Donora police retain control of evidence room

By Max Robinette
mrobinette@yourmvi.com
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.

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