DESPERATE, DANGEROUS LIVES OF 'METH' USERS REVEALED IN COURT CASES

This is the second in a series of articles about methamphetamine and
its impact.

EATON COUNTY -- Kevin Tyrrell often gets a close look at the strange,
desperate and dangerous lives of methamphetamine users, and the sight
leaves him a bit astounded.

Two weeks ago, Zacharia Histid, 38, was sentenced in Eaton County
Circuit Court to a term of three to 20 years for possessing meth lab
equipment. He has also been accused of soliciting someone to commit
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"Mr. Histid believed that the police were watching him from a barn
near his property, which wasn't the case. That is an example of the
effect methamphetamine has on a person's mind. He was so paranoid
that he asked someone to burn the barn down because he thought by
doing so, he would remove the place from which the police could
monitor his activities," said Tyrrell, assistant prosecutor in charge
of drug crimes in Eaton County.

First-time meth users experience an overwhelming euphoria, one that
will never be matched again, but those who are addicted never stop
trying. The effect on a person's personality and body is startling,
investigators, and prosecutors say.

Tyrrell has seen people arraigned on meth charges and set free on
bond, only to be arrested again for the same crime.

Repeat offenses

He points to the case of John Mullins of Vermontville who was known
to have operated as many as three meth labs. "He was rumored to be a
big time player, but we could not get a case on him. Eventually he
was arrested, but within a week, he was arrested for a second time.
That shows you how much of a control it has on addicts. They are let
out of jail and they turn right around and start another lab," Tyrrell said.

Det. Lt. Tim McGill, head of the Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad,
said, "I have seen instances where a person has been arrested three
times on the same meth charge. They are let out on bond and go right
back to manufacturing meth," he said.

The addicted have an all-consuming desire to recreate the euphoria
they obtained when they first used the drug, and they fear the police
less than experiencing the awful crash of coming off meth, officials say.

Those who know the meth scene in Eaton and Ingham County, said the
vast majority of arrests are for operating "mom and pop" labs.

"They are small operations in which that people are cooking the stuff
and they are also users, and they sell to others in order to pay for
their habit," McGill said. Meth-making items have been found in
vehicles, hotel rooms, garages, houses, and in campers.

Communities along M-52 from Barry County through Eaton County into
Jackson County was a sort of hotbed of meth activity in 2005, say
police, prosecutors and health department officials.

McGill said the Metro Narcotics Squad has made meth a priority, but
the number of cases remains unchanged. The squad investigated 48
cases of meth offenses in 2005, identical to the number of cases in 2004.

"Methamphetamine prosecutions were up last year mainly because it was
a primary focus the area's police department and the drug unit, and
it has been a high percentage of our caseload, and has accounted for
a large percentage of our jury trials," Tyrrell said .

He prosecuted 38 felonies related to methamphetamine in Eaton County.
One of the larger cases involved Andrew and Stacy Harris last year.
Andrew Harris, a road commission employee at the time, operated a lab
in his house. He and his wife eventually pleaded guilty and are
serving three-year prison terms.

"We resolved that case, and one of the benefits of that case was that
we arrested Venus Smith. She didn't operate a lab, but she would
teach others how to cook meth and get some of product in exchange for
teaching others how to do it," Tyrrell said.

The charge of operating a meth lab falls into one of four maximum
sentencing categories: a life sentence, a 30-year maximum, a 20-year
maximum sentence and a 10-year maximum sentence. All are related to
the amount of meth found to have been produced.

Guilty pleas

Twenty-five of Tyrrell's cases were the 20-year variety, in which the
suspect is accused of making of between 50 grams and 450 grams of
meth, and 13 cases involved people accused of making less than 50
grams of the drug.

Most people accused of a meth-related crime enter a plea agreement,
and only a handful ever go to trial.

Last year, six cases went to a jury in Eaton County, and two people
were found innocent.

In one those cases, the jury decided that the defendant did not know
that a person staying at his house was keeping meth-making materials
in their bedroom, so the defendant was found innocent.

One of the challenges of prosecuting the cases is educating juries
about meth labs.

"Defense attorneys argue the presence of everyday items, such as
coffee filters, plastic tubing, cold tablets, and matches -- doesn't
mean meth was being manufactured," Tyrrell said.

"They (defense attorneys) tell juries that the Metro Narcotics Squad
could come knocking on their door next, if they have coffee filters, " he said.

The prosecution has to educate juries that presence of large amounts
of cold tablets and unusual chemicals in conjunction with everyday
items is the difference.

Eaton County Prosecutor Jeff Sauter said a new law that makes it more
difficult to obtain a key ingredient in meth -- ephedrine -- has been
a help in the struggle to contain the spread of meth.

As of Dec. 15 last year, anything containing ephedrine or
pseudoephedrin, such as cold tablets, has to be behind the counter
and in a locked cabinet, or within 20 feet of a counter in a locked
cabinet. The state law also requires a video camera be trained on the
area, and that in some cases, a photo ID has to be presented prior to
the sale. A log of who purchases the drug is also required.