RETESTING URGED FOR LAB CASES

Shutdown Won't Stop War On Drugs

Federal prosecutors throughout West Virginia want independent labs to
retest seized drugs and similar evidence from all of their open drug cases,
pending ongoing internal and FBI probes of the State Police crime lab's
now-closed drug section.

Both federal and county prosecutors have responded to the lab's Thursday
shutdown with caution, though police stress that drug offenders have not
earned a holiday.

"The arrest and investigation of drug suspects will continue as always,"
Detective Chuck Carpenter of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team
said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Rebecca Betts announced retests in a letter issued Friday to
every defense lawyer with a drug case pending or on appeal in the state's
southern federal court district. The letter mentions the ongoing
investigation of "certain irregularities" at the State Police drug lab,
which tests drug evidence for federal as well as state drug prosecutions.

"The defendant of course may stipulate to the drugs in the case and forgo
the need for such retesting," Betts wrote. "Absent such a stipulation,
however, the United States will proceed with retesting."

Betts' counterpart in the state's northern federal district has also begun
notifying defense lawyers about retesting. U.S. Attorney Melvin Kahle noted
that his prosecutors have a drug sentencing set for Monday and a drug trial
set for Tuesday.

"We're going to take every necessary step," Kahle said Friday from
Charleston, where he was attending the state's Juvenile Justice Conference.
"We are now looking at our active cases."

In her letter, Betts wrote that the "irregularities" involve "the process
in which drug-related evidence has been tested and analyzed" at the State
Police drug section in South Charleston. Betts' office wants to retest "any
drug-related evidence offered or to be offered" against a suspect "to
assure there is no miscarriage of justice."

Betts offered no other details in her letter. She apparently detailed the
drug section's alleged problem or problems in a Monday court filing, since
sealed, which asked a judge to postpone the week's scheduled drug hearings.

West Virginia's Prosecuting Attorneys Institute, meanwhile, has suggested
to all 55 county prosecutors that they adopt a stance similar to Betts' in
their drug cases. Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Forbes, who
oversees the state's largest such office, has suspended his drug caseload.
He has further asked that all county drug suspects be released on bail
while the State Police lab is investigated.

The State Police reported Thursday that "certain inconsistencies" were
discovered at the drug lab on Sept. 7, "as a result of established quality
control procedures."

The section's three troopers and two civilians were placed on
administrative leave with pay Thursday afternoon. "It's a precautionary
measure, not a disciplinary one," State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael
Corsaro said Friday.

With no staff, the lab can no longer accept or process drug evidence.
Corsaro said the State Police hope by next week to find an alternate lab,
possibly with the FBI or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, willing
to handle the closed lab's caseload. Meanwhile, the State Police and the
FBI are investigating separately.

Police say the questions about the lab's work will not affect their use of
portable chemical test kits on suspected drugs. These kits test for the
presence of a range of drugs, though the evidence is eventually sent to the
State Police lab for further testing.

"Presumptive field tests have developed over the years," Carpenter said.
"They are highly reliable, in my opinion."

Like the defense lawyers for drug suspects, other police and even
Prosecuting Attorney Forbes, Carpenter said his unit does not know what the
"irregularities" at the lab's drug section could be. He spoke highly of his
past dealings with its staff.

"They've been nothing but professional and they have handled all of my
cases with great care and expertise," he said. "I have no idea what the
inconsistencies are. "

The lab shutdown has reminded some officials of Fred Zain, who tested and
testified in hundreds of criminal cases handled by the lab's blood-testing
section between 1979 and 1989.

A Supreme Court investigation discredited Zain's entire body of work in
1993, concluding he routinely exaggerated, altered and faked blood evidence
test results. Zain's work has been blamed for a number of wrongful
convictions and imprisonments. He awaits trial on related fraud charges.

Reacting to Thursday's shutdown, law enforcement officials cited the steps
the crime lab has taken to distance itself from the Zain era.

"After the Fred Zain case, we find it hard to believe that the State Police
would have any inconsistencies or problems with their lab testing," said
Cpl. Jess Bailes, spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department.
"We hope that the outcome of this investigation will back our faith in
their work."

Bailes said that like the metro drug team, his department will continue to
pursue drug offenses and try to find another lab to test seized evidence.

"The inability to send away for testing will cause problems, but we're not
going to quit doing drug cases," Bailes said Friday.

To contact staff writer Lawrence Messina, use e-mail or call 348-4869.