Pubdate: Thu, 11 Jun 2015
Source: Day, The (New London,CT)
Copyright: 2015 The Day Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.theday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293
Author: Karen Florin

EVIDENCE PROBE AFFECTS DRUG CASES

'Inconsistencies' Cited in Handling by Nl Police

New London - Defense attorneys representing dozens of clients charged 
with drug crimes by New London police have been receiving letters 
from State's Attorney Michael L. Regan indicating that the evidence 
seized in their clients' cases may have been compromised.

Regan said Tuesday that an audit of the police department property 
room by the state police Central District Major Crime Squad and New 
London police is continuing. To date, the audit has revealed "several 
inconsistencies," according to police.

"We get reports as the audit continues, and I'm sending out letters 
to people that may be affected," Regan said.

The audit began following a March 28 incident at the Griswold home of 
the department's evidence officer, Russell MacDonald, who was 
hospitalized following the incident.

MacDonald, who had been assigned to the property room in August 2014, 
was then placed on paid administrative leave. Police have declined 
further comment.

Several local defense attorneys confirmed they have received letters 
from Regan that list their client's name and the court docket number 
and say, "The integrity of evidence seized in the above case may have 
been compromised. Contact this office if you need further information 
or have questions."

Attorney Sean F. Kelly, the supervisory public defender at the Broad 
Street courthouse in New London, which handles the vast majority of 
the city's drug arrests, said Wednesday that the state's attorney's 
office provided him with several pages of public defender client 
names whose cases may have been compromised.

The potentially contaminated cases involve people with pending 
charges and those who have resolved the charges through plea 
agreements or entrance into diversionary programs.

Prosecution of the pending cases has been put on hold, according to 
Kelly, who said the state has opted to continue the cases without 
making plea offers until the audit is concluded.

The state's attorneys have made an effort to revisit the bond amounts 
of those defendants who were being held in prison, he said. Many have 
been released on promises to appear in court or reduced bonds.

Also at issue, Kelly said, are the cases of defendants who pleaded 
guilty because they relied on the evidence seized by police being 
intact and clean and those of first-time offenders or "There are 
farreaching concerns for our clients and public integrity at large." 
others granted entry into diversionary programs, also based on the 
assumption of proper handling of evidence.

Criminal defendants generally get only one opportunity to participate 
in diversionary programs, such as accelerated rehabilitation or a 
drug education program.

"There are far-reaching concerns for our clients and public integrity 
at large," Kelly said.

The state has been transparent about the potential contamination of 
cases, though prosecutors have not pinpointed which drugs may be 
involved and in what quantities, Kelly said.

While Kelly has not gone through all of the involved files to see 
what evidence is involved, other attorneys said they received letters 
involving clients who were charged with offenses involving 
heroin/opiates, crack cocaine and marijuana.

"I've only gotten one letter saying there is a potential spoliation ( 
of evidence) from the prosecutor's office," said New London attorney 
Sebastian O. DeSantis. "I would like to see the New London defense 
bar put together an organized response. I haven't talked to anybody 
yet, but it seems like there's a lot of people impacted by this. It 
might be dozens, maybe more. There's not much information about this."

His client, arrested in September 2014 on crack cocaine and heroin 
offenses, has already pleaded guilty, DeSantis said.

MacDonald was assigned to the property room in August 2014, when 
longtime evidence officer Dean Forier went out on medical leave. 
Forier has since returned to the position. Kelly, the public 
defender, said there had never been an indication, previously, of a 
systemic problem with New London police handling of evidence.

"In the past, they've always been accommodating to defense requests 
for viewing of evidence or production of evidence," said Kelly.

As the issue unfolds, the defense attorneys said they may rely on 
case law developed after Massachusetts crime lab worker Annie Dookhan 
admitted she didn't always test drug evidence, mixed up samples, 
forged co-workers' signatures and lied about her credentials. She was 
sentenced to three to five years of prison in 2013.

Tens of thousands of criminal cases were affected, and hundreds of 
criminals released as a result of tainted evidence.

In May, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that defendants whose 
convictions were based on evidence tainted by Dookhan can seek new 
trials without facing additional charges or a more severe sentence.
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