Sonja Farak booking photo.
Another state drug lab chemist has pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
Sonja Farak, 35, of Northampton, admitted in court on Monday to stealing controlled substances from the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory in Amherst and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in the house of correction, with 18 months to serve and the balance suspended for a probationary period of five years upon her release, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office.
Farak pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary, four counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of possession of a Class B substance.
Judge Mary-Lou Rup imposed probation conditions that Farak undergo drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment and complete 500 hours of community service.
Farak was accused of stealing cocaine and, in some instances, mixing drug evidence samples with counterfeit drugs to hide the theft. Farak’s sentencing follows the guilty plea of former Hinton Crime Lab chemist Annie Dookhan, who admitted to doctoring drug samples that threw convictions reached in tens of thousands of cases into limbo. Dookhan was sentenced in November to three to five years in prison.
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