HOUSTON – Former Precinct 4 corporal Christopher Hess was accused of improperly destroying nearly 8,000 pieces of evidence connected to criminal cases.
It cost him his job, and then a grand jury took a look at Hess' actions.
Hess was the sole person in charge of Precinct 4's property room for 14 years.
In January, he was ordered to get the property better organized and clear up evidence from old closed cases.
During the cleanup, 7,700 pieces of evidence were destroyed without a court order, and the DA's office was forced to dismiss more than 100 criminal cases.
Documents recently obtained by Channel 2 Investigates show there were 19 other cases dating back to 2010 where evidence was destroyed before the court case wrapped up.
Constable Mark Herman fired Hess over the incident. Then a grand jury examined whether Hess' actions might be criminal.
On Friday, a Harris County grand jury finished reviewing and, according to Hess' attorney, "took no action."
That means it didn't make a decision one way or the other.
Channel 2 legal analyst Brian Wice says a grand jury "taking no action" is rare, but not unheard of.
"I think one of the first things we learn in the criminal justice system is no one ever got in trouble for doing nothing," Wice said. "I don't think they necessarily found probable cause to indict; on the other hand, they didn't want to give Precinct 4 a clean slate by returning a 'no bill.' It may have been a situation, like Shakespeare said, 'sometimes you're being damned with faint praise."
Hess' attorney, Burt Springer, told KPRC, "This was a rush job and mistakes were made, but certainly nothing criminal was done."
Herman had no comment about the grand jury's findings.