150 Walpole Cases Went Through JP Drug Lab

The Norfolk County District Attorney's office notified the Walpole Police Department that 150 cases had gone through the now closed Jamaica Plain drug testing lab where a chemist is accused of tainting drug samples.

The state is culling through 34,000 cases where drug evidence was handled by chemist Annie Dookhan. She is accused of tainting drug samples during years of employment at the State Drug Lab in JP.

"Most of those cases already have final dispositions; however, they are still sifting through the cases to determine if we have any that will be affected by the scandal," said Walpole Deputy Police Chief John Carmichael in an email. "We have a few bigger cases that could also be affected but it is too early to tell what will happen."

Some cases may end up being thrown out in the aftermath of the scandal, Carmichael said.

"If we have a case that comes up and Annie Dookhan was the certified chemist then the case goes bye-bye," he said.

Having any cases thrown out would be tough on the department because they work so hard on drug convictions, he said.

"It will have a negative effect, because drug cases take a great deal of work to build, investigate and maintain (evidence), etc. When we lose a case because of our technicalities, we can live with it; however, when it happens because someone else compromises the investigation it pains the whole system," he said.