DA: 300-500 defendants face release in lab scandal

DA: 300-500 defendants face release in lab scandal

DA: 300-500 defendants face release in lab scandal

BOSTON (AP) — A prosecutor says about 300 to 500 defendants may be released into Boston streets because of the alleged mishandling of evidence at a Massachusetts drug lab.

Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley says those numbers include some “pretty dangerous people.”

Chemist Annie Dookhan is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly skirting protocols and faking test results at the now-closed state drug lab. At least two dozen defendants whose cases Dookhan handled have been released.

Conley says city officials are “concerned that there may be violence” and have discussed intervening in the lives of those released so they don’t re-offend.

Mayor Thomas Menino has called for support from federal officials to ensure those released are monitored so “they’re not back out on the streets doing the same thing they did in the past.”