Lab scandal could result in crime spike

BOSTON (AP) -- Law enforcement officials are warning that the release of convicted drug offenders resulting from the testing scandal in a former state drug lab could lead to a spike in violent crime.
   
Legislators heard from police, sheriffs and court officials during an oversight hearing at the Statehouse on Wednesday.
   
Annie Dookhan, a former chemist at the state Department of Public Health lab, is accused of manipulating drug samples involving some 34,000 individuals. Some of those people have already been released from prison on bail.
   
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis testified that of the 110 people who have been released back to Boston, eight have already been re-arrested for other alleged crimes.
   
Davis said police are worried about an increase in turf wars, drug-related home invasions and other types of violence as a result of the ongoing crisis.