ADAMS TASK FORCE TO TARGET METH LABS

Fresh from the 30th methamphetamine bust of the year, the head of an Adams
County police task force vowed to shut more of the drug labs this summer.

"You'll start watching -- those numbers will just rise," said Lt. Lori
Moriarty, a Thornton police detective who heads the North Metro Task Force.
The group includes the seven major Adams County law enforcement agencies.

The task force Wednesday arrested three men and one woman at a Brighton
residence.

Being held at the Adams County jail are Joshua Wayne Mullinex, 22; Matthew
George Carroll, 31; Raymond Earl Prosser, 19; and Loretta Mitchell
Spampinato, 39.

Officers seized more than 5 pounds of drugs, valued at between $60,000 and
$70,000.

Of the 30 labs busted this year, 10 have been in Thornton.

That's because Thornton police have been trained to spot signs of
methamphetamine manufacturing, Moriarty said. As officers in other agencies
are trained, arrests will rise in the rest of Adams County, she said.

The methamphetamine labs make drugs from ordinary cold pills. They process
the pills over open flames in combination with one or more hazardous
chemicals, such as gasoline, lighter fluid, muriatic acid, paint thinner or
battery lithium.

Some of the hazardous chemicals are dumped down toilets, and flammable
fumes can back up into neighboring residences, Moriarty said.