PENSACOLA, Fla. – Florida prosecutors will have to drop some drug cases and are giving greater scrutiny to drugs that need to be used as evidence during trials.
The changes come during the ongoing investigation of a former state crime lab analyst who is accused of stealing narcotics from evidence bags.
State attorneys throughout Florida said it's unclear how many cases will eventually be dropped. Evidence in 35 of Florida's 67 counties may have been compromised.
The ex-analyst, Joseph Graves, was based at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Pensacola lab. He was arrested in February on charges of stealing and selling painkillers and other drugs that he was supposed to be testing for prosecutions. He and his attorney have not returned calls.
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