Pubdate: Fri, 02 May 2003 Source: Daily Nebraskan (NE Edu) Copyright: 2003 Daily Nebraskan Contact: http://www.dailyneb.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1176 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH LAB DISCOVERED NEAR CAMPUS CREATES CONCERN As law enforcement officials continue to combat rising methamphetamine addictions, lab discoveries are becoming more frequent. But when University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Capt. Carl Oestmann found out some of his officers had uncovered components of a meth lab on the edge of campus, he was a bit surprised. "I would find it somewhat unusual that it was on campus," he said. "If it's common, it's not common for the campus environment." Nevertheless, the discovery is evidence that the growing problem is closer to campus than it has ever been, Oestmann said. Officers discovered the components of a meth lab after detaining a man who fled from an area near 16th and Holdredge streets, he said. According to Oestmann, officers were responding to reports of a suspicious person around the trees in that area when 44-year-old J. Grahm took off running. Officers were able to catch him near 17th and Y streets. Grahm's last known residence is in Iowa, he said. Once in custody, Grahm led authorities to lab components in the trunk of his vehicle and near a creek adjacent to the residence hall parking lot for the Harper-Schramm-Smith Complex, Oestmann said. Grahm was then arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamines and intent to manufacture methamphetamines, he said. Lincoln Police Officer Katherine Finnell said members of the Lincoln-Lancaster Clandestine Lab Team helped clean up the evidence and secure the area. Oestmann commended the people who called police and said the arrest should encourage members of the university community to report suspicious activity immediately. "College students should always be aware of their surroundings," he said. "This is a prime example of how that works." But not everyone is as concerned as the individuals who reported the suspicious man. Jim Johnson, an English major who lives in Schramm Residence Hall, said he didn't worry about what other people were doing. "There's so much other stuff going on," he said. "Drugs never bothered me as long as they didn't make me do it. "If it doesn't affect me, I don't care if they destroys their brains." But police care. Officer Tyler Schmidt said members of the department were working to be more vigilant during patrols. And even though meth has not been a significant area of concentration in the department, he said, officers have received training on both the local and national levels. "They can handle stuff like this," Schmidt said. Meth labs are "just one more of the areas that we have to be prepared for." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager