Snapshot
July 26-Aug. 1, 2007

August 1
In California - Police arrested three people on Meth possession charges in two separate cases.  A 31-year-old woman faces charges of possession of Meth and drug paraphernalia. She was arrested when officers conducting a probation search found a plastic bag containing Meth and a pipe used to smoke it in her bedroom. Her children, a 4-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, were placed in a neighbor’s care.  In a separate incident, police pulled over a car that had registration tags five-years out of date.  The 23-year-old driver and his passenger, a 31-year-old woman, were acting suspiciously.  A search of the car turned up brass knuckles and a large quantity of jewelry believed stolen.  A fanny pack in the car held Meth, syringes and a spoon used to cook the Meth for injection.  The man and woman were both arrested on multiple charges.

In Arkansas – 22-counties in Arkansas are joining together in a lawsuit against dozens of pharmaceutical companies and their subsidiaries. A lead attorney in the case says after months of research they feel the companies were flooding the consumer market with far more pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products than what was needed to meet legitimate demand.  Attorneys allege one company showed revenues drop from $180-million a year to $30-million a year, when drugs containing ephedrine were put behind the counter. The group says it has evidence that will show the drugs clearly contributed to part of the Meth epidemic.  The case has currently been removed to a federal court by request of the defendants, however, prosecutors feel like it will be back in state court very soon.  Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine have always been imported from outside the United States. In the mid 90s, Congress banned the products from the U.S. The only exception to the rule was the use of the ingredients in cold medications.

In Tennessee - Deputies arrested four people on outstanding warrants after finding them at a home where they busted a Meth lab.  One deputy initially arrived at the house to check a tip about a possible Meth lab.  When he drove into the driveway, he noticed a smell of ammonia and a burn pile near a shed, and near the burn pile he saw tubing, lithium batteries, Coleman fuel and a gas container.  All that was enough to call for backup and a search of the shed. Inside the shed, deputies found what appeared to be Meth in a cooking stage and the rest of the Meth lab components. The four people arrested inside the home all had outstanding warrants on various charges; no charges have yet been filed in connection to the Meth lab.

In Texas - An anonymous tip led investigators to the site of a dumped Meth lab.  The Environmental Protection Agency was sent to the scene, and the sheriff's office says it will cost the county up to $5,000 to clean it up.

In Tennessee - Police arrested two men, 37- and 35-years old, they say were cooking Meth in a rented storage unit. The two are charged with Meth manufacturing.  Detectives allege the men would cook Meth in their storage unit from midnight to about five in the morning.  Police quarantined one suspect’s house and arrested his 27-year-old girlfriend on possession for resale charges.

In Iowa - A Waterloo doctor who was caught with almost a million-dollars worth of Meth will likely be sentenced to about 22-years in prison after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.  He pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess more than 5 kilograms of Meth with intent to distribute while in proximity to a park and while in control of a firearm and other charges.  He had faced up to 175 years in prison if time for all of the offenses was added together.  Now, though, the sentences will run concurrently. Also as part of the plea arrangement, the state agreed not to submit the case for federal prosecution, which would have meant substantially more prison time with no chance of parole, but not a life sentence. Authorities said the former doctor gave an undercover informant Meth from his home in early April.  When agents executed a search warrant on his home, they found seven firearms, about 1.97 pounds of Meth and other items.  The investigation led drug agents to a neighbor's home that the doctor had been caring for while the owner was out of town. There they found a duffel bag with more than 11 pounds of Meth.
 
In Michigan - The parents of a 20-month-old boy found dead in a suspected Meth lab will likely remain in jail after a judge refused to reduce the $400,000 bond while the child’s cause of death is determined. The woman’s parents are caring for her 7-year-old daughter.  Both parents face two felony counts.  When officers responded to an emergency call from the mother, who said her son was not breathing, they found the home in disarray and that the child had “significant diaper rash with blood-red, oozing sores, and was in a soiled diaper for a significant period of time.” 

In California – A 26-year-old man received a sentence of 10-years in prison for trying to smuggle six bags containing nearly 3-pounds of Meth in his cargo pants while trying to board a Hawaiian Airlines flight. He was convicted of hiding in his pants bags with 1,134 grams of 88-percent pure Meth.

In California – Two busts over two days led to the seizure of more than four-pounds of Meth and $23,000 in cash.  The first bust was made after a traffic stop for speeding.  The 24-year-old male driver was unlicensed, prompting deputies to tow the car.  During a routine inventory search of the car, deputies found 3-1/2 pounds of Meth.  The driver and his 26-year-old passenger were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of narcotics for sale.  The second bust happened after officers served a search warrant on a house and found 21/4 ounces of Meth, scales and other packaging material and $23,965 in cash.  A 51-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale. 

In Indiana - A three-year-old boy is in protective custody after police arrested his 29-year-old mother for making Meth in their apartment. The woman and a 22-year-old man are each charged with manufacturing Meth and neglect of a dependent.

In Indiana - Three people were arrested after raid turned up an active Meth lab.  Officers say they uncovered a working Meth lab in a home, along with a large amount of ingredients used to manufacture Meth and approximately eight tanks of anhydrous ammonia. Two men, 31- and 28-years old, and a 25-year-old woman were arrested during the raid and face numerous felonies and misdemeanors.

July 31, 2007
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