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A judge has thrown out the criminal case against the former head of the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force charged with computer crimes, ruling that investigators' "blatant disregard" of computer-investigation protocols destroyed evidence in the case. Jackson County Circuit Judge Kelly Ravassipour Friday dismissed the charges against former Central Point police Lt. Josh Moulin, ruling that investigators not only deviated from "clearly established policy" in handling computer evidence but they did so in bad faith. A 13-inch MacBook laptop seized May 16, 2012, from Moulin sat on acting Chief Kris Allison's desk before it was opened and searched for evidence of computer crimes two weeks later, according to the dismissal. But that search did not follow strict in-house procedures that would have preserved the computer's contents, and the improper opening of files altered stored data and compromised any evidence on the computer, according to the dismissal. Prosecutors had argued that Moulin was not subject to a criminal investigation at the time the laptop was opened and searched  by the city's IT specialist Jeff McJunkin and Detective Mike Anderson, a task force investigator and forensic examiner for the Klamath Falls Police Department. Ravassipour wrote in her ruling that the examination was to look for signs that data had been altered on the laptop and was done so with the purpose of pursuing criminal charges. "This is not a case where a lay person negligently turned a computer on; this is a case where trained forensics examiners blatantly disregarded all protocols and training and went on a fishing expedition in a forensically unsound manner on the 13-inch Macbook," Ravassipour wrote in her decision. Central Point City Manager Chris Clayton said the city was a "third party" in the case and did not desire any particular outcome. However, the city considered that some of Ravassipour's language in the ruling was "surprising and contrary to our internally held opinions," according to the city's statement. "The City believes all involved employees acted in good faith and conducted themselves in an appropriate manner throughout the entire three-year duration of this case," according to the statement. Clayton declined to elaborate because the ruling could be appealed. Allison was on vacation and unavailable for comment Tuesday. Kristen Winemiller, one of Moulin's defense attorneys, said she did not expect the state Department of Justice to appeal Friday's decision, saying "there's no public value in pursuing this." She said Moulin admitted to deleting some personal information, such as family computer passwords and bank information, before turning the computer over to Central Point, and that would have been proven had the computer not been opened. Oregon Department of Justice spokeswoman Kristina Edmunson said state attorneys were reviewing the ruling and had no specific comments about it Tuesday. Moulin resigned in July 2012 from the department and has since moved to Nevada. He did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Moulin was indicted February 2014 on one felony count and one misdemeanor count of computer crime and a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct. The felony charge alleged that Moulin knowingly altered, damaged or destroyed a computer or software, while the misdemeanor charge alleged that he knowingly used, accessed or attempted to access a computer, software or data on a system. The official misconduct charge alleged that Moulin illegally used his position as a public servant while committing those alleged crimes, according to the indictment. The indictment alleged the crimes all occurred May 16, 2012, the day the computer was turned over to Central Point police. Moulin said he was placed on leave while Central Point police conducted an internal investigation into the management of the unit. The task force was disassembled in July 2014, but investigators from several local, state and federal agencies still consult collectively on cases. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman .