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.

July 17, 2007

In Texas – A 48-year-old man described as a member of the Mexican Mafia and his 47-year-old girlfriend were arrested after sheriff's deputies seized Meth, cocaine jewelry and four vehicles at their home. When officers arrived at the home to execute a search warrant, the front door was open.  Deputies found three pounds of cocaine sitting in plain view on a kitchen counter top, and then proceeded to find the other evidence around the property.  The couple faces federal charges that could bring them each a sentence of 5- to 40-years in prison if convicted.

In California – Police arrested two men after stopping their car for a false registration sticker.  When they were pulled over, the driver, 31-years-old, told the officer that he was on parole.  A search turned up two plastic bags of Meth inside his pants pocket.   When officers searched the car, they found a scale.  The suspect told officers he was released from prison a month ago and had been using Meth ever since.  He is charged with parole violation and Meth possession.  His passenger, a 41-year-old man, was arrested on two outstanding arrest warrants for Meth possession, assault with a deadly weapon, making terrorist threats and spousal assault.

In Tennessee - Police busted what they describe as one of the largest mobile Meth labs they've ever seen.  A sheriff's deputy pulled a car over and arrested the driver when he discovered his driver’s license was revoked.  The deputy then searched the man's car and found everything needed to make Meth.

In Mississippi – A 38-year-old man suffered severe third-degree burns to 80% of his body from a Meth-lab fire.  He was injured while cooking Meth in a shed.  While he was receiving medical care, investigators found and dismantled the remains of the lab.  The man was being transferred to a burn center.

In Pennsylvania - A man pleaded guilty to conspiring to make Meth with his brother in their parents' care home.  The two men were cooking Meth in the basement of a personal care home for mentally and physically challenged adults.  The home was shut down after the raid.  The brothers will both be sentenced in September.

In New Jersey - A 34-year-old man was arrested when police found Meth and drug packaging materials in a search of his house.  Officers seized two digital scales, a brown paper bag full of small plastic bags and a straw, a glass pipe, a black briefcase containing glass tubes and a bong containing residue, a small bag of Meth and the packaging materials.  The suspect was originally wanted on felony theft and burglary charges; he is now charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In Iowa – A Haz-Mat team and law officers were called in to deal with the fresh remains of a Meth lab discovered behind a restaurant in a city’s downtown area. An employee emptying garbage into a trash bin saw a man with a black pickup truck dumping items into the trash bin.  The employee reported the incident to the restaurant’s co-owner, who found a 5-gallon bucket of steaming residue in the bin and called the police.  Hours later, a detective spotted a black truck matching the description provided by the restaurant employee.  The driver, a 38-year-old man, was arrested on an outstanding warrant and was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia for items found in his the truck. Investigators are looking into whether he was involved in the dumped Meth lab.

In Indiana - Police discovered parts of a Meth lab discarded in a ditch near a home and across from a park.  The lab was contained in a plastic bag, which was smoking and still had hydrochloric acid and table salt inside of it.  There were also several plastic containers and plastic tubing visible within the bag. Officers believe a Meth cook likely threw the lab there as he was driving by to get rid of evidence.

In Mississippi - Two young boys walking in the woods discovered a bag. When they shook it, they found a bottle filled with liquid –and then chemicals from a Meth lab dumpsite exploded in one boy’s face.  The 9-year-old describes the experience, "My face was burning, I couldn't breathe." He suffered second-degree burns that ravaged his face and severely damaged his eyes.  Doctors have told his mother the boy's eyes are so damaged, he'll have to get corneal transplants and there is a 90-percent chance he'll lose his left eye.  The family does not have insurance; medical bills have already exceeded $10,000, and the surgery will be more. But, the young boy is still happy, saying, "When I get better, I want to play football."

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