CRIME CHEMIST PLEADS GUILTY

Mike Hoover knew he was doing was wrong.

The longtime forensic chemist knew he was risking his career and
reputation and freedom when he began sniffing small amounts of
purified heroin dust he had cooked up from evidence sent for testing
at the Washington State Patrol crime lab in Marysville.

He knew it was wrong, but the drug gave him relief from chronic back
pain. The 51-year-old Edmonds man kept using it for months, until he
was finally caught in December.

On Tuesday, Hoover appeared in Snohomish County Superior Court and
pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and official
misconduct, both gross misdemeanors.

He could face up to two years behind bars, although prosecutors are
recommending he serve about half that much time, perhaps in work
release.

"I wanted to spare my family the cost and the stress of going through
a trial," Hoover said of his decision to plead guilty. Besides, he
knows he broke the law, and "there is no way I want to try and get
out of this."

Hoover had worked as a crime lab chemist for 25 years, first in
California and for the last 11 years in Washington, primarily at the
Marysville crime lab.

Patrol detectives began investigating after co-workers became
concerned about Hoover's insistence on handling heroin cases. A
hidden camera near Hoover's work area documented him repeatedly
taking heroin from evidence that had been sent to the crime lab.

When confronted with the tapes Dec. 22, Hoover told detectives 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, according to court papers.

Hoover on Tuesday said he was careful to limit his drug use to small
amounts because he didn't want to get addicted "or strung out. I know
about that. That's my job."

But his drug use ended his career. Hoover hasn't worked for the crime
lab since December, and he formally resigned in March. He hopes to
have a new job lined up before his sentencing, which is now scheduled
for Sept. 13.

Hoover's plea agreement includes a recommendation from prosecutors
that he serve a year in jail, in work release if corrections
officials agree. That would be followed by two years of community
supervision. Hoover would face an additional year in jail if it is
found that he engaged in other illegal conduct.

Hoover's misconduct has sent ripples through the criminal courts in
seven Western Washington counties, where questions have surfaced over
the reliability of evidence he handled. In Snohomish County alone, up
to 200 felony charges could be dismissed, according to prosecutors.

Hoover said he was shocked to hear of that fallout, and said he
stands by the quality of the tests he did on evidence, despite his
pilfering of drugs.

"I knew it was wrong, but I didn't think it was hurting anybody," he said.