Mini-van used as ‘mobile meth lab’ in Glenwood
Not all mini-vans are for soccer moms.
Cook County Sheriff’s police last week nabbed a pair of drug dealers in Glenwood who allegedly were using a Nissan Quest van as a “mobile meth lab.”
Acting on a tip, police arrested Kevin Halter, 51, in the rolling drug lab on Friday. Officers found about 11.7 grams of methamphetamine, along with the equipment and ingredients used to make the drug inside the van, police said.
“It was basically a drug house on wheels. You could come and get it, or they would bring it to you,” police spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Halter’s roommate, George Wagner, 56, was arrested at the rental home the men share in Glenwood, where police confiscated more drugs and lab equipment. Both men face multiple felony charges.
Halter, who was released from prison on Jan. 30 after serving three years on drug charges, told police he works as a truck driver and sells meth at truck stops and from his home.
Both men remain held in Cook County Jail.
Man burned when meth lab blows up
For the second time in as many months a man is injured in north Webster Parish after a suspected methamphetamine lab blows up, Webster sheriff’s officials said today in a news release.
Saturday night, an explosion in an outbuilding on R. King Road sent an unidentified man to the LSU Hospital burn unit with serious injuries, officials said. Another man, John D. Clark III, 49, was not hurt, but he was arrested after deputies determined the explosion was caused by a homemade methamphetamine laboratory.
The scenario was similar to an early January explosion at a different home in Sarepta, where Joseph Lane Umphries, 34, and Christopher Michael Coats, 18, were seriously burned. Webster investigators believe a homemade methamphetamine laboratory was to blame, but no arrests have been made.
In the latest incident, Clark apparently escaped injury because he briefly left the building to check on pork chops he was grilling. The explosion caused a brief flame, but the building did not catch on fire, which allowed evidence of the methamphetamine lab to be preserved. Large amounts of ammonia, tubing, batteries and more were secured by narcotics investigator Lt. Shawn Baker.
“Before Clark was taken into custody, our deputies learned that he was trying to hide evidence,” Baker said in the news release. “But it was a useless attempt. We recovered and collected a number of materials and components used to make the drug, as well as the final product.”
Investigators are continuing to look further into the incident and practices of Clark, and say more arrests could be possible.
“It’s such a senseless practice,” Sheriff Gary Sexton said, referring to meth use and manufacturing. “Folks just don’t release the danger they put themselves — and everyone around them — in. This office will continue our constant efforts to fight methamphetamine and other drug use, distribution and creation. Maybe this incident will shed some light on the serious dangers involved in ‘playing chemist.’”
Clark was booked into Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction of justice and possession of methamphetamine.
No update was available on the injured man.
Traffic Stop Near Syracuse Leads To Standoff, Search, Meth Lab Bust
A traffic stop turned into a tip that led to a three-hour standoff and eventually an arrest Saturday near Lake Wawasee.
The Indiana State Police made a traffic stop near the Pride Gas Station in Syracuse, and troopers received information about a possible methamphetamine lab near Lake Wawasee.
Around 2 p.m. Saturday, the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team went to a residence at 9821 N. Marine Key Drive, Syracuse, to serve a search warrant on the suspected drug house.
Before they served the warrant, officers learned that the homeowner, David C. Reed, 37, possibly had weapons in the residence. Members of the ERT tried to contact Reed by using a public announcement system, but he refused to answer.
After trying to contact Reed several times, police used a ram mounted to the front of a Humvee to get through both the front and rear doors of the home.
Reed then reportedly made contact with officers, but refused to comply with their orders, then later got into a car parked in the garage and allegedly drove through a closed garage door and rammed a Humvee parked in the driveway.
Then Reed allegedly went back into the house until he surrendered around 5 p.m., about three hours after the incident began.
Officers with the Meth Suppression Unit entered the home and reportedly found several one-pot meth reactors and a shotgun.
Reed was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail for resisting law enforcement, manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was being held on $10,000 bond.
The case remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police and more charges are possible.
Eugene Men Arrested for Florence Theft
Douglas County Deputies arrested two Eugene men Friday after recovering $3,000 worth of stolen property from their car.
On Friday, a deputy was patrolling in the Elkton area and noticed a suspicious vehicle parked at Bunch Bar landing on Hwy 38. The deputy contacted two males with the vehicle, 43-year-old Kenneth Simmons and 30-year-old Kyle Lowry. The deputy obtained consent to search it and found a large amount of clothing, jewelry, stereo equipment, a computer and a small amount of Methamphetamine.
They arrested Simmons and Lowry on charges of First Degree Burglary, First Degree Theft, Possession of Burglars Tools, Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine, First Degree Criminal Mischief and Parole Violation.
The property belonged to the owners of a Florence residence who were out of town at the time of the burglary. The items have since been returned. Deputies are still working with the victim to determine the exact loss amount.
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Major Drug Supplier Arrested
A major drug supplier is behind bars. Rodney Alen Rookstool, 49 from John Day is arrested after four months of investigation by Baker County Narcotics Enforcement Team, along with several agencies including the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team. Rookstool is identified as a major supplier of methamphetamine in Grant, Crook and Baker counties. He was stopped on Interstate 84 in early January. When detectives searched his car they found meth, marijuana, a gun and a large amount of cash. A subsequent search at Rookstools’ residence finds over $25,000 in cash and a large amount of stolen property. He is indicted by Baker and Grant County Grand Juries for nearly 40 felony crimes. Christine Dillon, 46 from Bend was arrested at Rookstools’ residence and charged with manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. Narcotics teams also targeted individuals receiving narcotics from him and nine others have been arrested in connection with this case, all from eastern Oregon.
Warsaw man charged in $11K meth sale
A Warsaw man was arrested Thursday after selling $11,500 worth of methamphetamines to an undercover federal agent.
Luiz Benitez, 31, 9441 W. 250 S., Warsaw, was arrested Thursday evening and charged with felony dealing methamphetamine.
Benitez was taken into custody in the parking lot at the Warsaw Ramada Inn at 2519 E Center Street, off US 30, after allegedly selling a half pound of methamphetamine worth $11,500.00 to an undercover federal agent.
Federal Drug Enforcement Agency agents from the Fort Wayne district office contacted the Kosciusko County Drug Task Force and told them a large meth purchase was planned in Warsaw on Thursday.
Officers from the Kosciusko County D.T.F., Warsaw Police Department, and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department also assisted the special agents with the scene arrest.
Benitez is currently being held with no bond on local D.T.F. charges, but federal charges are likely. Officer’s stated that their investigation is still ongoing with the likelihood of additional arrest.
Ga. man given 15 years on meth, child porn charges
A federal judge in Chattanooga has sentenced a North Georgia man to 15 years in prison in a drug and child pornography case.
Gary Salles (SAYLZ’) of Smyrna, Ga., had earlier pleaded guilty to charges that he brought methamphetamine and porn across the state line to sell to a buyer at a Winchester, Tenn., motel. That buyer was a federal agent.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that after sentencing Salles on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Harry S. “Sandy” Mattice (muh-TYS’) allowed him to speak.
Salles thanked the agents who arrested him for “saving his life” and apologized to anyone he hurt.
Homeless man accused of mailing 200 grams of meth is indicted
A Licking County grand jury has indicted a man who authorities say mailed more than 200 grams of methamphetamine to Newark from California.
Jamie J. Zorrero, 33, no last known address, was charged with one count aggravated possession of methamphetamine, a first-degree felony.
On Feb. 10, officers with the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task force were notified by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service about an intercepted package that contained about 220 grams of methamphetamine, Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Reamer said.
If one dose is one-quarter of a gram, the package included enough methamphetamine for 880 doses. The bulk amount of methamphetamine, used to determine charges in Ohio, is 3 grams.
Zorrero, who is homeless, sent the package to a Newark resident who was unaware of the contents, Reamer said.
CODE set up delivery of the package from Columbus, where it was intercepted, to Newark and waited to see who would come for the package, Reamer said.
Zorrero was detained and interviewed, and he admitted to having the package shipped to a Newark address, according to the affidavit for his arrest.
Officers said Zorrero admitted to traveling to California, buying methamphetamine, mailing the package and flying back to Ohio to receive the shipped package, according to the affidavit.
Zorrero remains in the Licking County Justice Center on a $200,000 bond set by Licking County Municipal Court Judge Michael Higgins.
Hollister woman convicted in federal meth case
A Hollister woman has been convicted by a federal jury of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Robin Gayle East, 49, was found guilty on Wednesday of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between April 14 and April 15, 2009.
A federal jury deliberated less than two hours before making its decision.
Co-defendant Kenneth Dale Woods, Jr., 43, of Branson, pleaded guilty in October to his role in the conspiracy and to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
After his arrest while in possession of about 4 1/2 ounces of methamphetamine, Woods told police officers that East was arranging for delivery of the methamphetamine from a source in California.
During the trial, the government presented evidence that the conspiracy had been on-going for the past several months in late 2008 and early 2009, as well as for approximately 10 to 12 months in 2004 and 2005 until Woods began serving a three-year federal prison sentence.
During the more recent 2008-2009 period, Woods indicated that East provided him four or five ounces of methamphetamine every week or two.
East faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $2 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Branson Police Department and COMET, the Combined Ozarks Multi-jurisdictional Enforcement Team.
Suspected Branson Landing bomb maker faces methamphetamine charge
The man arrested at Branson Landing shopping mall on Thursday night after a bomb scare is charged for an unrelated crime. The Taney County prosecuting attorney charged Don Owens of Florida with possession of methamphetamine.
Branson Police Chief Caroll McCullough says that charge, along with warrants from Florida, will keep Owens locked up long enough for detectives to complete their investigation of the bomb scare and possible ATM break-in.
Owens’ girlfriend, a Missouri native, was released. Prosecutors say she will not face any charge for the bomb scare on Thursday.
Owens was in the Taney County jail on Friday in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
Doc Cobra
Meth Head of the Day 