Oldies but goodies

 WSP DRUG LAB TAINT LETS FELON WITHDRAW GUILTY PLEA by Scott North, Herald Writer, 31 Mar 2001 Herald A convicted drug trafficker was allowed to withdraw a guilty plea Friday as part of the expanding legal turmoil surrounding a former Washington State Patrol chemist's admission that he pilfered drugs sent to his lab for tests. Robert Blackburn is serving a year in the Snohomish County Jail for conspiring to sell marijuana and for possession of methamphetamine. He struck a plea agreement with prosecutors, and was sentenced in August. On Friday, however, Everett lawyer Mark Mestel argued that Blackburn's guilty plea was unjust because his client had pleaded guilty believing prosecutors could prove that police had found methamphetamine in his car. The key evidence was supplied by Michael R. Hoover, 51, of Edmonds, then a forensic chemist at the patrol's crime lab in Marysville. Hoover has since resigned from the job and is facing two misdemeanor charges of tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct. He was charged after reportedly admitting in December that he had been ingesting heroin for several months to ease his back pain, according to court papers. "Had the state discovered the chemist's inappropriate conduct before the defendant pled guilty, it would have disclosed this to the defense," Mestel wrote in court papers. "The state, most likely, would not have been able to prove the nature of the substance beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defendant would not have pled guilty." Mestel told Judge David Hulbert that it would constitute an injustice to let his client's conviction stand on tainted evidence. Deputy prosecutor Craig Bray argued that Blackburn knew what he was doing when he pleaded guilty. "The mere fact that we've developed a witness problem seven months later doesn't give him the right to withdraw his guilty plea," Bray said. The judge disagreed. He allowed Blackburn to withdraw his plea and said prosecutors can call Hoover to testify about his crime-lab tests if they decide to take the case to trial and try for a conviction. If they don't, they'll have to dismiss the charge. Meanwhile, Blackburn remains locked up on his other drug conviction, which did not involve evidence handled by Hoover. Mestel said he represents nearly a half-dozen other clients who are exploring similar plea-withdrawal motions. The chemist's alleged misconduct is affecting drug cases in seven Western Washington counties, and up to 200 dismissals are expected in Snohomish County alone, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors have for weeks been dropping pending drug cases because of Hoover-related concerns. "In fairness, I think they should cut these people a break," Mestel said of defendants who already have pleaded guilty, believing the evidence against them was untainted. Hoover's attorney, Steve Garvey of Everett, said he expects to see numerous similar pitches. "There is going to be a whole raft of these," he said. "Every defendant whose case has been touched by Mike Hoover is going to try to get their case overturned. I certainly understand why they are doing that. They have nothing to risk." Hoover is negotiating with prosecutors, and a plea is likely before trial, now set for mid-April, Garvey said. Hoover faces up to a year in jail for each count, and "contrary to the information that television reporters seem to manufacture out of thin air, Mike is going to see the inside of a jail cell," Garvey added. Hoover came under investigation after co-workers became concerned about his insistence on handling heroin cases. Patrol detectives installed a hidden camera near his work area and say they documented him repeatedly taking heroin from evidence that had been sent to the crime lab. When confronted with the tapes Dec. 22, Hoover allegedly told detectives that he hadn't intended to begin using heroin, but accidentally sniffed concentrated, crystalline dust left over from an evidence test. He said there was immediate relief from his back pain, and he regularly began sniffing small amounts of heroin that he'd purified in the laboratory, documents show. MAP posted-by: Richard Lake Pubdate: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 Source: Herald, The (WA) Copyright: 2001 The Daily Herald Co. Contact: letters@heraldnet.com Website: http://www.heraldnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190 Author: Scott North, Herald Writer Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n236/a07.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n187/a09.html