Latest news with #StateCrimeLab
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Arkansas police investigate double-homicide in Devil's Den State Park
Arkansas state police are investigating a double homicide in Devil's Den State Park and looking for the suspect who is still at large. A 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were found dead on a walking trail about 2:40 p.m. on July 26, state police said. The case is being investigated as a pair of suspected homicides. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said law enforcement wouldn't 'rest until the perpetrator is brought to justice.' 'We are heartbroken by today's horrific news from Devil's Den State Park and are in close contact with State Police and the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism as they work to apprehend the suspect,' Sanders said. We are praying for the family and friends of the victims, and know that law enforcement will not rest until the perpetrator is brought to justice.' The suspect in their deaths was described as a white male wearing dark shorts, a dark tank top and weight-lifting type gloves. He was seen driving toward a park exit in a black, four-door sedan, which may have been a Mazda, with a license plate covered by tape. The Arkansas State Crime Lab will determine what caused the victims' deaths. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arkansas police investigate double-homicide in Devil's Den State Park
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Men to serve double life sentences for murder of Revere teen in R.I.
Both men were found guilty by a jury in March on numerous charges, including first-degree murder, for the death of Berta Pereira-Roldan. Veng and Brown also injured Crystal Peloquin, the jury found. Advertisement 'Berta was an innocent bystander who was torn from her family with this senseless act of violence,' Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. 'She was out with her friends to celebrate her nineteenth birthday, and she had her whole life ahead of her. While nothing can bring her back to her loved ones, I hope these double life sentences bring her family a sense of peace knowing that justice has been served.' Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up According to prosecutors, Providence police responded to Detroit Avenue for a report of shots fired in the early hours of Sept. 29, 2019. There, they found the teen with multiple gunshot wounds, officials said. Pereira-Roldan, who had driven to Providence to celebrate her birthday with friends, was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement First responders also found Peloquin with multiple gunshot wounds, and brought her to Rhode Island Hospital in serious condition, officials said. 'The two victims did not know each other and both left a nearby nightclub just before the shooting,' prosecutors said. Witness testimony and video surveillance footage showed Veng and Brown had circled the area in a vehicle at least three times just before the shooting, and then sped away after the shots were fired, according to prosecutors. Police discovered 16 spent shell casings at the scene. Then, on Oct. 17, 2019, police responded to a home on Mitchell Street after someone reported finding two firearms in her backyard. 'Video surveillance from the neighborhood on the night of the shooting showed one of the three vehicles identified in the Detroit Avenue footage, a Dodge Durango, pull up to the Mitchell Street residence two minutes after the shooting took place,' officials said. 'The video shows two people getting out of the Durango and leaving the two firearms in the yard where the tenant found them.' Investigators were able to identify and seize the vehicle based on its license plate. 'While executing a search warrant on the vehicle, investigators found DNA and a fingerprint matching Johnny Veng. Cellular data placed Veng in the area of Detroit Avenue at the time of the murder,' prosecutors said. 'The State Crime Lab's analysis of the firearms found on Mitchell Street confirmed that they match the shell casings found at the murder scene,' prosecutors added. 'Further analysis revealed DNA matching Marklyn Brown on the Glock pistol and magazine.' According to officials, Veng's sentence will 'run consecutive to the nine year sentence he is currently serving for a separate gun case.' Advertisement Shortly after Pereira-Roldan's death in 2019, Jaime Carrillo, her uncle, 'She didn't go out much but she had a lot of friends that she loved,' he said. Material from a previous Globe story was used in this report. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man in Bayboro pleads guilty to trafficking opiates
BAYBORO, N.C. (WNCT) — On Friday, May 2, 2025, a man in Bayboro pled guilty to an active sentence for trafficking opiates. It was announced by District Attorney Scoot Thomas and Pamlico County Sheriff Chris Davis that Montrell Cordess Curtis, 27, of Bayboro, pled guilty to four counts of Trafficking Opiates 4-14 grams, one count of Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell, or Deliver Opiates, and one count of Possession of Firearm by a Felon. Curtis received an active sentence of 70-93 months at the Department of Adult Correction as well as a $500,000 fine and court costs. On March 30, 2023, investigators with the Pamlico County Sheriff conducted many controlled buys from Curtis. This led in 166 Fentanyl tablets being purchased from him. In April 2023, investigators were able to get a search warrant for Curtis' person, residence, and vehicle because of his previous drug buys. Since children may have been at the home, officers took Curtis into custody after he left his home. Once officers were able to safely search his home, they found a Spike's Tactical Hellbreaker AR style rifle, a glock handgun, and ammunition. Marijuana, a marijuana rolling tray, and a bag containing 112 blue pills were also found. The blue pills were confirmed by the State Crime Lab to be Fentanyl and weighed around 13 grams. The case was prosecuted by Laura Bell, Assistant District Attorney, the Pamlico CountySheriff's Office handled the investigation, and Superior Court Judge Kent Harrell presided overthe matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorney General Josh Kaul is seeking more Crime Lab analysts. Here's what to know about the labs
MADISON - Attorney General Josh Kaul and the Department of Justice are asking Republican lawmakers to add analysts in state crime labs to keep up with the growing amount of evidence needed for investigations and prosecutions. During a tour at the State Crime Lab in Madison on Wednesday, Kaul asked for 19 new positions to be created during the budget process, including analysts for DNA, controlled substances, and firearms. The Legislature is just beginning its process of setting the biennial budget, which will run from 2025 through 2027, and though agencies typically make requests for new positions or funding through Gov. Tony Evers' budget, which was released last month, the governor doesn't always include all the positions agency heads hope for. Kaul is hoping to add positions to the labs across the state — located in Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau — in order to process evidence faster and have more analysts available to testify during trials and help district attorneys understand how evidence can be used during a trial. Here's what we know about the request. Kaul said there haven't been new analyst positions added in years, and with advances in technology happening more quickly, the labs need more experts. In past budgets, more prosecutors were added in counties across the state. That's generating more cases that need the work of lab analysts. "If we have resources at the prosecution or defense level, but we don't have the resources that we need at the crime labs, cases are going to be delayed while we wait for testing to happen," he said. In his budget released last month, Evers requested a total of six new state crime positions, at a cost of more than $800,000 over the two years of the budget. Kaul's request will come in at just under $2.8 million over the same period. Kaul said that only adding six positions won't be enough. "We know that that's a meaningful investment for the legislature to make, but these are not requests that are made without a lot of thought about what the needs of the labs are," he said. "So we are hoping to see the kind of investment that can help ensure that the labs are adequately resourced to do their work in the future." Ten of the analysts would be hired to work on DNA processing. Three would work in analyzing controlled substances, two would be firearms examiners. Another two would work as forensic science supervisors, while one person would do crime scene response and the final person would handle business automation. Kaul said evidence backlogs crop up in the state labs at times when analysis need to prioritize evidence in homicides or sexual assaults to ensure law enforcement can apprehend the suspect. "The Crime Lab is the only laboratory that works on felony level criminal cases, and their expertise is indispensable," Outagamie County District Attorney Mindy Tempelis said. "The labs, analysts and examiners provide vital testing and analysis that help direct investigations, corroborate evidence and ultimately ensure that justice is served." The analysts not only break down DNA but they also analyze guns, test drugs, and are called in as expert witnesses during trials. They help the jury understand the science behind the evidence and how they reach the conclusions they do. Testifying can require analysts to travel across the state, taking time away from analyzing evidence waiting in other cases. "These types of delays impact the case and justice for victims and families as well as defendants," Tempelis said. "This is not just a problem for prosecutors and law enforcement, it's also a problem for victims and for our communities. Timely testing of evidence is a cornerstone of effective law enforcement, and the backlog has real world implications." Tempelis said advances in technology in recent years have helped to reopen cold cases in Wisconsin. Last year, she was able to prosecute a cold case from 1988 in Outagamie County, thanks to the expertise of the state labs. "The analyst helped identify a key piece of evidence that hadn't yet been tested that was instrumental in securing the conviction," she said. "She spent countless hours working with me preparing her testimony, and ultimately testified for four hours at the trial." Kaul said that for the most part, these new analysts would be working on current cases. But more hands on deck could allow the DOJ to help out on more cold cases. In the coming months, state agencies will have the opportunity to make their case to legislators on funding and positions they need. Legislators will take those requests into consideration. Republicans, who make up the majority of the Legislature, will then create their own budget proposal. Evers will have the opportunity to veto parts of the budget he doesn't agree with, and the final budget will be signed into law this summer. Republican leaders did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about whether or not they would approve the request from Kaul for more analysts. Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@ and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Josh Kaul asks for nearly $3.2 million for Crime Lab analysts
