STATE PATROL CHEMIST CHARGED WITH THEFT OF HEROIN

EVERETT - A chemist from the State Patrol's crime lab in Marysville has
been accused of taking heroin sent to the lab for testing in criminal cases
and using it to relieve back pain.

Michael Hoover, 51, an 11-year patrol veteran, was charged yesterday in
Snohomish County Superior Court with evidence tampering and official
misconduct. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a
$5,000 fine.

Felony charges were not filed because Hoover was not caught possessing
heroin, although surveillance videotape showed him stealing the drug from
evidence submitted to the crime lab, deputy prosecutor Jim Townsend said.

"With the evidence available, we've charged the counts we could prove,"
Townsend said. He said drug cases in Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom,
Jefferson and Clallam counties have been affected because legal rules
require strict accounting of evidence from the time it is seized, and up to
200 dismissals are expected in Snohomish alone.

Hoover, a forensic scientist, was placed on paid administrative leave in
late December following an investigation that began when co-workers became
suspicious of his activity in handling large numbers of cases involving heroin.

According to court documents, he told investigators he accidentally sniffed
some heroin dust left over from an evidence test, felt immediate relief
from back pain and then began regularly sniffing small amounts of heroin
that he purified in the laboratory.