Former DeSoto Property and Evidence Technician Arrested for Theft of Stolen Property

DESOTO – A former DeSoto Property and Evidence Technician Carl Edmison, 58, who was arrested late last week for the theft of stolen property, including 13 firearms, various power tools, and a compressor that were recovered, was previously investigated in 2023 by the DeSoto Police Department.

Edmison was charged with a felony violation for Theft of a Firearm / Enhanced (13 counts) last week. A bond of $10,000 was set for each of the 13 warrants issued in the case.

According to the DeSoto Police Department Edmison had been disciplined before for violations, which were not elaborated on by a DeSoto PD spokesperson.

According to DeSoto Police Chief Joe Costa, there had been another investigation, but it was “No Billed” by the Grand Jury in 2023.

FDN obtained further information from the Midlothian Police Department after filing an Open Records Request regarding Edmison’s employment with that department after resigning from DeSoto PD in May 2022.

In an email dated October 11, 2022, from Chief Costa to Midlothian Assistant Police Chief Scott Brown, it was indicated that drug evidence from the property and evidence room in DeSoto had been discovered missing on Edmison’s last day of employment with DeSoto PD.

“Since discovering this evidence was missing, our staff conducted several audits of the of the evidence room as well as an audit of RMS and telephone records. As a result, we learned that two detectives and Carl processed, packaged, and labeled the evidence the night it was seized,” Costa wrote.

Reportedly, Edmison placed 10 packages of drug evidence into a temporary locker at that time. Three days later, an RMS audit revealed that Edmison moved the evidence, electronically, via computer, and not physically, to a case in Duncanville unrelated to the DeSoto case related to a Capital Murder in 2022.

“That same day, the drugs were physically moved by Carl from the temporary locker to the Evidence Drug Room, where it remained until May 5, 2022,” Costa explained in the email.

“On that date, the evidence was checked, and five out of the total 10 packages of drugs were discovered to be missing.”

The email went on to advise that after several complete audits of the Evidence Room to present, the drugs are still missing. Edmison was interviewed about the missing drugs but could not explain when or how the drugs went missing. He also could not explain why the drugs were electronically transferred to the Duncanville case and then back to DeSoto and assigned under a different DeSoto case number.

Chief Costa said he told Edmison he did not believe him and that he planned to meet with the DA’s office in Dallas to discuss the case and seek an indictment for tampering with evidence.

Regarding the 13 stolen items Edmison was arrested for last week, Costa said it was done in a manner that “Items were there as evidence or legally seized by officers [in the evidence room], and once the case was disposed of, and in accordance with Texas Law, these items were designated to be destroyed. However, instead of destroying the articles and guns we found, Edmison took them for his personal gain.”

Edmison was arrested last week after the DeSoto PD acted on a tip from a member of the public and executed a search warrant on April 18 at his Frost, Texas, home.

A DeSoto PD press release indicated that police received the tip approximately two weeks ago, alleging Edmison was in possession of the 13 stolen items from the DeSoto Police Property and Evidence Room and that they had been stolen over an extended period.

Detectives then began the investigation and secured the warrant that was successfully executed last Thursday.

Edmison was hired by the DeSoto Police Department as a jailer in 2009. In 2016, he was chosen to be the Property and Evidence Technician.

After his resignation, he was hired by the Midlothian Police Department.

Midlothian Assistant Police Chief Scott Brown said Edmison was hired in April 2022.
On October 11, 2022, DeSoto PD contacted Midlothian PD regarding the first criminal case involving Edmison. At that time he was placed on administrative leave on October 12, 2022, roughly six months after he was hired.

Brown said, “He never returned to work. He remained on administrative leave until termination.”

After the Desoto Criminal Investigation was taken to Grand Jury in May 2023 and the case was no billed with no indictment, Midlothian PD Administrative began its own investigation on June 6, 2023. The investigation was completed on August 17, 2023, with Brown stating “Administrative Investigations typically start upon the conclusion of any criminal investigation.”

Midlothian PD completed its termination process on Edmison around September 19, 2023. Edmison had been on paid administrative leave for almost one year before he was terminated.

Before Edmison’s employment with Midlothian PD on May 11, 2023, a standard Property Room Audit had been done. Midlothian Sergeant Kyle Boyd noted in a memo at that time, “I found the property room to be cleaned and well organized.”

Gayla Robison Consulting also conducted a property room purge audit in Midlothian after Edmison was fired. The preliminary results were revealed on November 28, 2023. Brown stated that no missing items were found.

A memo from Midlothian’s Sergeant Boyd on April 23, 2024, after FDN’s public information request, indicated the audit in the property room is still ongoing, which Brown confirmed will take a few months to get everything properly purged and destroyed.

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