‘HYPOCRISY’: Man’s meth conviction overturned after expert testified high on meth
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana judge ordered a new trial for a man convicted of possessing methamphetamine after learning a state crime lab employee ingested meth before testifying to convict him.
District Judge John Parker decried the “manifest hypocrisy” of chemist Derrick Thrush having meth in his system while helping convict another man in a drug case.
Thrush’s testimony in February confirmed meth residue was found in a glass pipe James Donald Bachtell was carrying when he was arrested in June 2017.
Court records say Thrush later confided to a co-worker that he ingested meth during his drive to the trial.
The Great Falls Tribune reports Parker overturned Bachtell’s conviction on Thursday and ordered a new trial for November.
Thrush pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to drug possession, theft and official misconduct. His sentencing is set for December.
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