HPD lab analyst indicted on theft, tampering charges / His suspension triggered a review of 200 narcotics cases he'd handled

Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Wed 12/12/2007

Section: B Page: 2 Edition: 3 STAR

By MIKE GLENN

CORRECTION: James K. Carpenter, a former Houston crime lab analyst facing criminal charges after he allegedly improperly stored drug evidence, has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Houston. A story on Page B2 Wednesday misstated his credentials. Correction published 12/14/07.

A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted a former analyst in the Houston Police Department's crime lab following an investigation into allegations he improperly stored criminal evidence.

James K. Carpenter, 38, was indicted on two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of aggregate theft by a public servant.

Carpenter, who was hired by HPD in October 2002, had been working in the crime lab's controlled substance section until August when the internal affairs investigation began.

Carpenter had evidence at his work site that wasn't being handled in compliance with lab protocols, said HPD officials. Officials would not specify what protocols he was accused of violating.

A University of Houston graduate with bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry (SEE CORRECTION), Carpenter was suspended Aug. 3 after refusing to give a formal statement or submit to a drug test, police said.

Attempts to contact Carpenter on Tuesday were not successful.

Carpenter's suspension also triggered a review of about 200 HPD narcotics cases that Carpenter had been working on. Those cases have been retested, according to a statement from the department, and the results have been sent to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

The indictment was the latest in a rash of problems plaguing HPD's crime lab in the past 4 1/2 years.

The indictment undermines confidence in any case Carpenter has worked on, said attorney Bob Wicoff, who represented Josiah Sutton, the first man exonerated in the unfolding HPD crime lab scandal.

"If it's related to his job at the lab, then sure, that's pretty alarming," Wicoff said.

In a written statement, Police Chief Harold Hurtt called for the harshest possible penalty against Carpenter, saying the analyst "betrayed the HPD and the public's trust as well as the integrity and image of our crime lab."

"We invested a lot of money and training in this former employee, and his actions are harmful to all the hard work and effort our current employees are striving to achieve," Hurtt said.

Police said Carpenter had also been warned about poor attendance, which he blamed on a back ailment.

An HPD spokeswoman said crime lab director Irma Rios would not be available to comment about the case against Carpenter.

In a statement released after Carpenter's suspension, Rios said it appeared to be an isolated case of a single employee who wasn't performing as expected.

"My first-line supervisors did their jobs in monitoring Mr. Carpenter's attendance and performance, which is one of the checks and balances needed to guard against a potential problem," Rios said.

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