POLICE SAY CHEMIST ADMITTED STEALING CONFISCATED DRUGS

A former Indiana State Police civilian chemist has admitted stealing
about 10 grams of cocaine from police evidence since February,
according to court records filed on Wednesday.

Brett Mann, 28, of 512 Stanley Ave., was arrested at his home Tuesday
on a six-count felony warrant that accuses him of taking drug evidence
for his personal use, police said.

Court documents indicate Mann has admitted stealing about 10 grams of
cocaine on two occasions. Mann admitted stealing 1.5 grams of cocaine
this spring and about 8 grams of cocaine in August, according to the
records.

Police said the thefts occurred while Mann worked as a chemist with
the Evansville Regional Laboratory, where he was responsible for
identifying narcotics and their purity.

Throughout his more that three years of employment, Mann tested
countless amounts of drugs, leading police to question if any of those
cases may have been tainted.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco said it's unlikely any cases
would be jeopardized.

"I don't think this would affect any of the tests he conducted on
those drugs," Levco said. "We will be looking at each on a
case-by-case basis, but at this point most of the cases probably
relied on other evidence ... to convict the person."

Levco said he will likely send a letter to all attorneys on pending
drug cases informing them of the investigation of Mann. Police are now
checking all cases since November 1996 in which Mann tested drugs.

Mann resigned from the lab Oct. 6 just two days after Sgt. Greg Oeth,
a state police lab technician, allegedly saw a package of rolling
papers in an eyeglass case Mann brought with him to work.

Sgt. Joe Vetter later confronted Mann, and court records state he
admitted to occasionally smoking marijuana.

State police immediately began an investigation and called Mann in for
questioning Oct. 15. During that interview, Mann allegedly admitted
stealing cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Attempts to reach
Mann on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

"On occasion after testing a sample, he would collect or use what
(drug evidence) was left," the records stated.

During one instance in February or March, Mann was given about 30
grams of cocaine to test, some of which was to be used by the
Evansville Police Department to train police dogs. Mann said he took
1.5 grams of the cocaine and "destroyed the rest because it was too
much temptation," according to court records.

Mann also allegedly admitted stealing about 8 grams of cocaine in
August that he was supposed to test for Lawrence County, Ind., police.
He told investigators he later threw about 3 grams remaining from the
seized drugs from a local bridge.

Mann was released from jail Tuesday night and pleaded innocent in
Superior Court on Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in court on
Nov. 4.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady