Tampering with evidence is the crime of altering, destroying, or concealing physical evidence with the intent to affect the outcome of a criminal investigation or court proceeding. It is a serious crime, usually a felony, which means that a conviction can result in years in prison and a large fine.
Kinds of Evidence Tampering
There are many ways to tamper with evidence. A few examples include:
- concealing beer cans in a car after being stopped by police
- falsifying business records
- throwing a murder weapon into a river
- hiding a damaged car bumper after a hit-and-run accident
- deleting emails or texts that are relevant to an investigation
- planting biological evidence (blood or DNA, for example) in a way that casts suspicion on an innocent person.
Each act of alteration, destruction, or concealment may be considered a separate offense. Forgery charges may also be brought if documentary evidence is altered.
Evidence is often concealed or destroyed by someone who has committed a crime or wants to help someone else who is. For example, a South Dakota man was convicted of tampering with evidence after he used an axe to chop out and destroy the windshield of a pickup truck his son had crashed into a tree, seriously injuring a child. The son had denied driving the truck. The windshield contained DNA evidence because someone in the car had struck and fractured it during the accident.
Law enforcement officials may also be involved in evidence tampering. Crime scene examiners and lab technicians have been convicted of tampering with evidence after they planted evidence such as blood specks to bolster prosecutions. Police officers have also been found guilty of tampering with evidence.
A related crime is witness tampering or intimidation. Any attempt to threaten, coerce, bribe or otherwise encourage a witness or participant in an investigation, with the intent to affect the witness’s testimony, can be punished as a felony. (More rarely, it is prosecuted as a less serious misdemeanor.) For example, an Iowa woman confronted the spouse of a witness testifying for the prosecution in the trial of the woman’s children and grandson for methamphetamine dealing. She was convicted of witness tampering and sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Getting Legal Advice
Anyone charged with the crime of tampering with evidence or witnesses needs expert advice from an experienced local lawyer. An attorney who understands how this kind of criminal case is handled in the local courts may be able to get the charge reduced or if not, advise on strategy for a defense.
