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METH LAB RAID STARTS WITH TEAMWORK

Dorchester Deputies Find Target Abandoned But Call Effort A Success

Every face in the meeting room is serious. No one says a word. Some relax
casually in their chairs while others lean forward, listening intently.

For a split second, just a second, a look of anxiety washes over the face
of one of the deputies.

Sgt. Ed Pumphrey breaks the tension with a joke.

"At this back fence there's a Rottweiler and a black lab," Pumphrey says.
"That Rottweiler weighs about as much as me. He told me so when I met him."

The 15 Dorchester County Sheriff's deputies, all decked out in full body
armor and .40-caliber Glock pistols, break into chuckles. Half an hour
later on Saturday night, they would be storming through the door of a
suspected methamphetamine lab.

But for now, they are listening to the intelligence meeting and how each,
as a member of the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team, will handle the
upcoming raid. They are given detailed instructions of the layout of their
target, what their particular team will do and what dangers may lurk.

"It's kind of like going to war," Maj. Tim Stephenson said. "You never
underestimate your opponent."

Information was provided by neighbors who noticed suspicious activity at
the target. It led to further evidence that convinced deputies the suspect
was operating a meth lab, Stephenson said.

Once the intelligence briefing is over, the deputies file out of room and
into the back parking lot to gear up and check their equipment for the raid.

Dorchester's SERT, their version of a SWAT team, handles cases ranging from
hostage situations to stand-offs. It's the meth lab raids, however, that
yield the most surprising and sometimes dangerous results.

"Personally, I think all of them are close calls because of what's there,"
Deputy Randy Botten said.

Meth labs require highly volatile chemicals, which, if mixed improperly or
disturbed, can burst into flames or even explode. In some cases, meth labs
can be booby trapped to harm or kill law enforcement officials who raid
them, although the SERT has not encountered a trap yet.

Outside, Deputy Sean Napoli checks his gas mask as fellow team members
examine their weapons, which include submachine guns. Napoli is on the
entry team, which will enter and secure the residence. Since meth labs can
produce harmful vapors, entry members wear gas masks.

"You've got to be on your toes, so you've got to be a little nervous about
going to a meth lab," Napoli said. "That's when we're at our best."

Napoli usually carries a submachine gun on the raids, but this time, he
will rely on his sidearm.

"My wife gets a little worried when I go on these," Napoli said. "It can be
a little stressful on the love life."

Wendy Lee, a Dorchester County EMS worker, accompanies the crew on most
meth lab busts in case an operation turns sour."We always have a medic on
these raids," she said. "Even for the little things, like splinters or a
twisted ankle."

Half an hour after leaving the intelligence meeting, the SERT arrives at
the target residence in the Knightsville area. Within seconds, the door is
breached and the entry team has cleared the mobile home.

The suspect isn't home and if any meth lab existed there, it has since been
moved. An odor similar to that in a meth lab still lingers, though.
Deputies had recovered meth lab evidence from a neighbor's yard the week
before and lifted fingerprints that matched their suspect. He may have been
disposing of evidence once he suspected deputies were on to his operation,
Stephenson said. It's enough for them to obtain a warrant for his arrest.

The SERT returns to headquarters for a debriefing to analyze the raid. The
night's only casualty was a broken flashlight. That's good news for the
deputies.

"If anything, this is a great operation. Everything went smooth,"
Stephenson said. "If you ask me, tonight was a huge success."