An FBI agent accused of tampering with drug and gun evidence repeatedly checked heroin out of an evidence room, sometimes using a false signature, and some packages eventually came back damaged, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
Authorities investigating the agent, Matthew Lowry, also discovered that two guns — a Derringer pistol and a Remington shotgun — and marijuana that he seized during a search of a home and car in Maryland were never submitted into evidence.
These new details for the first time describe how Lowry is alleged to have pilfered drugs that were evidence in several criminal cases, forcing federal prosecutors to dismiss charges against at least 28 defendants and notify 150 more that the agent had participated in investigations targeting them.