The NC State Crime Laboratory, the 30th Judicial District Bar, and IDS are offering a tour of the Western Regional Lab in Edneyville on June 17, 2022 at 1:00 pm for criminal defense attorneys and investigators. One hour of CLE credit is anticipated for those who participate in the tour. If you would like to attend, please sign up here. Additional logistical information will be emailed to those who register for the program.
Forensic Scientists at the Western Regional Laboratory of the NC State Crime Lab will explain to attorneys the evidence testing procedures used in their laboratory. Methods for latent print (fingerprint) analysis, drug chemistry, firearms, toxicology, and DNA analysis will be discussed.
A practitioner from each discipline will explain the methods of their discipline to provide a better understanding of how evidence is processed by the laboratory. The forensic scientists will discuss the scope of testing services that their discipline offers and any limitations to the analyses they perform. The Forensic Scientist Manager will explain overall evidence control, laboratory reporting, and quality assurance practices at the lab. Participants will have the opportunity to view the various sections of the lab to observe were testing occurs and gain a better understanding of the methods used by the lab.
Presenters include:
Forensic Scientist Manager Ana Baxter
Ana Baxter has been with the NC State Crime Laboratory for approximately 21 years. Prior to joining the NCSCL she worked 7 years for the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources performing analysis on environmental samples. She has a degree in Chemistry from NC State University and prior to becoming manager she worked in the Drug Chemistry Section of the Laboratory as an analyst then supervisor. She is certified with the American Board of Criminalistics in Drug Analysis.
Forensic Scientist Supervisor Summer Maffett
Summer Maffett obtained her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees both in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She began working in the Latent Evidence Section of the Raleigh Laboratory in 2007 before transferring to the Western Regional Lab Latent Evidence Section in 2016. She is a Certified Latent Print Examiner through the International Association for Identification and is currently the Forensic Scientist Supervisor of the Evidence Control, Firearms, and Latent Evidence Sections of the Western Regional Lab.
Forensic Scientist Supervisor Kristi Raschka
Kristi Raschka graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Forensic and Toxicological Chemistry in 2010 and then received her M.F.S. in Forensic Toxicology from The George Washington University in 2013. Kristi started with the NC State Crime Lab in 2014 and worked at the Triad Regional Laboratory in the Toxicology Section for 7 years before being promoted to supervisor of the Toxicology Section in the Western Regional Laboratory. In 2018, she received her certificate in Forensic Alcohol Toxicology from the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.
Forensic Scientist Supervisor Julie Butler
Julie Butler has earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota and a M.S. in Pathology from Louisiana State University. She has 20 years of experience in body fluid identification and DNA analysis in both private and public laboratories and is currently the supervisor for Forensic Biology at the Western Regional Lab of the NCSCL.
Forensic Scientist Supervisor Beth Reagan
Beth received a B.S. Degree in Chemistry from Appalachian State University. She has been employed with the NCSCL Drug Chemistry section since 2006. She is certified with the American Board of Criminalistics (ABC) in Drug Analysis, and is a member of the Clandestine Laboratory Investigating Chemists (CLIC) and the Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS). She has served as the supervisor of the Drug Chemistry section since 2016.