Pubdate: Wed, 23 Jul 2003
Source: Mitchell News-Journal (NC)
Copyright: 2003 Mitchell News-Journal
Contact: http://www.mitchellnews.com/letters.htm
Website: http://www.mitchellnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1777
Author: Nathan Hall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

STAKES RAISED FOR METH LABS

Gerald W. Wilson, District Attorney for the Twenty-Fourth Prosecutorial 
District has issued a policy change that he said will help effectively 
fight the war against drugs. Wilson issued a press release on July 17 
telling everyone in his district that the option of charging persons caught 
with functioning methamphetamine labs with the B1 felony of Unlawful 
Manufacture, Assembly, Possession, Storage, Transportation, Sale, Purchase, 
Delivery, or Acquisition of a Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapon of 
Mass Destruction in situations where a working or recently used clandestine 
methamphetamine laboratory is discovered. In the past, the charge that 
accompanied a working meth lab was the H felony for posessing the precursor 
drugs and the H felony for manufacture of methamphetamines. The problem 
facing law officers and prosecutors in the district has been the leniency 
of the felonies that can be charged in association with a meth lab. The H 
felonies carry minimal bonds and minimal, if any, jail time if convicted. 
Wilson said in many cases, after being charged with the H felony of 
manufacturing a schedule II controlled substance, the person would be 
released on an unsecured bond and be back in a working lab by morning. 
Martin Dwayne Miller, 24, of Boone, is one such case in point.

According to records on file at the Watauga Clerk of Superior Court's 
Office, Miller was charged with the I felony of felony possession of a 
schedule II controlled substance on Feb. 21, 2003. He was released on an 
unsecured bond. On Feb. 28, Miller was charged with the H felony of 
manufacturing a schedule II controlled substance.

He was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond. On July 9, Miller was charged 
with the operation of a meth lab under the new policy.

He was charged with the B1 felony and is currently being held under a 
$500,000 secured bond. According to Wilson, the difference in the charge is 
substantial. Not only is the secured bond enough to hold the suspect, but 
instead of facing a maximum of 30 months in custody on the H felonies, he 
is now facing a minmum of 12 years in prison and a maximum of life in 
prison. "We did not make any new statutes," said Wilson. "We changed the 
policy of how we are going to charge the offenses." The new policy is the 
result of the chemical by-product of the manufacture of methamphetamines. 
Many of the toxic gases that are created from the manufacture process end 
up in dumpsters, drains, septic tanks, ans simply dumped on the ground, 
according to Wilson. Wilson added that the charges might not end there.

If a person is injured during a raid of a meth lab, or during the fire 
fighting of an explosion, the person could be charged with an A felony 
which carries life in prison if convicted. "Most labs move," said Wilson. 
"It takes between four and 16 hours to go through the process." Then the 
lab is picked up and moved to a new location.

Wilson said in most cases the gases are left behind or dumped on 
unsuspecting people. "The by-products of the production of methamphetamine 
are toxic and lethal and include such agents as phosphine gas, hydrochloric 
gas, and iodized crystals," according to the press release. Studies have 
found that for every pound of methamphetamine produced, five to six pounds 
of toxic waste is left behind.

Most of the time, the cook then pours the waste product down a drain or 
onto the ground. Every time one of these spills is found, a hazardous 
material cleanup team must be called in to fix the problem.

The average cost of one of these clean-ups is $5,000 but the big ones cost 
up to $150,000. Wilson said the new policy is an effort to make the 
punishment fit the crime. Mitchell County Detective Shanon Smith said 
Mitchell County has not actually seized a functioning meth lab, but he sees 
it coming in the future. Smith said he is glad the DA's office took an 
active stand in trying to help law enforcement deal with the meth problem. 
"The former policy was not sufficient," said Smith. "This poses a lot more 
of a deterrent."
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