It is being reported this morning that a break in a murder case almost 3 months ago, is due to a local resident finding a shell casing at the scene of the original crime. Just feet away in some brush and flowers an empty bullet casing was found.
NOW, I want to know why police could not find this evidence.
I know of at least 1 other case where evidence was compromised and the murder is unsolved.
Mayor Abramson and Chief White have decimated the ranks of our police. With merger of city and county we lost experienced detectives who KNOW how to solve these crimes. It is time for Mayor Abramson to replace Chief White and to ask former Detectives to come back to assist in training their replacements and to look at unsolved cases with fresh eyes. It will cost, and the Mayor is responsible for this so the Mayor should give up his salary for at least the next year until the unsolved rate on murders in the city decreases to less than 10%, and that number is still unacceptable. There should NOT be more than one murder per year in this city that is unsolved.
Chief White must go.
His incompetence in getting training for new detectives is part of the problem that is endemic in the department and the rise of murder in this city.
The finding of new evidence in the Highlands Murder Case is outrageous. NO Evidence less than 3 feet from a murder should ever be found 3 months later. There is now doubt about the evidence that any criminal lawyer could exploit. This is UNACCEPTABLE and definitely reason for firing some detective and his boss.
Jim Dicken
