• Rats have infiltrated the Houston police evidence room, consuming stored drugs.
• Over 3,600 drug-related cases may be impacted, prompting alerts to defense attorneys.
• City officials plan to destroy outdated drug evidence dating before 2015.
• This rodent issue reflects a long-standing problem in police evidence facilities nationwide.
• Houston Mayor John Whitmire highlighted the extent of the problem, citing 400,000 pounds of marijuana.

The city of Houston is grappling with an unusual yet serious infestation of drug-eating rats within its police evidence room, raising concerns about the integrity of over 3,600 open drug-related cases. Officials revealed that these rodents have consumed a substantial amount of stored narcotics, including approximately 400,000 pounds of marijuana, creating a potentially catastrophic situation for the legal system. “Just one example, we’ve got 400,000 lbs of marijuana in storage that the rats are the only ones enjoying,” noted Houston Mayor John Whitmire during a recent press conference.

Joshua Reiss, general counsel at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, confirmed that the issues were reported last week concerning the HPD Narcotics Evidence Room. This incident is not an isolated problem; it reflects a broader trend seen across various police departments nationwide, where evidence rooms remain cluttered with outdated materials. Police Chief J Noe Diaz stated, “We have over 1.2 million pieces of evidence here at the Houston police department,” highlighting the systemic problem of retaining unnecessary evidence.

As part of a corrective measure, officials have announced plans to begin destroying narcotics evidence collected prior to 2015, aiming to clear out the infestation and restore integrity to the legal proceedings affected by this issue. This urgent action follows similar instances in other cities, such as New Orleans, where a rodent problem in evidence rooms led to significant concerns regarding evidence mishandling.

For more details, check out the articles from CBS News and The Guardian.