From Left: Valorie Coppin, Frank Carter, and Jean Ulmer
The Evidence Unit is staffed by Valorie Townsend - Evidence Technician Supervisor, Frank Carter – Evidence Technician / Tow Truck Driver, and Jean Ulmer - Evidence Technician. These individuals as a team receive and warehouse an average of 235 cases; 450 pieces of property/evidence and 15 vehicles monthly.
Property and evidence is submitted by Deputies, Detectives and Identification Technicians. An Evidence Technician is responsible for maintaining the integrity and condition of all property and evidence, documenting and maintaining proper chain of custody, and preparing evidence for trial.
The Evidence Unit is also responsible for releasing property to its rightful owner as well as disposing of property which has been seized, forfeited, or unclaimed as prescribed by state law. The Evidence Unit does not process crime scenes process or evidence of any type, located latent fingerprints, or print reports or other legal documents.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Unit storage areas consist of two outside vehicle storage yards, one vehicle processing bay, one walk in refrigerator, one walk in freezer, one covered outside evidence storage, two mobile mini storage containers, three armories and two indoor warehouses. We currently warehouse approximately 87,500 items of property/evidence.
In 2006 the Evidence Unit destroyed 36,750 pounds of marijuana and various other narcotics and biohazard evidence. In 2007 the Evidence Unit destroyed 15,500 pounds of marijuana and various other narcotics, and biohazard evidence.
Facts about the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Unit:
- Our office is normally open Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm, excluding holidays.
- Evidence Technicians travel to six different field offices to inspect and transport property/evidence back to the main warehouse located in Florence.
- Scheduling an appointment to pick up property will ensure an evidence technician is available to assist you.
- The next Pinal County vehicle auction will be on May 10, 2008. You may view the vehicles on Thursday, May 8, 2008 from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 900 S. Pinal Parkway, Florence, Arizona.
- The Pinal County evidence auction is held by the Sierra Auction Management. You can log onto www.sierraauctions.com to view items and locate auction dates.