LAB CHEMIST PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN HEROIN CASE

EVERETT -- A chemist from the Washington State Patrol's crime lab in
Marysville pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he took heroin that
was sent to the lab for testing in criminal cases.

Prosecutors claim Michael Hoover, 51, an 11-year patrol veteran, used the
drugs to treat his back pain.

He pleaded not guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court to charges of
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 no heroin was found in Hoover's
possession, although surveillance videotape allegedly showed him taking the
drug from evidence submitted to the crime lab.

Prosecutors say Hoover's actions could affect drug cases in Snohomish,
Island, Skagit, Whatcom, Jefferson and Clallam counties, because legal
rules require strict accounting of evidence from the time it is seized. As
many as 200 case dismissals are expected in Snohomish County alone.

Hoover has been on paid administrative leave since late December.