Attorney General Beau Biden tonight applauded the State House of Representatives for passing Senate Bill 36, an amendment to the State Constitution that would protect public safety by keeping the most dangerous criminals off the streets while they await trial.

Under current law, only defendants charged with capital murder may be held without bail pending trial. SB 36 aligns Delaware law with the federal government and more than two dozen states where, if prosecutors can show a defendant is too dangerous to be released pending trial, a judge can order the defendant held without bail. Under the measure, if a defendant is ordered held without bail, a hearing to reconsider bail will be held if trial does not begin within 120 days of arrest.

“This necessary reform to our bail system will better protect Delawareans by providing law enforcement the opportunity to keep the most dangerous defendants off the streets while they await trial,” Biden said after the House passed the measure this evening.

Biden recognized the primes sponsors of the bill, Senator Robert Marshall and Representatives Helene Keeley and Larry Mitchell for their leadership in securing its passage. The State Senate passed the measure by a wide margin in July, 2013. In order for the Constitutional amendment to take effect the measure must be passed again by both chambers of the General Assembly during the next legislative session.

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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden today issued a preliminary report outlining the findings of a joint Department of Justice/Delaware State Police investigation into the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Controlled Substances Unit (“CSU”).  The investigation, initiated earlier this year after evidence in a Kent County drug prosecution was found to be compromised, reveals systemic failures at the CSU that impact the integrity of drug evidence testing and the criminal prosecution of drug cases.

“The lack of oversight and inadequate security at the Medical Examiner’s drug lab is deeply disturbing,” Biden said.  “Our preliminary report spells out for the public the extent of those failings to-date and the need for state leaders to take the necessary steps to address them.  Delaware must have its own independent, state-of-the-art crime laboratory.  A new crime lab is the right thing for Delaware’s criminal justice system and the right thing for taxpayers.  The legislation being considered today in the State Senate marks the first step in addressing the problems uncovered by this investigation. We look forward to working with the Executive Branch and members of the General Assembly on a new facility.”

A Delaware State Police investigation into compromised drug evidence began on January 15 after drugs removed from a sealed evidence envelope presented at the trial of a Kent County man charged with drug dealing was found to be inconsistent with the drugs seized from the defendant at the time of his arrest.  The scope of the investigation expanded as additional cases with comprised drug evidence were identified, and on February 20, 2014 Biden’s office and DSP initiated a joint statewide investigation.  That same day they ordered the CSU to cease operations and investigators secured all drug evidence maintained at the facility.  Over the next four months, Biden’s office and DSP, together with the assistance of law enforcement agencies statewide, inspected thousands of pieces of drug evidence maintained at the CSU and every other state and local police agency, interviewed current and former employees of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and other witnesses identified in the investigation, and reviewed thousands of documents.  In total, nearly three dozen investigators, prosecutors, and other staff have been devoted to the investigation over that time.

The preliminary report released this morning concludes that systemic operational failings at the CSU resulted in an environment in which drug evidence could be lost, stolen or altered, thereby negatively impacting the integrity of many prosecutions.  They include:

• Lack of management;
• Lack of oversight;
• Lack of security; and
• Lack of effective policies and procedures

The joint investigation has thus far revealed 51 pieces of potentially compromised evidence at the CSU, stemming from 46 cases between 2010 and 2013.  These cases include lost or missing oxycontin, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, three employees of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have been suspended, two of whom have been indicted in the Superior Court:

• Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Callery is the subject of an ongoing investigation related to his position as Chief Medical Examiner.
• Forensic Investigator James Woodson was indicted on May 27, 2014 on one count each of Trafficking Cocaine, Theft of a Controlled Substance (Cocaine), Official Misconduct, and Tampering with Evidence for allegedly removing cocaine from an evidence bag at the Controlled Substances Lab.  In addition, Woodson was charged with a violation of DELJIS for violating the terms of use governing his access to the database in April, 2014.
• Laboratory Manager Farnam Daneshgar was indicted on May 27, 2014 on two counts of Falsifying Business Records for allegedly failing to produce reports documenting discrepancies in drug evidence he reviewed in two specific cases.  He was also charged with one count each of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia related to evidence seized during a search warrant at his home.

The operational failings at the CSU have had a profound impact on Delaware’s criminal justice system.  More than 200 drug charges have been dismissed, drug charges in more than 60 cases have been reduced, and hundreds of offenders are seeking to overturn their convictions.  An outside laboratory has been retained to test drugs seized by Delaware law enforcement agencies at a cost to-date of well over $100,000.

Biden thanked the staff from his office and from the Delaware State Police for their excellent work on the investigation and recognized other law enforcement agencies who have worked diligently to support the ongoing investigation.

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Dover – The Delaware Supreme Court this week upheld the 2013 conviction of two New York men convicted in a scheme to smuggle a large quantity of contraband cigarettes through Delaware.

“Trafficking in contraband cigarettes is a growing trend that funds criminal enterprises and it’s a concern to law enforcement,” Attorney General Biden said.  “We are working with our local and national law enforcement partners and with our sister states to enforce criminal penalties for those who possess contraband cigarettes and use our roadways to smuggle them across state lines.”

Delaware law prohibits an individual from possessing more than ten packs of cigarettes, unless that person is a licensed wholesaler transporting the product or a licensed retailer offering the product for sale.  In addition, before cigarettes can be transported for sale in Delaware or nearly every other state they must display a tax stamp that demonstrates the required cigarette tax has been paid to the state in which they will be sold.  The requirement that cigarettes display tax stamps for the state of their ultimate destination, along with other regulations governing the manufacture, distribution, marketing, and sale of cigarettes, help protect public health and deter trafficking in contraband cigarettes.

Cigarette traffickers, particularly along the Virginia to New York corridor, take advantage of the significant difference in states’ tobacco tax rates to purchase cigarettes from retail outlets in low tax states such as Virginia which charges a 30-cent per pack tax, and smuggle them for sale through the black market in states with higher taxes, and correspondingly higher retail prices, such as New York City which charges $5.85 per pack in taxes ($4.35 state tax plus $1.50 city tax).  Increasingly, organized criminal organizations turn to these activities to generate profits on the black market to fund criminal enterprises.

On September 2, 2012 Marco Hassan and Sayel Ghabayen were pulled over by Delaware River and Bay Authority police during a routine traffic stop.  During the stop, the officer observed a large quantity of cigarettes in the vehicle, and a search revealed 2,760 packs containing 55,200 individual cigarettes as well as $4,503 in cash in Ghabayen’s pockets.  The cigarettes had been purchased in Virginia and bore tax stamps from that state, and the men indicated they were transporting the product to New York City.  Neither Marco Hassan nor Sayel Ghabayen possessed cigarette wholesale or retail licenses and they were therefore charged with Possession of Untaxed Cigarettes and Conspiracy Third Degree.  The defendants were convicted of the charges in Superior Court last September, were each fined $202, and were ordered to forfeit the 55,200 confiscated cigarettes.

Hassan and Ghabayen challenged the constitutionality of the contraband cigarette statute in Superior Court, and ultimately to the State Supreme Court after Superior Court ruled against them.  The high court held oral argument in the case last week and in an Opinion issued this week the justices upheld the Superior Court’s decision which affirmed the convictions and the constitutionality of the Delaware law.

Read the Supreme Court and Superior Court Opinions.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Barzilai Axelrod and the State’s defense of the appeal was led by Deputy Attorney General Thomas Brown.

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Dover – A Kent County man who killed his girlfriend in their Leipsic residence last summer and attempted to dispose of her remains in a wooded lot nearby was convicted of her death this morning and was sentenced to prison, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

“This defendant will spend a significant time in prison for the tragic death of this young woman,” Biden said.

On Saturday, September 7, 2013, local residents directed Delaware State Police to charred human remains in a wooded area along the 200 block of Denny Street in Leipsic.  The victim was identified as 19 year-old Taylor M. Owens, who had been reported missing by her family earlier that week.  At the time of her death the victim lived nearby with her boyfriend, 21 year-old Tony Mozick Jr., who was arrested on September 8, 2013 and charged with Owens’ death.  The charges alleged that Owens was killed by Mozick on August 31, 2013 during an altercation in their residence, and that Mozick then moved the body to the wooded area where he tried to conceal the remains by burning them.

An autopsy later concluded that the victim’s death was a homicide, however the Medical Examiner’s office was unable to determine the cause of death.  A comprehensive investigation by Delaware State Police and a review of the evidence by prosecutors concluded that during the August 31, 2013 altercation the victim fell and hit her head, resulting in her death.  As a result, the case resulted in a guilty plea by the defendant this morning in Dover.  Tony Mozick, Jr. pled guilty to Manslaughter and Abuse of a Corpse and was immediately sentenced by Kent County Superior Court Judge James T Vaughn, Jr. to 15 years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney Generals Gregory Babowal and Benjamin Snyder.

Booking Image Below:

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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden today announced that his office has secured indictments charging two employees of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) with multiple offenses as a result of the ongoing criminal investigation into compromised drug evidence in the OCME’s Controlled Substances Lab.

“With these indictments we are beginning to hold individuals accountable for the significant damage that has been caused to the integrity of our criminal justice system,” Biden said.  “I want to recognize the Delaware State Police and the staff from my office who have led a comprehensive investigation to understand the full scope of the irregularities and identify those responsible, and also to ensure that the criminal justice system continues to operate fairly and in the interest of justice.  I want to remind the public that this investigation is ongoing, and that it remains our intention to publicly disclose details of our findings at the earliest opportunity, when doing so does not compromise the ongoing investigation.”

Yesterday, as a result of the ongoing criminal investigation, Biden’s office secured indictments from the New Castle County Grand Jury charging the following employees of the OCME Controlled Substance Lab:

–          James Woodson, age 38, of Wilmington, was indicted on one count each of Trafficking Cocaine, Theft of a Controlled Substance (Cocaine), Official Misconduct, and Tampering with Evidence for allegedly removing cocaine from an evidence bag at the Controlled Substances Lab.  In addition, Woodson was charged with a violation of DELJIS for violating the terms of use governing his access to the database in April, 2014.

–          Farnam Daneshgar, age 54, of Wilmington, was indicted on two counts of Falsifying Business Records for allegedly failing to produce reports documenting discrepancies in drug evidence he reviewed in two specific cases.  He was also charged with one count each of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia related to evidence seized during a search warrant at his home.

Woodson had been a courier at the Lab, and most recently worked as a death investigator at the facility.  Daneshgar worked as a Chemist at the Lab.  Both men were arrested today by Delaware State Police and arraigned this afternoon in New Castle County Superior Court.  Bail amounts were set at $5,000 secured for Daneshgar, and $20,000 cash for Woodson.  Booking images for both are unavailable at this time.

The joint Delaware State Police and Delaware Department of Justice investigation was initiated in January after drug evidence submitted for analysis to the Controlled Substances Lab was found to be compromised.  The identified compromises included drug evidence tampered with, missing, and/or substituted.  The investigation included internal audits of police evidence lockers, which detected discrepancies amongst several Delaware law enforcement agencies that existed between drug evidence submitted to the OCME Controlled Substances Lab and evidence returned to police evidence lockers in sealed envelopes after analysis and testing.

Because the criminal investigation is ongoing no additional information about the investigation is being released at this time.

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the State bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

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