HUNDREDS OF DRUG CASES TOSSED OUT

BEAUFORT - Hundreds of Beaufort County drug cases have been thrown out
because of delays in drug evidence analysis and missing witnesses and
informants. Deputy prosecutor Steve Knight said the cases had collected
dust for more than three years because authorities couldn't find
investigators and witnesses after waiting months for the State Law
Enforcement Division to analyze drug evidence. Before the county got its
own regional drug lab in March, results often could take up to a year.
"Sometimes these cases didn't have the defendants or the evidence because
the defendants would be bailed out of jail and then it would take SLED a
long time to analyze the drugs," Beaufort Sheriff P.J. Tanner said. Most of
the cases that were tossed out involved the Beaufort County Drug Task Force
going undercover to make a sale, Knight said. "Most of the time, the
(informant) was gone, moved, or in some cases, even died," he said.
Officials hope the Beaufort County Regional Drug Lab, which also assists
Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties, will keep similar problems from
happening in the future. The county lab was partly funded by a $100,000
federal grant and should be able to process drug evidence in a month, said
Debbie Szpanka, spokeswoman for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. "We
can move faster now to get these cases to court," Knight said. "This
problem shouldn't happen again or be as dramatic as in the past."