STATE PATROL CHEMIST CHARGED WITH STEALING HEROIN

EVERETT -- In a move that could force the dismissal of a host of drug cases
in six counties, Snohomish County prosecutors yesterday charged a
Washington State Patrol chemist with stealing heroin from a Marysville
crime lab.

Michael Hoover, an 11-year veteran of the patrol's crime labs, is accused
of stealing and ingesting heroin from an evidence sample sent to him for
analysis in December.

Prosecutors charged him with one count of tampering with evidence and one
count of official misconduct. Both are gross misdemeanors that could bring
up to a year in jail and $5,000 fines.

Hoover, 51, has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the
outcome of the case, Patrol Capt. Eric Robertson said.

Hoover was one of several forensic scientists in the Marysville lab,
responsible for testing evidence samples from Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom,
Island, Clallam and Jefferson counties for the presence of illegal drugs.

In Snohomish County alone, more than 200 cases are under review, Assistant
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Michael Downes said. As a rule, unless
investigators can positively establish, without Hoover's lab work, that a
substance was an illegal drug, Snohomish prosecutors are dismissing ongoing
cases or are declining to file charges.

Anyone with a case that might have been affected by Hoover's work, dating
back to 1998, is being notified, Downes said. That could result in some
defense moves to overturn existing convictions.

The problem lies in the fact that prosecutors, at least in Snohomish
County, can't use Hoover as a credible law enforcement witness with a
criminal charge hanging over him.

Without him, they can't establish a clear chain of evidence possession in
court -- a key factor that's required to show that evidence could not have
been tainted, planted or otherwise tampered with while it was in police
custody.

State Patrol detectives installed a hidden camera in the Marysville lab
after employees reported that Hoover was handling unusually large
quantities of heroin, according to an affidavit filed by Deputy Snohomish
County Prosecutor Ed Stemler.

On Dec. 19, a detective reviewing the tapes saw Hoover scrape some heroin
into a vial, then jam the vial into his pocket.

Three days later, detectives served a search warrant on Hoover's work area,
briefcase and vehicle, according to Stemler's affidavit. They found no
drugs, but Hoover reportedly admitted in a later interview that he had been
stealing heroin from the lab for several months and had taken it to control
back pain.

The patrol will begin an investigation into Hoover's status once his legal
case is resolved, but the fact that other lab employees alerted supervisors
to the problem indicates that "the system worked," Robertson said.

"We have confidence in our system of rules and regulations, and we have
great employees," he said.