MAPP-SD, a project of Prairie View Prevention Services, Inc., is a comprehensive Methamphetamine awareness and prevention project. 
MAPP-SD is dedicated to:
u   Increase awareness of Meth and the problems associated with its use, manufacture and distribution;
u Provide, at no cost, professional Meth awareness and prevention education to groups and organizations on a community, regional and statewide level;
u Be a no-cost, ongoing resource for South Dakota citizens to deal with issues rising from the manufacture, use and distribution of Meth.

Snapshot Jan. 6-11, 2006

January 11

In Arizona: White County Sheriff’s deputies uncovered a Meth lab after a patrol officer discovered a functioning Meth lab in a woman’s home.  A search of the home revealed about $500 of Meth in the final stages of cooking and numerous chemicals and lab ware associated with production of the drug.

In Kentucky - A six-year veteran jockey who rode in last year's Kentucky Oaks has been arrested and charged with making Methamphetamine.   Police say they smelled an odor similar to a Meth lab in her neighborhood and tied it to the jockey.  She faces five charges, including manufacturing Meth and drug possession.  She has 425 wins in her career that started in 1999.

In California – Three people were arrested after a traffic stop led to a Meth lab bust near a school. It was the first in Manteca since stringent state decontamination clean-up rules went into effect requiring police, family members and others who came into contact with the home to be cleaned by fire crews.  The three were charged with a variety of crimes, including child endangerment, manufacturing of illegal substances charges, possession of a firearm while commission of a felony, and possession of a stolen firearm. All three parties were also charged with manufacturing and sales of illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. They were 775 feet from the Sequoia School campus.  The incident started at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning with a routine traffic stop. Officers had noticed a Ford pickup truck had expired tags. Two of the suspects were in the pickup.  A search of the vehicle produced a weapon and evidence showing narcotics transportation.  The officers connected the two to a home they had been trying to build a case for a warrant to search. The officers obtained a search warrant and found crystal Meth, a Meth lab and two pounds of marijuana.  They also found a mother and three of her children in the house - the youngest was a month old, the other two were toddlers. All four had to go through a decontamination process that police set up in a tent in the driveway of the house next door.  The children were placed in protective custody after they were decontaminated.

In Tennessee - Members of a Drug Task Force shut down a Methamphetamine lab at a home in Maryville.  At least two people were arrested in connection with the Meth lab seizure.   A neighbor said he was surprised to learn a Meth lab was located next door.  The street is a dead end where drivers turn around a lot, but he didn't realize the traffic was drug related.  ``I never would have thought it,'' he said. ``You'd hear a car pull into the gravel (driveway), four to five times a night. You didn't think much about it.''  He hadn't noticed any chemical smells coming from the residence, a gray one-story house with a swing out front.

In North Carolina - A joint investigation involving two counties’ sheriffs’ departments and the NC State Bureau of Investigation and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency led to the arrest of two men on drug charges.  The suspects were charged with trafficking of Meth and conspiring to traffic in Meth.   About 56 grams of Meth and $1,600 were seized.

January 9
In Tennessee - A Kentucky man charged in early November with having a Meth lab in a rented home was indicted in a Tennessee court on multiple charges.  A Virginia State Trooper initially stopped the 43-year-old for speeding. The trooper was issuing several traffic citations when he learned the suspect was wanted in Kentucky for a parole violation. After the trooper advised him he was under arrest, the suspect fled the scene and led police on a high-speed chase.  After he crashed his car in a yard and could go no farther, the man got out of the vehicle pointing a handgun at a Lee County deputy. When other officers drew on the suspect, he surrendered and was taken into custody.  During an interrogation, the man allegedly confessed to having an operational Meth lab and offers later found and dismantled the lab.

In New York - A 41-year old man was arrested after a two-year Meth investigation.  The suspect is charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree unlawful manufacture of Meth – both are felonies.  During a search of a shed on his property, sheriff deputies found 1 quart of "suspected" methamphetamine oil, plus Meth ingredients and laboratory equipment.   New York has a new state law clamping down on Meth cooks and those who might be starting a lab.  The person must have “possession of two pieces of lab equipment and two precursors, reagents or solvents with intent to manufacture Meth; or, three or more of the chemicals and one piece of lab equipment at the same time and place with intent to manufacture Meth; or possession where some of the ingredients to make the drug have begun to be mixed."

In Illinois - A search warrant resulted in the arrest of a 39-year-old man on multiple Meth and weapons charges.  When deputies arrived in the area of the suspect’s home they noticed the smell of anhydrous ammonia. They checked the area to make sure anhydrous ammonia was not being applied to a field or a tank was leaking.  They saw items and substances they recognized as possible Meth inside the house.  During a search, officers found about 2,000 grams of Meth-making materials.  They also discovered two .22-caliber pistols, a .22-caliber rifle and other firearm parts and ammunition and a switchblade knife. The suspect is charged with unlawful use of weapons, unlawful manufacturing of Meth, possession of Meth, possession of drug paraphernalia, armed violence, unlawful possession of Meth manufacturing materials and possession of Meth manufacturing materials with intent to manufacture.

In Indiana - Acting on a tip they received on their tip line, Mooresville police officers raided a location where Meth was being made and reportedly sold.   Two men, a 21-year-old and a 34-year-old, were arrested and face charges of possession of precursors for a drug lab, probation violation, dealing in Meth, possession of Meth, and possession of anhydrous ammonia.  According to officers, the tip began with information about a trash bag of materials used in the manufacture of Meth being dumped along the side of a road.  Officers found the bag and with the help of the Indiana State Police Meth Lab task force, were able to recover items that were inside.   Information from the bag, along with additional information from the tip line, led officers to a home where they purchased two grams of Meth.  After the deal was made and when the suspects left, their vehicle was stopped. Officers say the tip line has been very effective in finding criminal activity. Just before Christmas, information received on the tip line resulted in the department finding more than 400 grams of Meth in one home.

In Arizona - Police found a lot more than drugs when they busted a home Meth operation.  They also found four children, ages 16 months to 17 years.   After months of undercover work, authorities moved in and busted the operation.   There was no evidence the suspects – two women - were making Meth in the home but there is a lot of evidence that they were selling it. A SWAT team found Meth, guns, and a lot of cash.  The kids are safe and in the custody of Child Protective Services.  The two women lived in the home with three children.  The 16-month-old is actually a grandchild to one of the women. 

January 8
In California - A 29-year-old Orland man was arrested during a traffic stop after police found an open bottle of vodka and a glass pipe with Meth residue in the vehicle.  Officers also found 1.2 grams of Meth on the suspect during a search.

In Indiana – A high-speed chase ended in two arrests and Meth charges.  When two officers arrived at a home, they noticed a strong smell of ammonia coming from the backyard. While they were surveying the scene, they noticed two men loading items into a truck.  The two men got into the truck and sped off, leading officers on a brief, but high-speed, pursuit.  During the chase, the men threw several items from the vehicle, which were later determined as materials used to make Meth.  Finally, the suspects stopped the vehicle and made a break for it on foot, but police quickly caught up with them and arrested them.

January 7
In Nebraska – A former elementary school teacher who pleaded guilty to distributing Meth was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.  The 34-year-old woman was a second-grade teacher in Omaha before being fired in May after charges in the case were filed.  She pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute Meth. The woman, who is expecting to give birth about April 10, is scheduled to report to prison April 24.  During her sentencing, the single mother told the court she was addicted to Meth and was selling Meth for extra money.

In South Carolina - Two Berkeley County Sheriff deputies were hospitalized after entering a home where several men were arrested on charges of manufacturing Meth.  The investigation of the mobile home also led deputies to search a second suspected Meth lab in the same area.  Investigators responded to the first home after receiving a report of possible drug activity. Two drug officers were exposed to fumes while securing the home; they became dizzy, and one began having breathing trouble.  They were treated at a hospital and released.  The Sheriff's Office called the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate firearms found inside the home.  Four men at the house will face multiple drug charges including: manufacturing Meth, possession with intent to distribute Meth, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and trafficking ephedrine, a nasal decongestant often used for making Meth.

In Indiana - Three people landed behind bars after a drug bust in Owensboro.  Police were called to the Days Inn to investigate a suspicious vehicle complaint by hotel security.  Police searched a room and found equipment and ingredients used in making Meth - including a full tank of anhydrous ammonia. They also found Meth and marijuana in the room.  Two of the three suspects face several charges including manufacturing Meth.  The third was charged with possession of marijuana.

In Kentucky - Police busted a Meth lab and arrested three people.  They are all charged with manufacturing and trafficking in Meth and with trafficking a controlled substance within one thousand feet of a school.

January 6
In Illinois – The Henderson County Sheriff reported that a search warrant uncovered a Meth lab and resulted in four arrests.  All four people were charged with Meth possession, possession of Meth manufacturing chemicals with intent to manufacture Meth, unlawful chemical breakdown of illicit controlled substance (Meth), manufacturing with intent to deliver Meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.  A sheriff's deputy on routine patrol smelled an odor coming from the garage at the residence. Deputies secured a search warrant and found a Meth lab in the garage. Meth making materials were also found in the garage and residence.

In Illinois – A tip from an informant led to the arrest of a 36-year-old man who police had been suspicious of for a year. The tipster reported there were several tanks of anhydrous ammonia and Meth manufacturing going on at the rural residence.   A search warrant was approved and executed based on the information.   The search recovered two tanks containing anhydrous ammonia, burned Meth trash and drug paraphernalia that field tested positive for the presence of Meth.  The evidence leaves the suspect exposed to a variety of felony charges including a Class 1 felony of possession of anhydrous ammonia with intent to manufacture Meth and a new statute that creates a Class 2 felony for burning Meth trash.  Officers found the evidence of the Meth lab in a detached garage at the home site. The separation of the alleged lab and the home kept officers from seeking a charge of drug related child endangerment.  There were elementary school aged children in the home.

In North Carolina - A federal grand jury indicted eight Caldwell County residents on charges related to the possession and manufacturing of Meth.  They are charged with having manufactured and possessed with intent to distribute Meth since the summer of 2002.   The indictment also alleges that two of the accused possessed pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture Meth and that one of them carried a .22-caliber rifle the same day in relation to and to help commit a drug-trafficking crime.   If convicted, each faces at least ten-years in federal prison.

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