Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2001
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2001 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Author: David Blackburn
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

MAN ARRESTED IN MASSIVE METH BUST

GREENVILLE -- The largest methamphetamine bust to date in Muhlenberg County 
has an Auburn man facing 20 years to life in prison on firearm-enhanced 
felony charges of trafficking, possession and manufacturing the drug.

Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Perry arrested Eric Reeves, 30, on Tuesday after 
finding .45-caliber bullets on him, a packet of methamphetamine, a loaded 
.22-caliber pistol and drug paraphernalia in a car in which Reeves was a 
passenger near a Dunmor home, said Sheriff Jerry Mayhugh.

Authorities later found 25 to 30 packets of meth worth about $500 each; a 
tank containing anhydrous ammonia and various other ingredients typically 
used to make meth; and seven seed jars used to cook the drug, three of 
which were in the process of making it.

"This is the big one," Sheriff Jerry Mayhugh said of the size of the bust. 
Most meth labs found in the county usually have just one working seed jar, 
he said.

"We ripped the heart out of meth (trafficking) in Dunmor," Mayhugh said. He 
said his office has had complaints about drug activity there.

Perry went to the home, which is owned by Travis C. Hunt, on Tuesday 
afternoon after Pennyrile Rural Electric Co-op Corp. workers reported theft 
of services. A set of jumper cables had been used to link a transformer to 
the house's wiring in order to steal electricity, Mayhugh said.

A worker told Perry that a car, which was sitting in a nearby field, had 
had two men in it and was at the house prior to his arrival, according to 
Perry's incident report. Mayhugh said Wednesday his office was still 
working on the identity of the other man, who left on foot.

At the house, deputies found a three-gallon seed jar inside a five-gallon 
plastic bucket on the front porch. Mayhugh said several containers, a metal 
tank and meth ingredients were visible through the house's windows.

"Once we determined we had a lab, we backed off and called Pennyrile 
Narcotics Task Force," which summoned a clean-up crew, Mayhugh said.

Authorities later found the tank contained anhydrous ammonia and a duffle 
bag containing equipment used to bleed the ammonia out of a storage tank, 
Mayhugh said.

They also found loaded .45- and .357-caliber handguns; a meth recipe; a 
list of ingredients; and a sandwich bag containing marijuana.

Also found at the house was the shell of a car that appeared to be 
deliberately burned. Mayhugh said a Kentucky State Police arson 
investigator has been summoned.

Reeves was charged with trafficking, manufacturing and possessing 
methamphetamine, possession of anhydrous ammonia in an unapproved 
container, possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a concealed deadly 
weapon.

Reeves pleaded innocent to the charges during arraignment in Muhlenberg 
District Court on Wednesday morning. He remained in the Muhlenberg County 
Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Mayhugh also served Reeves with an outstanding warrant from a Logan County 
indictment charging him with manufacturing methamphetamine. Reeves is also 
wanted on charges in Indiana.

Deputies were expected to return to the house and 90-acre-plus farm, both 
of which Mayhugh said he will try to confiscate if possible.

"We will definitely make one more arrest, possibly two," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth