State won't charge ex-drug lab tech Deborah Madden

A former civilian technician at the San Francisco Police Department's crime lab will not face criminal charges for allegedly skimming drugs there, the state attorney general's office said Friday.

State prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to show that Deborah Madden was stealing drugs she was supposed to be testing, allegations that rocked the department and led to the closure of its drug lab and prosecutors' dismissal of hundreds of drug cases.

"It was investigated thoroughly and exhaustively, and our conclusion was that we would not prosecute her on any additional charges," said Jim Finefrock, a spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown's office.

Madden faces a separate felony cocaine possession charge in San Mateo County, where she lives. Under state law, she could be sentenced to drug treatment as a first-time offender on that count. She left the department in late 2009 just as the lab began to suspect she was stealing drugs.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, to be sworn in as attorney general Monday, had asked Brown's office to handle any prosecution because attorneys in her office could have been called as witnesses.

Police Chief George Gascón said he was "very disappointed" in the decision to not file charges related to the lab.

"I believe that we had a good case," Gascón said. "We had some strong admissions from her that would normally be admissible in court. I believe there is concern that there wasn't enough physical evidence to support her admissions."

Finefrock declined to go into details of the state investigation, but said that if Madden had been prosecuted for alleged actions at the lab, she probably would have only been charged with petty theft, a misdemeanor.

Madden's attorney, Paul DeMeester, said the decision against charges was "the right thing to do."

"Whatever problems the lab has are completely separate and apart from Debbie Madden," DeMeester said.

In March, Gascón closed the drug lab, which was chronically understaffed.

In August, the chief said at a news conference that there had been "acts of negligence by various" police officials who showed an "inability to see the signs that should have been detected much earlier" related to the drug lab. Allegations have also been raised that officials covered up an error involving the mix-up of vials to be tested for DNA evidence.

The department's crime lab - sans its closed drug unit - was awarded a full five-year accreditation at the end of October.