Santa Clara County crime lab botches methamphetamine tests

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A Santa Clara County crime lab technician has been reassigned following botched tests in methamphetamine cases.

Crime lab workers used the wrong chemical to conduct methamphetamine tests on nearly 2,500 suspects. That mixture increased the test's sensitivity. The district attorney's office says the mistake resulted in six false positives. A criminalist discovered the error in April.

The DA says none of those six people are in-custody based off those tests. The DA's office is also notifying 2,500 other defendants and their lawyers that their test results were processed during the period in question.

The analyst who made the initial mistake has been reassigned from drug testing duties until a review of what happened can be completed.