Former FDLE Chemist Arrested On More Drug Charges

May 8, 2014

Inspectors with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement rearrested former FDLE Pensacola crime laboratory chemist Joseph Graves on additional charges of drug trafficking today.

Investigators believe that Graves, while processing drug cases for FDLE’s Pensacola lab, stole prescription pain pills intended as evidence. He was charged with an additional 41 counts of trafficking in illegal drugs.

Graves bond is set at $1.025 million.

He was originally arrested February 4 on charges of grand theft, 12 counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and nine counts of trafficking in illegal drugs. FDLE began the investigation in January, collaborating with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney Bill Eddins, after prescription pain pills from the evidence room at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office went missing.

Investigators determined that each case involving missing drugs had been analyzed by Graves, who had been a crime lab analyst in Pensacola since 2005 and was promoted to supervisor in 2009. FDLE has been reviewing evidence from all the cases Graves handled to determine which ones could be compromised. He handled nearly 2,600 cases for 80 law-enforcement agencies spanning 35 counties and 12 judicial circuits.

Comments

2 Responses to “Former FDLE Chemist Arrested On More Drug Charges”

  1. Jane on May 17th, 2014 9:38 pm

    This is a witch hunt and others are involves. Anyone who knows or worked w/ Joey, can contest he had the highest work integrity and would never jeopardize his job. The state’s attorney has a bigger problem then they are telling the tax payers.

  2. mick on May 8th, 2014 6:26 pm

    Here you go it’s bad enough that you can’t trust the politicians , here’s another position of public trust that has been tainted by greedy, unethical people. Society is rife with people that are willing to sell their mother for their addictions or greed. Put him in prison for 150 years, and while you are at it , it’s a good bet that others are involved with this too.

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