EXCERPT FROM FBI REPORT RAISES DRUG LAB SECURITY CONCERNS

Anyone could enter the supposedly secure drug-testing section of the
State Police crime lab with the touch of a button, an FBI report
revealed in a federal drug case states.

The FBI learned of this unauthorized mode of access from Todd Owen
McDaniel, the chemist whose misconduct at the section prompted its
September shutdown.

The FBI interviewed McDaniel, 31, when he admitted to skipping
mandated tests for suspected marijuana and crack cocaine evidence.
The report said that pushing a "nail" in a room outside the lab
allowed access to the lab without a key card.

"This access was known to interns and pretty much everyone," the report said.

Two crime lab troopers had fashioned the gadget, though the FBI
report does not detail how it works. The section's chief, Trooper Jan
L. Hudson, and the lab's overall chief, Sgt. Rick Theis, knew of the
bypass button, the report said.

McDaniel also told the FBI that:

Lockers meant for securely storing evidence could be accessed by
removing the drawer atop each locker.

Lab staff were supposed to either take the locker keys home or lock
them in their desks. But McDaniel often left his key in his lab coat,
in the section, as his desk did not lock.

McDaniel and several other lab staff commonly left evidence samples
"on top of the work area or in a drawer," rather than in more secure
areas.

The lab's rear door was occasionally left propped open, though only
during office hours while lab staff were present.

A "cleaning person and an Avon lady" had access to the lab.

A two-page excerpt from the secret FBI report was presented to a U.S.
District jury last week in the trial of Mingo County residents John
Jude Jr. and April Cline. The pair's defense lawyers offered the
excerpt while arguing that questions about the reliability of the
section's work tainted their case.

The excerpt was filed in U.S. District Court following the conviction
of Cline and Jude Friday.

A State Police spokesperson could not be reached for comment
Wednesday. Following news of the FBI report last week, State Police
Superintendent Col. Gary L. Edgell said his department has taken
great lengths "to make sure that our security is not breeched."
Edgell also said that while he had yet to see the FBI report, "I
believe when the FBI investigation is released, many concerns will be
put to rest."

The drug section remains closed and its staff on paid leave while the
State Police and the FBI review its work. The section tests most of
the drug evidence seized in West Virginia, handling more than 4,480
cases last year. Both county and federal drug prosecutions have been
affected, as the section is accepting no new evidence and recent
cases must be retested.

McDaniel resigned from the section last month and is scheduled to be
sentenced in February. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud, admitting
that he sent out a lab report in a 1998 marijuana case that falsely
implied he performed a test he actually skipped.