GIST: "A former San Francisco police crime lab technician accused of taking small amounts of cocaine from her office in 2009 appears to be poised to conclude a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, following two mistrials with hung juries. The federal court docket in the case of Deborah Madden, 62, of San Mateo, shows that Madden is scheduled to enter a change of plea before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco on March 15. Madden's defense attorney, Paul DeMeester, said today, "The U.S. attorney and I are working on resolving this case based on a misdemeanor charge of simple possession of cocaine." "We're working on the details," DeMeester said. A spokesman for prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco could not immediately be reached for comment. Madden has been charged with the federal crime of obtaining a controlled drug by means of fraud, deception or subterfuge. That crime carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison upon conviction, whereas the lesser misdemeanor possession charge has a maximum sentence of one year. Madden's two previous trials on the more serious charge in Illston's court ended in mistrials in October and January with jurors unable to agree on a verdict. Madden has admitted she took bits of cocaine from the laboratory's drug analysis unit in offices at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, but has maintained she took only trace amounts spilled during weighing."
http://sfappeal.com/news/2013/03/sfpd-crime-lab-tech-expected-to-plead-guilty-to-misdemeanor.php
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
