Woman accused of taking drugs from San Francisco crime lab charged in San Mateo County

Woman in SF drug lab probe charged in San Mateo

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The woman accused of skimming drugs from San Francisco’s crime lab for her own use is facing a felony cocaine possession charge in San Mateo County.

Sixty-year-old Deborah Madden was charged Friday. She has been ordered to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on Monday. Her attorney, Paul DeMeester, says she will plead not guilty.

Madden was arrested on March 3 after authorities looking into the disappearance of drugs at the San Francisco lab say they found one-tenth of a gram of cocaine and a gun at her San Mateo home.

She has not been charged in the drug lab probe. DeMeester last month sought to downplay those allegations, comparing the situation to a bartender who sneaks a drink from a brewery. He says the lab has larger systemic problems.