A former HPD Crime Lab employee was indicted Tuesday.

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

Carpenter was a criminalist for the lab and resigned on Oct. 12 after an internal investigation into allegations that he failed to properly secure evidence.

The two specific tampering with evidence charges come from cases handled on April 26th and again in July.

The aggregate theft charge comes from a pattern of theft from April 26- August 3.

The total street value of the drugs – cocaine, heroin and Xanax – was $20,000-$100,000.

HPD Chief Harold Hurtt called for Carpenter to receive the harshest punishment available by law.

“This individual betrayed the HPD and the public’s trust as well as the integrity and image of our Crime Lab,” Hurtt said.  “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.”

An Internal Affairs investigation was launched on August 3 after Carpenter failed to secure controlled substance evidence. 

He was hired in Oct. 2002, and he routinely worked in the controlled substances section of the Crime Lab.  He had a record of poor attendance, which he attributed to a back problem. He was noted to have evidence at his work site that was not being handled according to protocol.

On August 3, Carpenter refused to give a formal statement or take a drug test, at which point he was removed from the lab.

It’s just the latest in a string of major issues inside the lab, from the original evidence errors in the DNA section to the trouble with hundreds of serology cases to the ongoing internal investigation into alleged cheating on proficiency exams.

Crime Lab Director Irma Rios said there was no indication of improper behavior by Carpenter until August 2007, but as a precaution, all of his work for the prior six months will be reviewed.

“The findings of our internal investigation and the subsequent indictments show this conduct will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Hurtt said.