Friday, Jun. 01, 2007

‘Dangerous’ meth lab raided; 3 arrested

‘How do I explain to my small children there was a drug lab two doors down?’ Gaston mother asks

Lexington County sheriff’s deputies Friday raided a toxic, potentially explosive methamphetamine lab operating in a house in a Gaston neighborhood where more than 20 children live, police said.

“It could have blown up — that’s how dangerous it was,” said Sheriff James Metts, whose undercover agents had had the meth operation under surveillance for six months.

Three men were charged.

Metts said deputies raided the house at 225 Transom Court around 2:30 p.m., just as the dangerous meth-cooking process was beginning. They found a bathtub full of a reddish-brown liquid they suspect was laced with red phosphorus — a key ingredient in making meth by what is popularly known as the “Red P” method, Metts said.

“This is the largest ‘Red P’ lab we have had in the county,” Metts said.

In recent years, Lexington sheriff’s deputies have raided several hundred meth labs, many in the Gaston area.

Metts identified the men charged as Scott Phillip Hill, 30, David Carl Johnson, 42, and Gilbert Otto Johnson, 46, all of the Transom Court address. Metts said the men are related.

Hill is charged with possessing methamphetamine. The Johnsons are charged with trafficking in methamphetamine. They are being held at the Lexington County Detention Center, awaiting bond hearings, Metts said.

Police said they also are seeking other suspects.

It is the first meth lab found in Lexington County this year, Metts said. Last year, Lexington authorities busted 15 meth labs, according to a spokesman.

Metts said investigators got a tip the lab was about to begin cooking Friday afternoon. That was enough for a magistrate to sign a search warrant. When officers arrived, Metts said, the odor coming from the house confirmed it was a meth lab.

The “Red P” meth-making process is one of the most dangerous ways of cooking methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug experts say is a favorite of white men and women in rural areas.

The “Red P” method uses chemicals that can produce poison gases that must be ventilated to the outside, according to law enforcement meth experts. Moreover, during the “Red P” method, chemicals have been known to catch fire or even explode.

Neighbors expressed shock as they watched Metts’ deputies — wearing spacesuitlike chemical garb, rubber boots, breathing tanks and goggles — go in and out of the house.

When working around meth labs, police are required to wear protective gear. Meth-making chemicals can burn skin and lungs and can cause cancer, birth defects and a host of other maladies.

“This scares me because I have four children,” said Stephanie Snelling, 31, as her children played in the front yard of her single-story home, two houses from the alleged meth lab.

“This has definitely shocked us to the core. There is at least one child in every house in the neighborhood,” Snelling said.

Another neighbor, Tracie Barwick, 41, who lived three houses away from the alleged meth lab, said the neighborhood’s main concerns have been trying to get speed bumps and “slow” signs for the speeders who race up and down Transom Court. A few weeks ago, a dog was killed by a speeder, she said.

But in general, the neighborhood is safe. “We go to sleep with the windows open,” Barwick said. “We leave home and the doors are unlocked.” Until a week or so ago, Barwick and other neighbors said, two children — a teenage boy and a toddler — and two women lived in the alleged meth lab house.

Police on the scene said they had no information on any women or children there.

At the house, a single-story structure with beige siding, police in protective gear entered and left. A hazardous-materials cleanup crew was standing by to take the poisons away. Police said numerous cats were at the house, but none was in view. A motorcycle and a blue bicycle were beside the house.

Those on the scene Friday included the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team, Lexington County Fire Service, Lexington County EMS, a DEA contract cleanup crew and the Gaston Police Department.

Snelling feared the experience will upset her children.

“How do I explain to my small children there was a drug lab two doors down?” She shook her head. “It usually is such a quiet little community.”

Reach Beam at (803) 771-8405. Reach Monk at (803) 771-8344.

Making meth Methamphetamine is one of the most addictive of all illegal drugs. Depending on its form, it can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken by mouth. It differs from other drugs in that it is manufactured using a highly dangerous chemical process. Two of the main ways of making the drug are:

Red phosphorus: In this method, cooks use red phosphorus as the main ingredient for the chemical reaction needed to produce meth. If done incorrectly, it can produce a poisonous gas that can be lethal.

Anhydrous ammonia: Combining this with other chemicals is more common in South Carolina and is extremely flammable. Inhaling anhydrous ammonia can lead to a number of respiratory problems.

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