Lake County Marijuana DUI Charges Against Derek Drake Dismissed Due to Faulty UIC Lab Evidence

In a significant development stemming from flawed marijuana DUI tests, prosecutors in Lake County, Illinois, are dropping charges against a man accused of driving under the influence and causing a fatal accident. This decision comes after an investigation revealed inaccuracies in the drug testing results.

The Lake County State’s Attorney described the evidence as “scientifically erroneous,” prompting the dismissal of charges against a driver involved in a deadly crash in 2023. The case relied on test results from a lab previously exposed for inaccuracies by the I-Team over a year ago.

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The incident occurred on the morning of May 21, 2023, when Derek Drake from Lake Villa attempted a left turn, colliding with a motorcycle operated by 56-year-old David Paul of Skokie. Tragically, Paul was pronounced dead at the scene in Round Lake Beach.

According to court documents, Drake had recently completed a supervision period for an alcohol-related DUI.

In this recent case, blood tests from the University of Illinois Chicago’s Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory indicated Drake had more than twice the legal limit of Delta 9 THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana. Drake admitted to using marijuana the night before the incident.

“If the prosecutor had known the science was flawed, charges would never have been filed,” stated Ron Safer, a former federal prosecutor and current attorney with Riley, Safer, Holmes & Cancil Law.

Safer is not involved in any of the UIC lab cases but told the I-Team it is vital that state’s attorneys take action when fundamental forensic errors are presented in court with devastating consequences.

“That is a powerful moment for a defense attorney, almost impossible to overcome, and to hear that that was based on flawed data and flawed processes is devastating to the justice system,” Safer said.

The I-Team has followed the fallout from the UIC faulty testing.

At issue are flawed methodologies that measured THC levels incorrectly, potentially flagging drivers as above the legal limits. Thousands of court cases across metro Chicago could be impacted.

After ABC7’s reporting first shed light on bad forensic science presented in court for cannabis DUIs, state’s attorneys in DuPage and Cook counties, and now, Lake County, Illinois, moved to determine how many cases have been tainted by unreliable evidence from the UIC-AFTL.

Last year, the DuPage County state’s attorney was the first to take action, dismissing 19 cases, saying, “With the validity of the test results called into question, I could not, legally, ethically and in good conscience, continue the prosecution of these select cases.”

In Cook County, the state’s attorney reviewed more than 300 law enforcement matters in which evidence was submitted to the UIC lab for testing. That office flagged 64 felony or misdemeanor convictions involved with that testing.

However, only one felony case is being challenged by defense attorneys in court. The Cook County state’s attorney concluded that there is enough additional evidence for the others to stand.

“It is absolutely the nightmare as a prosecutor. You do not lose sleep over not convicting the guilty,” Safer said. “What you lose sleep over is the prospect that you may have convicted an innocent person.”

Drake was charged with aggravated driving under the influence causing a fatal crash and reckless homicide. He pleaded not guilty and spent nearly a year and a half behind bars as the case crawled through court. Those charges have now been dropped.

“Nobody should have to pull teeth for the prosecutors to come forward and do this,” Safer said.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart declined an on-camera interview. Instead, he sent a statement, saying, “Our hearts break for the family in this case… We cannot put scientifically unreliable evidence before a jury. Like other prosecutor offices in Illinois, we have made the difficult decision to dismiss these charges. Our ethical and constitutional duties mandate that we never obtain an illegal conviction through scientifically erroneous evidence.”

“They should be proud of what they’re doing,” Safer said. “They should be loud about this, because it is the best of the criminal justice system when the prosecutors come forward and protect the system over just getting convictions.”

The state had the sample blood tested by another lab. Those results showed a level well below the legal limit.

Despite the lab’s problems noted in its own report and the state forensic science commission raising concerns about the flawed science, prosecutors and public defenders caught up in this forensic testing debacle continue to decline to go on camera to explain what is being done as potentially thousands of lives caught up in court cases now hang in the balance.

In a statement, UIC told the I-Team it “remains committed to upholding the highest standards of laboratory research integrity and compliance.”

“It’s a fatal blow to the case, and good for the prosecutor in saying that he’s going to come forward, his client is justice, and that he’s going to dismiss the case because the science is bad,” Safer said.

Drake told the I-Team, in part, “What took place here was a tragedy and should never happen to anyone. And yet, it’s my understanding that UIC’s misconduct has affected not only me, but a number of others in Illinois. I should never have spent a day in jail.”

A member of Paul’s family said, in part, “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the release of Derek Drake due to faulty testing systems. We do not believe justice was served in this case and we continue to grieve the loss of our brother.”

Full Paul family statement
“We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the release of Derek Drake due to faulty testing systems. We do not believe justice was served in this case and we continue to grieve the loss of our brother.”