • Ideas for recruiting new members to the Chapter.
    • Change the Certification from 3 years to 5 years.
    • Scholarships
    • A letter or PowerPoint describing the differences between  PEAF and IAI
    • Letters to Agencies
    • Search engine to bring up PEAF on web searches on the first page.
    • Reach out to neighboring Agencies.
  • Logo Agency items as donations for conference.As many items as Agencies would like to donate.  Can be dropped off at Largo P.D. to President Chandra Gaines.

New Business 

No new business

Discussions

The next Chapter 3 meeting will be on October 5th, 2018 from 10:00 to 12p.m. at Largo P.D.

President C. Gaines asked for a motion to close the meeting. Kaley Tilney motion to close, Linda Hypes seconded.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 1155 hours.