June 25--Jennifer Resko Vaughn was standing near propane tank cages at a service station in south St. Louis County on June 18. Gas had just spilled near her after a customer drove off with a pump still attached to the car. Then, a soda bottle cooking methamphetamine started to spark while hidden in Vaughn's sweatshirt, police said.
County police evacuated the area -- just as they had only 11 days earlier, when they caught Vaughn inside a South County Walmart with a soda bottle bubbling with meth ingredients.
The crime lab had halted daily operations after the Walmart incident to rush the drugs police found on Vaughn through the system so prosecutors could issue charges against her.
They had to rush because of the county's growing crime lab problem: a six- to eight-month delay in confirming drug tests so charges can be filed against suspected criminals, many of whom in the meantime remain on the streets.
County leaders are now considering ways to relieve the crime lab's backlog, including combining resources with the city's lab, hiring more scientists and giving priority to cases prosecutors are most likely to pursue, County Police Chief Tim Fitch said during a recent Police Board meeting.
The delay is the longest in recent memory at the crime lab, which is in Clayton and processes cases for every police department in the county, some federal agencies and the Major Case Squad. That's about 2,100 police officers, said Capt. Tom Grimm, whose command includes the lab.
"It's justice delayed," Grimm said. "Science and our ability to pay for it has not kept up with the need."
In 2009, scientists at the lab processed tests for 716 drug cases. This year, they have analyzed 2,989, Grimm said. That's on top of thousands of other tests they run, such as DNA and ballistics.
The rise in heroin and meth use, and police crackdowns on the drugs, are factors in the delays, as well as staffing issues.
"We've been inundated with a lot of drug cases, mostly meth and heroin," he said. "We've also lost some staff through attrition."
The St. Louis County Council introduced legislation last week that would fund five additional forensic scientists, but it may take 18 months to train them, Grimm said. The county has 17 scientists.
Even if police catch and arrest suspects with drugs, prosecutors want definitive drug testing to verify the nature and amount of drugs before filing formal charges. Suspects cannot be detained long enough for the tests to be run and charges filed.
Maryland Heights is the largest municipal police department using the county's crime lab. Capt. William Carson took over the department's detectives two weeks ago and has already heard about the delays.
"Any attention they give to speed things up would benefit police departments throughout the county," he said.
Smaller counties, such as Jefferson County, use the Missouri Highway Patrol lab, where the wait is about four to six months, said Cpl. Tim Whitney of the county Sheriff's Department.
Another tool has proved helpful in Jefferson County. Prosecutors rely on field test kits, which change colors when narcotics are detected on a scene, to charge drug suspects while lab results are pending.
Narcotics detectives in Jefferson County get about 100 tests in a box for about $100 and have never had conflicting results with lab tests, Whitney said.
"Especially with the repeat customer, they are really helpful in preventing them from hurting themselves or others," he said.
Jefferson County Prosecutor Forrest Wegge began using the kits as probable cause about five years ago. Charging offenders instead of waiting for lab results helps get offenders into rehabilitation or drug courts sooner, Wegge said.
"Waiting eight to 10 months makes a big difference in someone's addiction," he said.
But the tests aren't entirely reliable. Franklin County narcotics detectives have seen field test kits yield false negatives when there wasn't enough of a drug to test or it was too contaminated, said Sgt. Jason Grellner.
The field test kits also are subject to an officer's interpretation and could create a problem if a defense attorney pushes for a speedy trial, Grellner said.
"So then you're caught, because we are saying, 'We had enough to arrest you, but not enough to try you,' and you have to ask for a rush from the lab," he said.
In St. Louis County, Fitch says he's willing to study the use of field kits.
"It is an additional cost and training, but if it could help us make a case earlier on against someone like Vaughn, and if prosecutors issue charges based on the field test kit, we would be interested in doing that," he said.
St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch said he is open to discussing the idea as well, but cautioned, "I don't want to be charging people if we find out later that it's not a controlled substance and end up dismissing it."
For now, to help ease the crunch in the county's crime lab, prosecutors have agreed to request lab work only for cases they plan to pursue, McCulloch said. His office has previously required lab reports for every case police bring to his office, even though about 40 percent of them are rejected for prosecution.
Fitch also told police board commissioners his command staff is meeting with city police leaders next week to discuss sharing various resources, including crime lab equipment and personnel.
Ultimately, Grimm's goal is to reduce the wait for lab work on drug cases in the county to 30 to 90 days.
"The more time that goes by, the more chances they have of committing more crimes or going back into doing more drugs," he said. "If it's really about solving the problem, we have to get them to treatment or whatever is needed as soon as we can."
In the case of Vaughn, the rush order on drug testing resulted in charges last week. Vaughn, 32, is in the county jail with a $100,000 cash-only bail, charged with one misdemeantor and five felonies, including drug distribution.
Copyright 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
