(1) Photographs, video tapes, or films of property over which a person is alleged to have exerted unauthorized control or otherwise to have obtained unlawfully are competent evidence if the photographs, video tapes, or films are admissible into evidence under the rules of law governing the admissibility of photographs, video tapes, or films into evidence. Any photographic, video tape, or film record, when satisfactorily identified and authenticated, is as admissible in evidence as the property itself.
(2) (a) Any photograph may bear a written description of the property alleged to have been wrongfully taken, the name of the owner of the property taken, the name of the accused, the name of the arresting law enforcement officer, the date of the photograph, and the signature of the photographer.
(b) Any video tape or film may include, as a segment of the tape or film, a written description of the property alleged to have been wrongfully taken, the name of the owner of the property taken, the name of the accused, the name of the arresting law enforcement officer, the date the tape or film was produced, and a segment showing the signature of the photographer.
(3) A law enforcement agency which is holding property over which a person is alleged to have exerted unauthorized control or otherwise to have obtained unlawfully may return that property to its owner if:
The appropriately identified photographs, video tapes, or films are filed and retainedby the law enforcement agency;
Satisfactory proof of ownership of the property is shown by the owner;
A declaration of ownership is signed under penalty of perjury;
The defendant, if a defendant has been filed upon, has been notified that such photographs, video tapes, or films have been taken, recorded, or produced; and
A receipt for the property is obtained from the owner upon delivery by the law enforcement agency.
Source: L. 85: Entire section added, p. 576, § 1, effective July 1.
Cross references: For provisions in the criminal code concerning the use of photographs, video tapes, or films of property, see §§ 18-4-305, 18-4-415, and 18-4-514.