For the Law Enforcement Agencies of Miami-Dade County
Katherine Fernandez Rundle
Miami-Dade State Attorney
1 July 2007
POLICE-PROSECUTOR
COORDINATING COMMITTEE
Steering Committee:
IN THIS ISSUE:
PAGE
Summary of PPCC Meeting ....................................................................... 1-2
Miami-Dade Crime Lab Procedures On Firearm Cases................................ 3
PPCC Sub-Committees ................................................................................ 4
Kristi Bettendorf, ASA, Chair
State Attorney’s Office
(305) 547-0220
e-mail:
[email protected]
José Arrojo, Chief ASA
State Attorney’s Office
(305) 547-0309
e-mail: [email protected]
PLEASE NOTE:
The next PPCC meeting will take place after
the summer break on
Gerald Darling, Chief
Miami-Dade Schools Police
(305) 754-9630
Thursday, September 13th, 2007,
the second, not third, Thursday
of the month.
Naim R. Erched, Assistant Director
Police Services
Miami-Dade Police Department
(305) 471-2625
e-mail: [email protected]
ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.
Frank Ledee, ASA
State Attorney’s Office
(305) 547-0853
e-mail: [email protected]
Summary of June 21, 2007
PPCC Meeting
Chief Fred Maas
Sunny Isles Beach PD
(305) 947-4440
e-mail: [email protected]
Betty Tarre, SAO
Recording Secretary
e-mail: [email protected]
Agencies represented: M-DPD, Coral Gables PD, Miami Gardens PD,
Surfside PD, Biscayne Park PD, North Miami Beach PD, North Miami
PD, Sunny Isles Beach PD, ABT and Miami-Dade Crime Lab.
Agenda:
Firearms Testing and M-DPD Crime Lab Procedures:
Members of the Crimes
Against Law Enforcement
Officers Subcommittee are
listed on the back page
Please see the article on page 3 regarding NIBIN protocols and local
Crime Lab procedures for the testing of firearms.
Continued next page
IMPORTANT!
Next PPCC meeting, Thursday, September 13, 2007, at 10:00 a.m.
State Attorney’s Office • 1350 NW 12 Avenue • Miami FL 33136
All are invited to attend
Page 2
The Rap Sheet
July, 2007
Continued from previous page
Thomas Fadul, Jr., Manager of the M-DPD Crime
Laboratory, was present and answered questions. The
Crime Lab’s internal criteria state that the firearms they
enter into the NIBIN system must be auto-loading
firearms. They do not enter spent bullets for identifying
and researching purposes into NIBIN; spent casings
provide a much better possibility of matching in the
system. He further stated that the goal of the Metro-Dade
Crime Lab is to help and provide service to law
enforcement personnel throughout the state. When asked
about the “caseload”, Mr. Fadul stated that there is
currently a backlog of 800 to 1,000 cases, however he
expects that this will gradually lessen with the addition of
staff who are currently undergoing training in forensic
identification of firearms.
Issues From the Floor:
New Juvenile Program?
Captain Carmen Puentes-Croye from ABT inquired about
a juvenile program she learned of at a meeting of the
Dade Police Chiefs. It was announced that misdemeanor
juvenile offenses would be processed by civil citations.
Former West Miami Chief Patrick Kiel advised that this
was not an across-the-board policy but would be adopted
on a case-by-case basis, depending upon whether
juveniles qualified for the program and eligibility would
be determined/reviewed by the JAC. Officers should
continue to write up arrests of juvenile misdemeanants on
arrest affidavits. (Kristi Bettendorf will get more detail
and include this information in a future issue of The Rap
Sheet.)
Curfews / Domestic Violence Reports:
Major Kathy Katerman raised two issues. At a recent
CRB (Community Relations Board) meeting the members
discussed Memorial Day police procedures and the issue
of curfews for juveniles under 17 years of age was raised.
She inquired if the curfews were being strictly enforced
and what was the county’s position on this. While the
city of Miami Beach has its own city ordinance
governing curfews, Sgt. Reyes, Miami-Dade PD, said that
all curfew violations are processed and that the monetary
penalties fall on the parents. They are currently in
discussions with the JAC, which has a database, and will
check on the process and follow up.
Major Katerman also raised the issue of checking
statistics related to officers’ response to domestic
violence calls to see if reports are routinely being
written.
Should domestic calls be treated
differently (regarding the writing of reports) when
there is violence or a threat of violence versus
situations where there is a verbal argument with
no threats involved? Some officers stated that
their departments do a report in either type of
situation, if for no other reason than to establish a
history for future referral. If a 911 call contains
an allegation of abuse, either verbal or physical,
even though upon arrival the parties indicate to the
officer there “is no problem”, then a report still
needs to be done. Major Katerman stated that
these reports are sent to a clearinghouse and can
be tracked by case number for future retrieval or
inspection. Some officers suggested that reports
are really necessary to protect against possible
liability in the future. Kristi will request an ASA
in one of the SAO’s domestic violence units to
write an article for The Rap Sheet on the topic of
report writing on domestic cases.
Untaxed Cigarettes and Alcohol:
Representatives from the Division of Alcoholic
Beverages and Tobacco stated they are concerned
that high numbers of their misdemeanor cases
charging possession of untaxed cigarettes or
alcohol are being dropped or nolle prossed in
court. So far they have received little feedback
and feel they would benefit from this information.
If the cases are being filed incorrectly or lack
necessary documentation, they would like to be
made aware so that they can modify procedures.
Kristi Bettendorf suggested they call County
Court Chief Patrick Trese for further clarification.
A presentation of the County Court S.T.O.P.,
Smoking Tobacco Offender Program, will take
place at the October PPCC meeting. This is an
encore of a very informative presentation first
given by County Court Judge Beth Bloom at a
January 2003 PPCC meeting.
Page 3
The Rap Sheet
July, 2007
MIAMI-DADE CRIME LAB PROCEDURES ON FIREARM CASES
After the May issue of The Rap Sheet reported a summary of the April PPCC meeting and a summary of the NIBIN
(ATF’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network) protocols, Stephanie Stoiloff of the Metro-Dade Crime
Laboratory Bureau was kind enough to send me some additional information, updating, supplementing, and, in some
instances, correcting the Rap Sheet information. In addition, she provided some procedures that will be followed by
the Metro-Dade Crime Lab.
The Crime Lab partnered with NIBIN in 2001. (Prior to that, they maintained a database through the FBI-sponsored
Drugfire Program.) It is to be noted that the NIBIN protocols are guidelines and strict adherence to their guidelines is
not a requirement for participation in the NIBIN program. Twenty-four local agencies actively participate in the Crime
Lab’s NIBIN program, as well as state and federal agencies. The participating agencies need not test-fire submitted
firearms to participate; the Crime Lab will do the test-firing for entry into the NIBIN system. A pre-printed NIBIN
Laboratory Analysis Request form is available for a NIBIN entry. When a firearm is submitted to the Crime Lab for
examination outside of the NIBIN Testing Unit, these firearms will also be examined, test-fired and entered if they meet
the Crime Lab’s internal NIBIN criteria (firearms must be auto-loading). As of this writing, the Crime Lab has made
over 480 NIBIN hits from fired casings entered into the computer system. A NIBIN report, containing specific
information regarding the firearm, will be created for all firearms impounded and searched through the NIBIN system.
If a Crime Lab Firearms Examiner examines a firearm, the Crime Lab will issue a report detailing specific information
about the firearm’s caliber, make, model and serial number.
On the subject of spent bullets, studies have rarely produced positive results. Fired casing results have been found to be
superior to spent bullet results. Based upon this information, the Crime Lab’s policy is not to enter spent bullet
information into NIBIN.
Metro-Dade Crime Lab’s Suggested Procedures for Processing Crime Guns and Related Evidence:

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


All crime guns or ammunition need not be swabbed for DNA. This determination is case specific and
should be based upon the particular facts presented to the investigating officer.
Swabbing for DNA and/or processing of firearms for latent fingerprints should be done on a case-by-case
basis. In most cases, the submitting agency can swab the firearm’s grip, handle, trigger and/or magazine
and submit the swabs directly to the Crime Lab for DNA testing, while the firearm itself is submitted for
latent fingerprints and then for test-firing to the Crime Lab NIBIN Testing Unit. If there are any
questions about routing items of evidence, the submitting agency should contact the Crime Lab.
Typically, the different areas of a firearm are processed for DNA and latent fingerprints.
Generally, latent processing chemicals do not compromise DNA recovery; however, the method of latent
processing can affect recovery of cellular material. Therefore, routing decisions should always be made
in consultation with the Crime Lab.
All agencies within Miami-Dade County that submit evidence to the Metro-Dade Police Department
Crime Lab must submit such evidence using a Laboratory Analysis Request (LAR) form describing the
specific facts of the case that explain the analysis request to the Crime Lab analyst. The completion of
this analysis request form is critical to the examination of evidence for the presence of biological
material.
Needless to say, all firearm evidence must be handled MOST carefully so that if it is determined that DNA and
fingerprint analysis is necessary, that the handling of the evidence will not contaminate such testing.
Current and back issues of the Rap Sheet are posted on the State Attorney’s Office web site:
http://www.MiamiSAO.com
Subscribe online by sending an e-mail to: RapSheet @MiamiSAO.com
Page 4
The Rap Sheet
July, 2007
All PPCC Sub-Committees, Chairs and members are listed below. Please contact any of the Co-Chairs or members if you have an issue to be addressed.
CASE INTAKE SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Marie Jo Toussaint, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0255;
e-mail: Marie Jo [email protected]
Bart Armstrong, Police Legal Advisor
Miami-Dade P.D. (305) 471-2550
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Members:
Sandy Roberts, SAO
Sgt. Ray Santiago, UMPS
Det. Paul Manzella, SIBPD
Lt. Efren Lopez, M-DPD
COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Major L. Buck, M-DPD (305) 375-5555;
e-mail: [email protected]
Deisy Rodriguez, ASA, SAO (305) 324-2999
[email protected]
Committee Members:
Lt. Steve Rossbach, MPD
Major Michael Mills, SMPD
Sandy Roberts, SAO
Major Kathy Katerman, NMBPD
Manny Segarra, ASA, SAO
Oliver Spicer, Jr., M-DPD
Gloria Paskiewicz, MBPD
Ray Araujo, ASA, SAO, County Court
CRIMES AGAINST LEOs SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
José Arrojo, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0309;
e-mail: [email protected]
Chief Steven Steinberg, Aventura PD (305) 466-8996;
e-mail: [email protected]
David Waksman, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0445;
e-mail: [email protected]
Capt. Mike Hernandez, M-DPD, (305) 375-5086
[email protected]
Fran Miller, Inv., SAO, (305) 547-0669
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Members:
Lt. Ralph Gracia, Hialeah PD
Abbe Rifkin, ASA, SAO
Lt. David Evans, M-DPD, Airport
Lt. Willie Hill, Pinecrest PD
Det. Robert Garland, M-DPD
Ofcr. Roger Ruano, Corrections
Lt. Efren Lopez, M-DPD, City of Doral
Det. Norma Dieppa, CGPD
Susan Leah Dechovitz, ASA, SAO
Ofcr. Nelson Delgado, VGPD
Audrey Frank-Aponte, ASA, SAO
Lt. Marshall Gilreath, M-DPD
Lt. William Riley, MBPD
Sgt. Danny Formosa, Coral Gables PD
Sgt. Carlos Arguelles, M-DPD, City of Doral
Captain Luis Bazo, M-DPD, Police Administrative Bureau
JUVENILE SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Leon Botkin, ASA (305) 637-1300
e-mail: [email protected]
Olanike Adebayo, M-DPD, Legal Unit
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Members:
Sgt. Ian Moffett, M-DSBPD
Lt. Walter Campbell, MBPD
Ellen Skidmore, SAO
Lt. Howard Ostlund, M-DPD, JAC
PAWNSHOP SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Colleen Kay, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0350;
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Members:
Det. Melissa Dejong, CGPD
Pat Kiel
DOMESTIC CRIMES SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Leah Klein, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0132;
e-mail [email protected]
Major Michael A. Herrera, M-DPD (305) 305-418-7200
e-mail [email protected]
Committee Members:
Carrie Soubal, SAO
Sarah Poux, MBPD
Sgt. Jed Burger, MPD/CID/Violent Crimes/Domestic Violence Unit
RAP SHEET SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Kristi Bettendorf, ASA, SAO (305) 547-0220
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Members:
Sandy Roberts, SAO
Betty Tarre, SAO
Ed Griffith, SAO
ROLL CALL/RIDE-ALONG SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Committee Members:
Lt. Richard Pichardo, M-DPD, Cutler Ridge
Shana Belyeu, ASA, SAO
Audrey Frank-Aponte, ASA, SAO
Brenda Mezick, ASA, SAO
TRAINING SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Capt. Miguel Hernandez, M-DPD, Court Services (305) 375-5086;
e-mail: [email protected]
Susan Dechovitz, ASA, SAO; 547-0309
e-mail: [email protected]
Tom Headley, ASA, SAO; 547- 547-0186
e-mail: [email protected]
Sgt. Barry Mankes, M-DPD, Intracoastal District (305) 940-9980
Committee Members:
Sgt. Ian Moffett, M-DSBPD
Det. David Adlet, EPPD
Lt. Van Toth, Hialeah Gardens PD
Oliver Spicer, Jr., M-DPD
Sgt. Lynnise Jones-Curry, M-DPD
Ofcr. Chad Rosen, Surfside PD
Capt. Luis Bazo, M-DPD
Shana Belyeu, ASA, SAO
David Waksman, ASA, SAO
OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS:
Major Carmen Pichardo, M-DPD, Property and Evidence Bureau,
(305) 471-2900, [email protected]
Major Kathy Katerman, NMBPD, (305) 948-2929,
[email protected]
Dreama Oliver, SAO, Administrator, Felony Operations,
(305) 547-0307, [email protected]
Committee Members:
Lt. Albert Vila, MPD
Bill Altfield, ASA, SAO
Sgt. Gladys Amato, MPD
Jay Pollen, MPD
Liaison Subcommittee
CO-CHAIRS:
Kathleen Hoague, SAO, (305) 547-0522;
e-mail: [email protected]
Maria Diaz, SAO, (305) 547-0331;
e-mail: [email protected]
Sgt. Betty Jewett, M-DPD, (305) 548-5775
[email protected]