News - Snapshot3

In Indiana
A Conservation officer’s conscience nagged at him as he passed a stranded motorist on Ind. 67 Sunday morning. After all, it was cold outside and the man needed help. The officer said he turned his patrol sport-utility vehicle around and found a car empty on gasoline but loaded with fresh Meth, unfinished Meth and volatile chemicals. "It was pretty much a bomb in his car, really. You just never know what you're getting into." The discovery sparked a daylong investigation that involved five police agencies, spanned three counties, uncovered a "large" Meth lab and netted three arrests. The 30-year old stranded motorist was jailed on charges of dealing Meth, possession of Meth, and possession of precursors. After his arrest, police searched his home, where he lived with his girlfriend and their five kids, ages 3-11, who were not home at the time, and found more drugs and chemicals. Evidence led investigators to the home of a man police described as the driver’s business partner. There, officers found a large Meth lab in a garage. The man and his wife were both arrested on Meth-related charges. Their 3-year-old son was home during the search and was turned over to Social Services.
Delaware County correctional officers are credited with saving the motorist’s life after he tried swallowing a baggie with 8-12 grams of Meth while being booked into the facility.

In Montana
A 63-year old man pleaded not guilty to federal drug distribution charges. He was indicted on three counts of distributing Meth from July to November last year and one count of using a telephone to aid in Meth distribution. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the distribution counts and four years in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a telephone in drug dealing.

In Florida
Police issued two warrants for the arrest of a 48-year-old man accused of manufacturing Meth in his mother's home. Officers are still looking for the suspect after charging him with the possession of a controlled substance and the manufacturing of Meth. He came to the attention of police when a fire ignited in his mother's home, and investigators concluded that chemicals used to make Meth started the fire. His mother called firefighters after a fire ignited in her son's bedroom. She escaped unharmed along with her four cats and two dogs. Police said chemicals found in the bedroom started the fire, which caused between $50,000 and $75,000 damage to the house. State fire investigators are considering whether to charge him with arson in connection with the fire.

December 5

In Tennessee
A Sweetwater Police Officer found what is believed to be a large amount of crystal Meth in a traffic stop. A police report said the officer stopped a woman for driving with an expired license plate and then placed her under arrest when it was found she had an outstanding warrant for allegedly passing a worthless check. But a search of her male passenger led to more serious charges. When he was patted down, a film canister was discovered in the suspect’s left pants pocket. The officer found Meth, marijuana, and a smoking pipe with white residue. The man was charged with possession of a Schedule II narcotic (Meth), simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In Iowa
Jury selection is underway in the case of a man accused of shooting at ten police officers that surprised him during an alleged Meth sting in Des Moines in May. One of the issues the jury will have to tackle is whether the 25-year-old was justified when he shot at the officers. The defense has said he didn't know he was shooting at police officers during the sting at the Heartland Inn. He has been charged with ten counts of attempted murder. According to police, a gunfight broke out during a reverse sting that involved an informant who approached another man to buy about two pounds of Meth. The other man reached a plea deal in August. More than 20 undercover officers and the informant who helped arrange the Meth deal are among witnesses listed for trial.

In Illinois
Five people were taken into custody after sheriff's deputies discover a rolling Meth lab during a traffic stop. They are all being held for manufacture of Meth and other related charges. Deputies say they spotted one of the occupants pouring a liquid onto the roadway following the stop. They also found a generator for the drug 'smoking' as well as other items used in the manufacture of Meth in the vehicle.

In Texas
Federal officials arrested a Mexican man after finding 87 pounds of Meth in the car he was driving from Mexico. The 32-year old was asked to pull over Border Patrol officers saw something odd about the floor of the vehicle he was driving across the Hidalgo international bridge. A scanner picked up shapes that turned out to be Meth with a street value of $1.3 million. He was arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

In South Dakota
A Rapid City man will serve nine years in federal prison for distribution of Meth. The 23-year-old was sentenced to 108 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was originally indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance to a person younger than 21 years old. A jury convicted him of all charges in August. The charges stem from incidents involving Meth distribution near Rapid City. A 26-year old man from Phoenix, pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The penalty upon conviction is a 10-year minimum and a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine. The charge stems from an incident between winter of 2001 and April 2003 in which he allegedly conspired with others to distribute Meth. No trial date has been set. And an Omaha man pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance. The penalty upon conviction of conspiracy is a 10-year mandatory minimum and a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine. The penalty upon conviction of distribution is a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years and a $2 million fine. The charges relate to incidents between November 2004 and October 2005 near Rapid City when Williams allegedly conspired with others to distribute Methamphetamine and distributed the drug. No trial date has been set.

In Arkansas
The death of a 46-year-old at his home is being investigated as a possible drug overdose.
The man’s wife, who had called 911, told officers that she had gone to a store to buy some batteries for her husband. "When she left James Martin was working on his truck in the backyard and her (17-year old) daughter was also at the residence," according to an officer’s report. Sometime while the wife was gone, the teen reported hearing the man throwing up in the bathroom. She did not go to check on him and when the wife returned home she found her husband passed out in the floor of the bedroom. After hearing the wife admit that her husband may have used Meth earlier, officers asked for and received permission from the 17-year old to search the home to find any illegal substances or anything else that could have caused the man to collapse. During the search an officer found drug paraphernalia as well marijuana. The drug paraphernalia was consistent with marijuana and Meth. The man was pronounced dead later that same night. The state medical examiner will perform an autopsy to find the exact cause of death.

In Guam
Evidence seized during the execution of a search warrant at a room at a hotel was the topic of a hearing in District Court. Four people facing federal drug charges filed a motion to suppress evidence seized when federal and local law enforcement agents found a makeshift Meth lab inside their hotel room. The four were arrested and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The defense argues that authorities did not have probable cause to enter the hotel room.

In Alabama
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department made its 46th Meth lab bust. The Chief Investigator said a search warrant was executed at a residence. A 43-year old man was arrested and charged with first-degree manufacturing and possession of a controlled substance for Meth. A clean up crew was called to the scene to dispose of the hazardous chemicals.

December 4

In Texas
The North Texas Drug Task Force and the Montague County Sheriff's Office enforced a new drug law that resulted in the seizure of about 2,000 grams of methamphetamine. A married couple was arrested in connection to a new "Meth kids" law. When officers approached the home, the adult residents arrived. Officers saw a tank converted for anhydrous ammonia storage in their vehicle, along with two children - ages 1 and 3. When officers searched the man, they found Meth. The couple agreed to a search of the home, and officers found a working lab in a room adjacent to the children's bedroom. Child Protective Services took the children into custody. The 22-year old woman was almost nine months pregnant at the time of her arrest.

In Kentucky
A man arrested after a Meth lab exploded in a garage last year has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to several drug charges. The 27-year old man faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $7.25 million fine when he is sentenced March 6.

In Texas
A police sergeant pulled over a white Toyota pickup for having both tail lamps busted and no tag displayed on the truck. According to the officer’s report, the 28-year old driver had a paper tag in the window that had been expired since August, and his driver's license had been suspended through Oklahoma. His passenger's license was checked and that license had also been suspended. The driver was placed under arrest and handcuffed. During a search of the driver, a broken piece of a glass-smoking device was found in his pocket. The glass had a white powder on it, which field-tested positive for Meth. In the driver's left front jacket pocket, a glass disc was found which also had a white powder on it. Continuing to search the truck, officers found a spoon with a white powder on it under the driver's seat. The passenger was also searched, but no narcotics were found. The passenger was released, but the driver was taken to jail where he was booked for possession of CDS (Meth), possession of paraphernalia, driving while under suspension, compulsory insurance law, taxes due state and improper display of tail lamps (white light emitting.)

In New Mexico
An extremely pure, Mexican-produced form of methamphetamine called "ice" was found in Española for the first time. The discovery could be a disturbing sign for the heroin-saturated area. Three people were arrested, more than half-an-ounce of Ice was seized as well as cocaine. A drug enforcement investigator working the case explained the difference between regular Meth and Ice, "It's kind of like the difference between black-tar heroin and the kinds of opiates you find at a pharmacy."

In Texas
Dallas police shut down a Meth lab in the middle of a neighborhood where the drug was being cooked up just yards away from homes. Police believe the location where the lab was found may be part of an organized crime operation. The lab was found in a truck that had cameras mounted on the outside, so the cookers could see who was coming. Police hauled away ether, acetone, anhydrous ammonia and pseudoephedrine. It was all found about 50 yards away from homes.

In California
There was a scientific method to a suspect’s madness when he tried to extract Meth from his own urine after smoking some last September in his hotel room. But the experiment went dangerously wrong when he spilled some solvent on himself, then lit a cigarette while he contemplated his next move, starting a fire that burned his right hand and arm. The hotel was evacuated. Firefighters were summoned. So were hazardous materials experts. The suspect pleaded no contest to a charge of manufacturing Methamphetamine in November and was sentenced in December to five months in prison - with credit for time served - and three years' probation. The county’s chief deputy district attorney, in an interview after the sentencing, explained "The methodology this guy used would work, but it would take bottles and bottles of urine - not one void of a bladder." The man’s defense attorney described his client's attempt to reclaim excreted Meth from his urine as a "really, really silly" move. And, he added, “Anybody who would - for fun - read a chemistry text should be in school instead of sitting in Jail." Which is exactly where he intends to be after he is released, the man told the judge at his sentencing.

In Illinois
A 25-year-old man was sentenced to ten years in prison on a felony drug charge after pleading guilty to unlawful manufacture of 100 to 400 grams of Meth. He was one of five people arrested in a September drug bust.

In Arizona
Statistics show that 50% of all the property crimes in Tucson have a direct link to Meth. At the same time as that report was being reviewed, police nabbed a major player in the Tucson/Phoenix Meth trade. The suspect, who goes by the nickname “Sick Boy”, is in jail on a million dollar cash-only bond, charged with drug violations including Meth.

In Hawaii
A suspected drug dealer who crashed into a city bus was hospitalized and guarded by drug enforcement agents. He was arrested after slamming head-on into a bus. Sources say he took off from a home when he realized U.S. Marshals and DEA agents were closing in. Agents say he's part of a major crystal Meth operation supplying Kauai and Honolulu from Mexico

December 2

In Minnesota
A former College of St. Scholastica instructor who resigned after being charged with manufacturing Meth was sentenced to 6-3/4 years in prison. The 39-year old testified that he was a drug addict "trying to find the least offensive way" he could to continue his addiction. He said he mainly manufactured Methamphetamine to support his own habit. He said he sometimes shared the drug with others but never sold it. It took more than two years to resolve the case. The man and a co-defendant were accused in October 2003 of cooking Meth in a garage about two blocks from a school. Children were living in the house adjacent to the garage. The co-defendant pleaded guilty last year to aiding and abetting the first-degree manufacture of Meth. The former instructor had been convicted in Kansas for possession of Meth in 2000. While this case was still open, the suspect was charged in another Meth case in a different Minnesota county. That case hasn't been resolved.

In Guam
A sting operation conducted by agents with the Violent Street Crimes Task Force led to the arrest of a 41-year-old woman after agents found her with numerous items used in a Meth lab. She was charged with manufacturing a Scheduled II controlled substance. The case remains under investigation.

In Texas
Three suspects were arrested for numerous charges including possession of a controlled substance, forgery, felon in possession of a firearm; failure to identify fugitive from justice, and one out-of-state felony warrant for a probation violation. A Special Investigations Unit executed a warrant at a home after receiving a tip. According to a member of the sheriff's department, officers recovered Meth, counterfeit currency, and counterfeit motor vehicle inspection stickers and other counterfeit documents along with a loaded semi-automatic handgun. They also recovered equipment and materials used to produce the counterfeit items. The arrests occurred without anyone being hurt and with a minimum degree of difficulty, according to the officer. He said the men did not realize why the officers were there at first and thought they were simply going to talk.

In Oregon
Two suspects found hiding in a stolen car with drugs and a gun were arrested. Officers responding to a disturbance call noticed that two occupants of a car parked in an adjacent lot were ducking down in an attempt to hide from them. As the officers approached the car, they saw a great deal of rapid movement inside and a bag of what turned out to be Meth dropped out of one of the suspect’s pockets. Officers seized one ounce of Meth, six rocks of crack cocaine, 56 ecstasy pills, a loaded .357 caliber revolver, scales, and packaging material from the stolen car.

In Tennessee
Officers arrested two people on charges of manufacturing and possessing Meth. A 31-year old man and a 25-year old woman are each charged with manufacturing, delivering and sale of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of schedule II drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia (Ephedrine) and felony possession of drug paraphernalia. During a search of a home, officers found “several components” that are used to manufacture Meth including gassers, ether, funnels, tubing and Muriatic acid. Court records also state officers reported finding more than one gram of a substance believed to be processed crystal Meth.

In Kentucky
Police busted a Meth lab after being tipped of a possible Meth lab at a house. When they arrived they found 13 grams of Pseudoephedrine. Kentucky law says a person can only have 9 grams in possession. Three people were taken into custody, though no charges have been filed yet.

In Illinois
Cleaning up the residue from the largest Meth lab found in Lake County will be up to the property owner. The 38-year old man was arrested after allegedly being caught disposing of the waste material from a Meth lab into a garbage Dumpster located about one mile from his townhouse. He was charged with five counts of illegal disposal of methamphetamine waste, unlawful possession of methamphetamine materials, possession of methamphetamine precursors, unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, aggravated unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, and as an active participant in methamphetamine manufacturing. A specialized team of state police and federal agencies removed the bulk of the chemicals used in methamphetamine manufacturing immediately. Beyond that, it's the responsibility of the homeowner. Before the volatile chemicals were removed, neighbors in adjoining residences were evacuated until the threat of an explosion was gone.

In Iowa
A Cedar Rapids man will spend 15 years in federal prison for making Meth at a home where two children lived. The suspect pleaded guilty to manufacturing Meth and illegally possessing a firearm. In a plea agreement, he admitted producing the drug at his girlfriend's home and leaving the chemicals within reach of her children. He is not eligible for parole. He must pay a 200-dollar fine and serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence.