Chemist at Center of Mass. Drug Lab Scandal Could Get Five Years

If she pleads guilty, a judge determines

A Suffolk Superior Court judge says Annie Dookhan, the disgraced former state lab chemist whose alleged mishandling of evidence has thrown thousands of drug cases in doubt, should get a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, if she agrees to plead guilty.

Judge Carol Ball issued the ruling this afternoon. She said she was reaching her decision mindful of the "uniqueness of the case and the extremes presented."