A federal judge has found that while a police department’s destruction of evidence in a homicide case was a serious mistake, it was not made in bad faith and does not merit dismissal of murder charges against the four defendants for spoliation of evidence.
Western District Judge Frank Geraci Jr. took no issue on April 29 with the lambasting that Magistrate Judge Jonathan Feldman gave to the Erie County Sheriff’s Department for its evidence handling procedures, in what Geraci said was Feldman’s “well-reasoned” report and recommendation in USA v. Kendrick, 10-cr-6096.
