DNA TESTING TO BE DONE BY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

It's been a long time in coming, but the Ventura County sheriff's crime lab will soon begin testing DNA evidence to solve local crimes.

For more than a year, sheriff's DNA specialists have undergone training and done verification tests in preparation for the next big step: testing DNA material that will be used to prosecute criminal defendants.

``We want to make sure that we're not seeing any contamination problems - that all the procedures are working correctly and that we're getting the correct results,'' said Mike Parigian, a supervising criminalist who heads up the DNA section of the crime lab.

``We've probably run 500 samples, and we've never seen any contamination. That tells me we're following the correct procedures and that our cleaning methods are working correctly.''

Because each human has unique DNA or genetic material, tests that compare samples of blood, hair, tissue and semen provide highly accurate matches with criminal suspects.

Use of DNA evidence is nothing new in Ventura County. The county was the first in California to use DNA to convict murder defendants.

But in the past, the Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies around the county have had to rely on a private lab that charges up to $1,300 per sample. A single homicide case can easily generate anywhere from four to 10 or more samples. In-house tests will run about $60 for materials, plus labor.

``To do our own analysis is much less expensive,'' said Richard Purnell, commander of the sheriff's special services bureau which includes the crime lab. ``The cost savings will be significant to the point that it will allow us to use the process a great deal more. Now we have to be very selective as to when we use the process because of the cost. DNA with our own lab will become a normal process, and that adds to the checks and balances in the system.''

Officials made their first proposal for a DNA lab in 1989. But it wasn't until 1995 that things started falling into place.

Located in three rooms inside the 17,500-square-foot crime lab, the DNA section is only about 1,000 square feet.

The $130,000 in equipment was paid for with federal grants obtained through a partnership with 17 other crime labs around the state, only nine of which process DNA evidence for criminal prosecution.

In the next few weeks, sheriff's officials and prosecutors will discuss in which cases DNA evidence will be processed through the sheriff's lab. As a precaution, DNA samples tested by the Sheriff's Department will also be tested initially by an outside firm.

After a year of processing DNA evidence in criminal cases, the lab will be eligible for accreditation that shows it has met professional standards.

DNA testing won't only be used to prosecute. It will also be used early on in criminal investigations to zero in on the right suspect, thereby clearing the innocent. About 30 percent of criminal suspects in the initial phases of investigation are exonerated with the help of DNA testing, Parigian said.

The project has had a few personnel problems. The biggest has been in finding enough qualified people to staff the lab and finding the money to lure them away from their current jobs.

In the past, the crime lab has had more serious problems. In November 1996, the crime lab's blood/alcohol analysis supervisor resigned on short notice, leading to errors that called into question 600 drunk-driving cases.

Last year defense attorneys spent six months trying to have the cases dismissed because of questionable lab practices that led state regulators to temporarily suspend the lab's license. But the efforts ultimately failed when a judge denied the dismissals but allowed individual defendants to challenge test procedures on a case-by-case basis. Cmdr. William Wade, who went out on disability leave after the troubles surfaced, later retired.

Eventually, the lab will send DNA samples of convicted violent criminals and sex offenders to a national DNA database to identify suspects in unsolved crimes.

``If the DNA lab when it's up and running is able to give a homicide investigator evidence in a timely fashion that allows the detective to bring about a resolution with a very solid case, it's worth it,'' said sheriff's spokesman Capt. Keith Parks. ``The trauma is so dramatic for families and friends and loved ones of somebody who's been killed. And we have to tackle that with all the resources that we possibly can. And this is a major tool in that.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in Conejo Edition only) Criminalists Keith Nakagawa, left, and Chrystal Craver work in the lab's DNA section.

(2--Ran in Conejo Edition only) Michael Parigian, a supervising criminalist, demonstrates a genetic analyzer in the crime lab.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News