Two men who pleaded guilty to drug crimes were denied their requests to be released because of what they claimed was a connection between their cases and the alleged actions of rogue state drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan.
In a ruling received by prosecutors Friday, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke denied motions by Landers Ivey, 53, and Paul Fidler, 48, to be released from prison while they await a decision to have their guilty pleas vacated. Both men pleaded guilty to drug distribution charges.
Ivey, who pleaded guilty in 2010 to trafficking Oxycontin, argued that he should be immediately released because of the state drug lab crisis.
Annie Dookhan has been charged in several counties for allegedly falsifying drug lab test results and mishandling evidence at a drug lab in Jamaica Plain putting thousands of cases in jeopardy. At least 200 inmates have been released because of the crisis that has forced other chemists to retest drug samples handled by Dookhan.
Locke ruled that Ivey failed to make a connection between his case and the drug lab crisis because Dookhan was not the chemist that performed the analysis on the drugs.
Fidler, who pleaded guilty to intent to distribute drugs in 2009, argued that he should also be released. However, Locke ruled against the motion because Dookhan also did not test the drugs in Fidler’s case.
Both men are still awaiting outcomes on their motions to vacate their guilty pleas.
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