PANAMA CITY — A former state crime lab analyst accused of stealing narcotics from evidence bags and replacing them with over-the-counter medicine was rearrested on additional charges Wednesday in Panama City.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Joseph Graves was arrested and charged with an additional 41 counts of trafficking in illegal drugs. The former FDLE Pensacola chemist had been free on $290,000 bond, but his new bond is set at $1.025 million.
He was arrested about 3 p.m. and booked into the Bay County Jail. It is unknown why Graves was in Panama City.
Graves was originally arrested in February on charges of grand theft, 12 counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and nine counts of trafficking in illegal drugs.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office and the FDLE began investigating missing drugs in January. Investigators determined that each case with missing drugs had been analyzed by Graves, who was relieved of duty on Jan. 31.
The investigation has jeopardized many drug cases in North Florida.
In March, a circuit judge in Panama City ordered a new trial for a man convicted of drug possession based in part on the testimony of Graves. The order vacated the jury verdict on two of the five counts against Jeremiah Beazley, and granted him a new trial on the two counts of possession of controlled substance.