Snap 10-06-07

Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota

METH Awareness And Prevention Project of South Dakota

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Oct. 6, 2007

In Indiana - Several deputies were called to a house where they found one woman inside with two children. Officers searched the garage and found evidence of a Meth lab, including a supply of anhydrous ammonia.

In South Carolina - Six defendants pleaded guilty to their involvement in a Meth ring that spanned several counties. Authorities say the ring brought about 23-pounds of Meth into the region over a number of years. During the investigation, police seized a truck, three guns and about a pound of Meth. The defendants received prison sentences ranging from as little as 21-months up to ten-years.

In Iowa - A 26-year-old woman was cleared of drug charges connected to the overdose death of her boyfriend nearly a year ago. A judge found the woman not guilty of Meth possession, even though she had Meth in her system. The judge said prosecutors failed to prove she intentionally possessed the drug. She was charged after her 27-year-old boyfriend died of a Meth overdose in the apartment they shared.

In Illinois - After two months of investigation and several undercover purchases, police searched a suspect’s apartment and seized 4.8 grams of Meth and components of a Meth lab. The 32-year-old man is charged with aggravated participation in Meth production, delivery and possession as well as possession of Meth manufacturing materials. All the charges are felonies. The "aggravated" Meth production is an additional charge for producing Meth in crowded residential areas. The suspect was on parole from an earlier Meth case when police raided his apartment.

In Indiana – Two children, a seven-year-old and a nine-month-old, were taken into protective custody after police serving an arrest warrant at their home discovered a suspected Meth lab. Police looking for the wanted person smelled ammonia in the garage and found plastic bottles with fumes coming from them.

In Georgia - Drug agents found a Meth lab near three small children during a raid on a mobile home. Three suspects, including the children’s 23-year-old mother, face charges of first-degree cruelty to children for allowing the youngsters to be in close proximity to the Meth lab, as well as Meth manufacturing and possession. The children, 3-months to 2-years old, were turned over to the Family and Children Services.

In Pennsylvania – Two men were arrested following a wild car chase, the discovery of a weapon and a bag of drugs. A cooperative wife of one suspect also helped officers bust her 37-year-old husband’s Meth lab. The 37-year-old and a 34-year-old are suspected of stealing anhydrous ammonia from a nearby farm for their Meth manufacturing. They both also face a long laundry list of other charges, ranging from carrying a .357 revolver without a license, to possession of altered, forged or counterfeit documents or plates, to recklessly endangering another person to resisting arrest. The case began when a police officer noticed that the registration tag on a vehicle at a stoplight looked like it was changed with a black marker. Police tried to pull the car over when the light changed to green, but the driver sped off, running a red light and a stop sign before the SUV eventually broke down. The suspects ran from the scene, but were soon found hiding in a ditch. When officers searched the vehicle, they found a .351-caliber revolver with six rounds in the chamber and a clear plastic bag with what turned out to be Meth. Police went to one man’s home; the suspect’s wife invited officers inside, taking them to a Meth lab in the garage on the ground floor, showing them a large, black plastic container holding the equipment for Meth manufacturing. She reportedly told the officers, "I told you they were making Meth. Here is the stuff used to make it." Her husband then admitted he and the other man manufactured Meth.