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.