Bothell police tech admits stealing $50K from evidence room

Published 1:30 am Friday, September 9, 2016

BOTHELL — Washington State Patrol detectives uncovered more than $50,000 in cash missing from the Bothell Police Department’s property room.

The State Patrol was called in to investigate after a longtime Bothell police evidence technician was questioned about an empty safe last year. In response, William Kenney allegedly sent an email to his bosses that detailed a “nasty divorce” and financial troubles that followed.

Kenney reportedly wrote, “I found myself borrowing from the property room …,” State Patrol detective Russ Haake wrote in a probable cause affidavit filed in King County Superior Court.

Kenney allegedly later told detectives that he’d been stealing from the evidence room for more than two years, according to court records. He estimated siphoning $20,000. A State Patrol audit concluded that $51,511.33 had gone missing. The defendant reportedly admitted he bought groceries and gambled with the pilfered cash, which had been kept as evidence, Haake wrote.

King County prosecutors this week charged Kenney, 62, with first-degree theft. He is scheduled to be arraigned later this month.

Kenney, who had been with the department for 24 years, was fired Feb. 17, 2015, about a month after the alleged thefts were discovered.

“We were all shocked. He was a highly regarded and highly trusted employee,” Bothell police Capt. Denise Nielsen said.

According to court papers, problems in the evidence room surfaced in January 2015. A Bothell police captain had advised Kenney that he’d be conducting an audit of the property room in the coming days. Kenney called in sick the first day of the audit so it was rescheduled.

He called in sick on that day, too, Haake wrote.

The captain went ahead with the audit with the assistance of another employee. Computer records showed that three cash envelopes should have been in the safe, but when it was opened there was nothing inside, Haake wrote.

Other items also were missing and the audit was discontinued. The captain advised his bosses about the missing cash. Another captain reported that he’d done two audits in 2014 and didn’t find anything out of place.

Kenney was asked to call his bosses. Two hours later, he allegedly sent an email that started off with an apology. He also reportedly admitted that he’d taken money.

The department called the State Patrol to investigate. Detectives interviewed Kenney, who “explained he was depressed and broke” and admitted that he’d started taking money “maybe two years ago,” Haake wrote. He denied stealing anything else.

He allegedly told the detectives he planned to replace the money, but the situation spiralled out of control. “Kenney indicated he felt safe because he had the key and no one else was coming in to the evidence area,” Haake wrote. He said he was able to take money and delete it from the computer system. He also stored the envelopes in a cardboard box in an evidence locker used for seized drugs, court papers said.

The detectives found the envelopes in the locker, along with some cash. They also discovered shredded envelopes in a garbage bin.

Since the allegations surfaced, Bothell police have revisited procedures in the evidence room, Nielsen said. They’ve modified how property is stored and packaged and also instituted a bar code tracking system. They installed security cameras in the property room and moved the cash safe to a more secure location. Also in addition to regular audits, the department is conducting unannounced audits, Nielsen said.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.