Source: The Herald, Everett, WA Contact: June 16, 1997, Page 1A Meth trade cooking up violent stew By Scott North, Herald Writer When people in a north Marysville neighborhood got up to go to work early Jan. 13, the evidence of Snohomish county's growing methamphetamine problem was lying in the street. The bodies of two young men were facedown on the pavement. Both had been fatally shot, apparently victims of a drug deal gone bad. Deputy prosecutor John Adcock handles cases for the Snohomish Regional Narcotics Task Force. Usually, that means prosecuting felony drug crimes. But he's now preparing to try three Snohomish County men on aggravated murder charges in connection with the January killings. The case, which carries potential death sentences for the trio, can be summarized as "a double murder for about 49 bucks and an ounce of methamphetamine," Adcock said. "I really believe that is particular crime is totally traceable to meth," he said. "I think it is the worst drug on the street right now, because of the carnage it causes." Meth is a powerful and addictive stimulant sold under a number of names, including crank, crystal and speed. It can produce hallucinations and violent, often hairtrigger reactions in users. Scratch below the surface on many of the county's ugliest violent crimes in recent years, and the meth angle will be found, investigators say. Consider: Meth was coursing through the veins of a 21yearold man in February 1995 when he fatally shot a young couple in their south Everett apartment. The killer walked away with $600, leaving behind a 20monthold baby girl, who died of starvation and dehydration before her slain mother's body was found. Meth was the favored drug for a group of friends in Everett and Arlington who murdered and then dismembered a man whose burned remains were found on the Tulalip Indian Reservation in January 1996. Jurors in the Roxanne Doll murder trial in April heard how Richard Clark spent the hours leading up to the 7yearold's abduction, rape and murder drinking heavily and taking meth. Clark, who jurors decided should die for the April 1995 killing, told a family member that he was so messed up on drugs that he did not know whether he killed Roxanne or not. And Meth is growing in popularity here. "Meth is the topofthelist drug of choice on the streets right now,:" said county sheriff's Sgt. Ron Perniciaro, who supervises drug detectives on the regional task force. One the favored contraband of outlaw biker gangs, meth now appeals to a much broader following, he said. Today's "cranksters" come from all walks of life and are just as apt to live otherwise "straight" lifestyles, working at aerospace jobs or in the computer software industry, for example, Perniciaro said. Users snort, inject or smoke meth. Some even admit to using it as a condiment and putting it on their food, said Dave Biulyeu, a Snohomish Police Department detective on the drug task force who has specialized in meth investigations. In 1995, the task force seized a total of almost three and a half pounds of meth. But in a single arrest last month, the task force and their counterparts of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies, arrested a south county man who had roughly three pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $150,000. It was the largest seizure of meth since the task force was launched in 1988, said Al Shelstad, the group's commander. The suspect now faces federal prosecution and up to 20 years in prison. He was "moving tremendous amounts of meth," Shelstad alleged. "We feel he's been moving three or four pounds a week in our county. And the alleged meth dealer probably wasn't alone, Perniciaro said. Demand of meth is supplanting cocaine, and where there is a market, plenty of people will cash in, he said. It also is a lot easier to get meth on the street, he said. The drug is manufactured in clandestine drug laboratories, often using a witch's brew of volatile and poisonous chemicals. Most meth recipes require considerable chemistry skill and access to a substantial amount of laboratory quality glassware. But a meth recipe cropping up more frequently involves little more than a crockpot and commonly available materials, such as overthecounter cold medicine, lithium batteries, toluene, and plastic sportdrink bottles, Bilyeu said. The process has been dubbed the "Nazi method" because it was patented by the Third Reich to produce drugs for fighting fatigue in soldiers and factory workers. The Nazi method is quick, producing high quality meth in minutes, but it has all the drawbacks of the more traditional recipes, producing irritating, potentially explosive fumes and highly toxic waste byproducts. "The biggest problem (with meth cooks) is they are going into hotel rooms and doing a cook in under an hour," Perniciaro said. Proper decontamination after a meth cook can cost thousands of dollars, but nobody knows about the contamination unless the fumes attract attention, he said. The task force is cracking down on cranksters by targeting highvolume dealers and their distribution networks, Shelstad said. They've pushed to have dealers prosecuted under tougher, federal antidrug laws, which can carry up to 10 times the punishment available in state courts, he said. The task force also continues to seize the financial assets of those involved in the drug trade. Since its inception in 1988, the task force has seized more than $584,000 cash, $788,000 in vehicles and $100,000 in guns. The estimated street value of drug seized is in excess of $33 million.