NEW COCAINE TEST SPOTS FAKERY, SAVES MONEY

Police estimate that as many as one of every four people arrested
on cocaine charges in Lexington has either been duped or is
trying to pull a fast one.

Dealers regularly sell fake cocaine "fleece," as it's known on the
street to unsuspecting customers, police say. The dealers disguise
their product with substances such as baking powder or chunks of
candle wax sold as crack.

Prosecuting these cases requires time, money and muchneeded
jail space. But a new field test that identifies cocaine instantly
could help alleviate that burden.

By using a threeinch plastic testing kit called the Narco Pouch,
Fayette County officials hope to save the criminal justice system
thousands of dollars and release the wrongfully accused from jail
earlier. The test is also being used by agencies such as the New
York City and Las Vegas police departments .

"This is something we ought to be doing," said Chief Fayette
Circuit Judge James Keller. "It's not only an issue of cost
effectiveness, it's an issue of fairness."

In TV and the movies, detectives scoop up a small sample of
white powder on their fingers, taste it, and announce whether it's
cocaine.

But in real life, Lexington police must send the suspected
substance to the state crime lab in Frankfort for testing.
Processing the test results can take three to six weeks for the
crime lab, which analyzes 3,000 substances a month from across
the state .

A suspect is guaranteed a preliminary hearing in Fayette District
Court within 10 days of arraignment. At the preliminary hearing, a
judge rules whether there's probable cause to send the case to a
grand jury, which decides whether to indict the individual on a
felony charge.

But because prosecutors usually don't have the drug test results
in time for the preliminary hearing, they have to ask for a
continuance. Meanwhile, if the suspect has not posted bond, he
or she sits in jail, waiting for the test results.

That could change when police begin using the field test in late
summer or early fall. Each kit costs $1.25 and works somewhat like
a home pregnancy test.

Police will test the suspected cocaine immediately after an arrest.
Officers will place about 100 milligrams of the substance into the
pouch, and then break three colored tubes in the package.

For the test to work, all three tubes must turn the substance a
certain color. If any of the tubes fails to produce the required
color, the test registers negative.

If the test is positive, prosecutors will use it at the suspect's
initial preliminary hearing to show probable cause. This could save
considerable time for the court system, said Fayette County Attorney
Margaret Kannensohn.

"Our dockets are absolutely overwhelming," she said. "This (test)
should unclog the docket."

If the test proves negative, the suspect will be released from jail.
If the person was trafficking in fleece, a misdemeanor charge may
result. There is no charge for simple possession of fleece.

The tests could save money and space at the Fayette County
Detention Center, which has been holding about 200 inmates
above its capacity for several months. Jailer Ray Sabbatine said
he books about 1,200 people a year on cocaine charges, at a cost
of $30 a day for each inmate.

If 25 percent of those cases involve fleece, that's 300 people who
would be released from jail right away, instead of being housed
for up to 30 days, Sabbatine said.

The cocaine tests, however, will still be used only as a preliminary
analysis. Suspected cocaine will still be sent to the state lab, and
field test results will not be used at grand jury hearings or as
evidence at trial in Fayette Circuit Court, said Ray Larson,
commonwealth's attorney. Larson said any attempt to speed up the
court system should not be done at the expense of justice.

"We're going to be extremely cautious," Larson said. "When you
begin to push and shove, there's the potential for difficulties."

Public defenders at Fayette County Legal Aid Society represent
about 180 cocaine defendants each year. The head of that office
says the accused can only benefit from the cocaine tests.

"I see it as a positive because of the possibility that you can get
out of jail," said Joe Barbieri. "I don't see it as a great
disadvantage to the defendants, because they're going to be
sitting in jail anyway."

The tests are manufactured by a company in Maine called ODV Inc. Its
president , Larry Dow, said the tests are being used by the New York
City and Las Vegas police departments and state police in Illinois
and Michigan.

The Las Vegas Police Department has been using the test for
about five years, said spokesman Phil Roland.

He said the tests have proven to be "very reliable."

"There have been no problems whatsoever," Roland said. "It's
quick and accurate and certainly helpful."