Jul 19, 2023 4 min read

The Washington County District Attorney announced Tuesday his office will return control of the Donora evidence room back to the police department.

After nearly a year under county control, District Attorney Jason Walsh and Washington County Judge Michael Lucas handed keys back to Chief Neal Rands and borough police.

“We’re still processing the news over here,” Mayor Don Pavelko said. “But if the DA says it’s time, I say it’s time. He’s the guy who would know.”

Rands said he’s confident about his department’s ability to handle the transition and eager for a return to normal police protocol.

“They did a thorough job categorizing everything and getting everything in a place for us to take over,” Rands said. “They made it easy for us.”

The DA seized control of the evidence room after performing a lengthy audit of physical evidence and investigatory files. In the motion to return evidence room control to Donora police, Deputy District Attorney John Friedman stated the office finished the audit June 1.

In a letter to Rands, Walsh gave recommendations on practices to continue and adopt regarding borough evidence, among which he suggests “only the chief or his designated custodial officer shall have access to the evidence room” and “only the chief or his designated custodial officer shall enter evidence.”

The DA also recommended non designated officers store seized evidence in a temporary holding locker,

DONORA • A2 FROM A1 which the shift supervisor would secure.

Walsh advocated for the department to destroy or return all firearms currently stored in evidence and consult with Solicitor Steve Toprani and/ or relevant statutes upon disposal. He additionally suggested the department create secure storage locations for weapons, drugs, money and sexual assault kits, maintain a refrigerated space for biological evidence, follow storage guidelines for sexual assault kits and recommended the department attend a class on evidence collection and storage.

Walsh also extended his office’s resources to Rands for future department aid.

The DA’s office submitted a report of their audit to the court, the contents of which were unavailable at press time. If the court has any future inquiries into the report and audit, the DA made two detectives available to discuss actions taken.

The DA’s office controlled the borough’s evidence room since August 2022. Walsh filed an emergency petition following the suspension of former police superintendent Jim Brice. The petition came amid allegations that some council members told the street foreman to place a lock on the room.

Lucas approved the DA’s petition and granted his office control of the evidence room until further ruling.

In following months, lack of room access sparked contention among council members, some of whom claimed police protocols were unclear following the take over.

A pipe break in December partially flooded the room. Despite causing no significant damage, and despite Rands explaining evidence protocol, the incident prompted concerns. Shortly after, Councilman Joe Greco advocated establishing a separate evidence room within borough control.

Council hasn’t discussed the topic of the evidence room since January.