Attorney Frank Carbonetti asked a judge to dismiss drug charges against his client.
HACKENSACK -- A lawyer on Monday asked a judge to dismiss drug charges against his client because a lab report used in his case was made by a technician caught faking results in a drug case, The Record reported.
Kamalkant Shah worked as a laboratory technician for a State Police laboratory in Little Falls. He was allegedly found to have written test results for suspected marijuana without properly testing it, NJ Advance Media previously reported.
Thousands of criminal cases Shah handled have been called into question as a result.
On Monday attorney Frank Carbonetti filed a motion to dismiss the case against his client Fernando Polanco, who faces drug charges stemming from a September 2014 arrest in Hackensack.
Shah tested the drugs seized by police in that case in October and November 2014, Carbonetti said. Keith Travers, a Bergen County assistant prosecutor, said prosecutors plan to submit the drug samples for retesting.
Shah was removed from lab work Dec. 10 when the problem was discovered, Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, said. He was suspended without pay Jan. 12 and has since retired.
The Office of the Attorney General has identified 7,827 cases Shah worked on since he began working at the North Regional Drug Lab Unit in 2005. Most of them are in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.
A Sussex County attorney plans to sue the State Police on behalf of a dozen clients whose cases were handled by the laboratory.
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.