Police Evidence Lost In Warehouse Fire

By VALERIE KALFRIN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 10, 2007

TAMPA - Police and prosecutors might not know for weeks whether crucial evidence was damaged or destroyed in a fire Sunday at the police impound lot, an official said.

Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis estimated roughly 40 percent of the items stored inside a steel building within the fenced lot at 110 S. 34th St. was associated with active cases. The majority of the items are large or bulky, such as furniture and bicycles.

About 60 percent of the items in the building was seized property scheduled for auction or evidence from closed cases that was scheduled to be incinerated, such as sealed boxes from drug possession or burglary cases, Davis said.

Evidence from active cases had been catalogued before Sunday's fire, she said. Any samples needing testing had been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement before the fire, Davis said.

Monday, evidence technicians sorted through shelves of soggy cardboard boxes and other items inside the 4,500-square-foot building to determine what could be salvaged.

"We're going to work with the state attorney's office to determine what is still able to be used in court," Davis said.

She could not pinpoint how many cases might be affected.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said she could not comment on the fire Monday, saying police and prosecutors had not discussed specific cases.

The state fire marshal division is investigating the blaze, which erupted about 5:20 p.m. Sunday. Agency spokesman Sam Venzeio said investigators were testing several items and expected results within a few days.

The building had smoke detectors but no sprinkler system, Davis said.

An officer at the lot summoned firefighters Sunday after an evidence technician saw flames coming from the building, Davis said. The technician dashed inside to use a fire extinguisher but quickly realized the blaze was too large for him to control, she said. Tampa Fire Rescue extinguished the fire in about 30 minutes.

No firearms were kept at the facility, Davis said. There were some narcotics from closed cases awaiting incineration.

"We do a controlled burn twice a year," she said. "A lot of times these cases are waiting for a detective to sign off."

Narcotics from open cases and closed cases not scheduled for incineration are stored at police headquarters, 411 N. Franklin St., she said.

Other boxed items at the building that were scheduled to be incinerated included clothing from an unattended death later determined to be cancer and clothing from a rape allegation where the complainant later said no force was used, Davis said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.