The Lab Report. TrueAllele & DNA Mixtures. New Blood Collection Kits. Laboratory Training Day. "Justice through Science" TrueAllele & DNA Mixtures

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1 The Lab Report TrueAllele & DNA Mixtures New Blood Collection Kits Laboratory Training Day Volume 1 Issue 2 / April 2013 TrueAllele & DNA Mixtures On February 15, 2013, in a case prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer and Deputy District Attorney Joseph Kinzel, a Kern County jury convicted Charles Lawton and Dupree Langston of multiple counts of robbery with firearm and gang enhancements. The charges included the October 30, 2011 robbery of the Max Muscle Store in Bakersfield, in which the victim of that robbery defended himself by using a firearm. Charles Lawton, age 31, and Dupree Langston, age 19, were members of the West Side Crips criminal street gang. From September 30, 2011 through November 2, 2011, Lawton and Langston committed eight armed robberies of jewelry stores and check advance stores in Bakersfield, Delano, and Visalia. During this five week crime spree, Lawton and Langston robbed employees at Gold Buyers on Ming Avenue, Dollars for Gold on Niles Street, Advance America in Delano, Gold Rush Jewelers on Brundage Avenue, Auto Zone on Niles Street, Check Into Cash in Visalia, Max Muscle on McNair Lane, and Allied Cash Advance in Delano. Lawton and Langston brutalized the victims during the robberies by pointing firearms at them and threatening to kill them. Some of the victims were beaten and some were forced to disrobe at gunpoint. Lawton and Langston escaped with approximately $40,000 from the victim businesses. The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory employed the use of groundbreaking advancements in DNA interpretation technology to assist in solving these robberies; most notably in the use of the TrueAllele Casework System. TrueAllele is a computerized DNA interpretation system that objectively infers DNA profiles from evidence samples, including those that contain complex mixtures. The system is especially helpful to forensic scientists, because it is able to consider every possible DNA profile within an evidentiary item, and then produce probabilistic match strengths for a number of unknown contributors. (continued on p. 2) "Justice through Science"

2 TrueAllele & DNA Mixtures (cont.) The use of TrueAllele in this case was a first for the California court system. Dr. Mark Perlin, a world renowned scientist in the field of forensic DNA analysis, and the inventor of the TrueAllele Casework System, travelled across the country in order to testify to his use of the system with the DNA evidence collected in this case. The Crime Laboratory anticipates increased use of the True- Allele System to help solve similar cases in the future, and considers the use of TrueAllele an investment in the future safety of our community. The sentencing date for Charles Lawton and Dupree Langston is set for April 5, They face a sentence of approximately 70 years in state prison. New Blood Collection Kits The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory is now using new blood kits for alcohol and drug testing. Instructions for the use of these new kits is provided in this newsletter. The new kits do not have "Kit" numbers, and they are contained within a box instead of an envelope. The samples are able to be tracked by the suspect/defendant name and the agency case number(s). Lot numbers are provided on each kit box that certify the kit contents from the vendor (including chemical composition and expiration dates). Blood kits should be delivered to the crime laboratory in the same manner they have in the past. The lab is no longer conducting toxicology testing in non-criminal matters and, as a result, our ability to collect and transport evidence is also going away. You will hear more about this from Assistant District Attorney Spielman in the coming weeks, but we will not leave you without a plan and pleanty of warning! In the meantime, it's business as usual. Thank you for your patience during the kit change over. Our goal is to provide quality analytical services to your agencies. Please address all questions regarding evidence collection kits to our Case Management Lead Criminalist, Jodi Kessler, at (661) CODIS Administrator Dechelle Smothers is assisted by Forensic Databasing Technician Garett Sugimoto in the analysis of complex DNA mixtures using the TrueAllele Caseworks system.

3 Instructions for Collecting Blood for Toxicological Analysis Officer's Instructions: Obtain a Kern Regional Crime Laboratory Blood Collection Kit. The laboratory provides these kits for pickup Monday Friday, from 8 am - 5 pm. Please note: it is important to obtain blood specimens as soon as possible after the alleged offense. Please do not take parts from another kit due to kit expiration dates and lot numbers. Remove all of the contents of the kit and set aside the evidence tape. Contents of the kit include: 1. White cardboard box 2. Plastic box 3. 2 Vacutainer1 tubes inside plastic holders 4. Sterile syringe 5. 2 tube labels 6. Povidone-iodine prep pad 7. 5 pieces of evidence tape 8. Biohazard bag with absorbent pad Once the contents of the kit are removed, please complete the following: a. Accurately and neatly complete the two tube labels for each blood tube b. Accurately and neatly complete the label adhered to the top of the clear plastic box (blood collection report and chain of custody). c. Accurately and neatly complete the label adhered to the bottom of the white cardboard box (request for analysis). Take note of the white powder in the clear glass Vacutainer tubes. Please ensure that both tubes contain the white powder. Give the technician performing the blood draw the clear plastic box with 2 Vacutainer tubes and sterile needle. Witness the withdrawal of the blood samples - do not allow the blood tubes out of your observation at any time. Physician or Technician Instructions: (cont. on p. 4) This blood evidence collection kit, pictured above, is housed in a sturdy outer box to further protect glass blood vials from breakage. The kit is under proper seal, which means that all ends that can be opened are secured with tamperevident tape, and the date and initials of the individual sealing the box are written across both the box and the tape.

4 Instructions for Collecting Blood for Toxicological Analysis (cont.) 1. Cleanse the blood withdrawal site with the non-alcoholic (iodine prep pad). 2. Collect approximately 10 ml (cc's) of blood from the subject into each of the gray-top Vacutainer tubes using the sterile hypodermic needle and Vacutainer collection system provided in the kit. The minimum quantity of blood required for blood alcohol and/or drug analysis is 2 ml per analysis. 3. Gently mix the anticoagulant/preservative and blood within the tube by inverting the tube several times immediately after blood collection - this action serves to preserve the sample and to prevent coagulation. DO NOT shake vigorously. 4. Transfer the tubes directly to the law enforcement officer. Officer's Instructions (following blood draw): Once the technician performing the blood draw has transferred the blood-filled tubes back to the law enforcement officer, the law enforcement officer will: 1. Ensure that one tube is approximately ½ full with blood; however the laboratory prefers that both vials are submitted at least ½ full. 2. Affix the completed labels to each Vacutainer tube 3. Place the Vacutainer tubes into the foam inside the plastic box, close and seal both sides of the plastic container with the two pieces blue evidence tape. 4. Place the plastic container inside the biohazard bag with the absorbent pad and seal the biohazard bag. 5. Put bagged plastic container inside the white cardboard box and seal all three ends using the three pieces of red evidence tape. 6. Please date and initial across the seal (see photos on p. 3). Blood evidence should be submitted to the laboratory as soon as is reasonably possible. Best practice is to refrigerate blood evidence used for toxicological analysis during any delay in transmission. The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory is no longer providing PAS solution to law enforcement agencies, because new PEBTs units also function as PAS devices. How cool is that?

5 Laboratory Training Day The laboratory's first-ever quarterly training day was held on Tuesday, February 26. With over 50 participants from the law enforcement, criminal justice, and medical communities, the day was a great success. Our next training day is scheduled for Friday, June 14. Though still a long way off, we are very interested in hearing about your training needs. Our tentative schedule is as follows: 8-10 AM: Internal training for biologists (SART team members may attend) 10 AM - 12 PM: DNA Collection for Law Enforcement 1-4 PM: PEBTs Training (LIMITED - advanced registration required) 2-4 PM: DNA 101 for Evidence Technicians (based on internal need, but all property room personnel may attend) 4-5 PM: Toxicological training for Prosecutors Hours of Operation & Evidence Receipt: Monday - Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM; including court holidays, but not county holidays. Crime Scene Response: Dial the laboratory's main number ( ), and then dial "0". Case-Related Requests: all requests for discovery, information, testing, customer care, etc., to: "da_lab@co.kern.ca.us". "The Lab Report" is a quarterly publication of the Kern Regional Crime Laboratory's Administrative Services Unit. We invite readers to contribute content and to submit questions or ideas for future articles by directly to the Laboratory Director (kmiller@co.kern.ca.us). Editor - Kevin Miller Feature Contributors - Jodi Kessler, Corina Anderson, Garett Sugimoto, and Dechelle Smothers Training Coordinators - Tammi Noe & Emily Walter Kern Regional Crime Laboratory th Street, 4th Floor Bakersfield, CA (661) "TrueAllele is a computerized DNA interpretation system that objectively infers DNA profiles from evidence samples, including those that contain complex mixtures." Kern Regional Crime Laboratory - Accredited since 2006 All information included in this issue is up-to-date as of 03/19/2013