WESTFIELD — A narcotics case was dismissed Wednesday in what is believed to be the first local consequence of the arrest of a chemist who had analyzed drugs at the now closed state crime lab in Amherst.
The case against Deidre F. Webb, 43, of 44 Mechanic St., was dismissed without prejudice Wednesday in Westfield District Court when Judge Philip Contant allowed a motion brought by Assistant District Attorney Mary Partyka to dismiss the case who reported to the court that the “Commonwealth is unable to proceed as the Drug Analyst is unable to testify at this time.”
Sonya Farak, 35, of Northampton, was arraigned Jan. 22 in Hampshire District Court for two charges of tampering with evidence, as well as charges for possession of heroin and possession of cocaine.
She was released on $5,000 cash bail.
Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said later “That analyst handled a lot of cases in our area.”
He went on to say her arrest and the subsequent closure of the crime lab “is going to create an issue with our ability to prove drug cases in which that chemist was involved” as the prosecution’s ability to call her as a witness is compromised.
State police have taken custody of all the narcotics samples stored at the lab to determine what specimens the suspect chemist may have worked with. Unopened samples were to be sent to another lab for analysis.
One sample which was sent to the Amherst lab In February, 2012, included six pills which were sold by Webb in November, 2011, to an undercover police officer.
An in-house visual inspection of the pills by city detectives indicated, by virtue of the markings, color and shape of the pills, that they were 15 mg oxycodone pills, a Class B drug.
Det. Sgt. Stephen K. Dickinson said that Webb’s case is the first city case that he knows of to be dismissed because of issues with the suspect analyst and the closed lab.
According to published reports, drug charges against more than a dozen people in Hampden County have been dismissed to date.
