CRIME OF PAIN?

FORMER WASHINGTON State Patrol forensic chemist Michael R. Hoover made an
appearance at the Snohomish County Courthouse last Friday, facing
misdemeanor charges of tampering with evidence and official misconduct. The
charges stem from allegations Hoover pilfered and ingested heroin from
evidence sent to the patrol's Marysville lab for testing (see "Crime lab
junkie?" SW, January 25).

The 51-year-old Hoover, whose competency and expertise were pivotal in
getting drug convictions in seven Western Washington counties, faces up to
a year in jail if convicted. He is scheduled to go to trial on June 18, but
his lawyer hinted at a plea bargain last week.

Hoover resigned from his job in March following an investigation by the
patrol sparked by the concerns of co-workers about his insistence on
processing heroin cases, court documents indicate. Hoover allegedly
revealed to investigators, the documents continue, that he began using
heroin to alleviate his chronic back pain.

Since his resignation, prosecutors and public defenders in Jefferson,
Whatcom, Snohomish, Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Clallam counties have
been working overtime sifting through hundreds of pending and past cases to
determine if Hoover's alleged tampering impacted them. Initially, most
prosecutors were dismissing any case with Hoover's name attached to it.
However, in recent weeks prosecutors have been going forward with cases in
which they believe charges would stick despite Hoover's involvement.

Although the fallout varies widely--from one case in Clallam County and a
handful in Jefferson and San Juan counties to a few dozen dismissals in
Snohomish County--cases continue to surface.

Snohomish County hasn't finished its work yet, and early estimates put the
number of cases Hoover's alleged tampering could affect at a few hundred.
As of last week, prosecutor Jim Townsend said he was unaware of how many
cases have been impacted.

Whatcom County has wrapped up its work, and though the impact was minimal,
prosecutor David McEachran says his department was shocked that something
like this could have happened.

"It's like having someone on your team running the wrong way, knocking you
down from behind," McEachran says. "It created a terrible mess for all
counties involved."