METH LAB WARNING FOLLOWS GUILTY PLEA

Describing Gerald Eugene Bennett as a methamphetamine "cook," officials
used his guilty plea to attempted murder Monday to alert the public about
proliferating meth labs in Mobile County and to warn would-be manufacturers
to stay out of the business.

Four years ago there were no meth lab busts in Mobile County, according to
Capt. Bruce Lee of the Sheriff's Department. This year, he said, there were
about 100.

One of them involved Bennett, 38, who opened fire with a .25-caliber gun
when his Theodore home was raided in May 2002. He shot Mobile County Deputy
Roy Cuthkelvin, according to federal court testimony.

Another deputy was severely burned by some of the chemicals Bennett used to
concoct his brew of highly potent "speed," Lee said. Both deputies
recovered from their injuries.

In November 2002, Bennett was convicted in fed eral court of attempted
murder, among other crimes, and sentenced to 34 years in prison in
connection with the raid and its aftermath.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Cuthkelvin before
Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout. Stout sentenced Bennett to 10 years
in prison and ordered that it be served concurrently with the federal sentence.

"For the remainder of his life, he's not ever going to get out," District
Attorney John Tyson Jr. said of Bennett during a news conference in his
seventh floor offices at the courthouse.

The county's chief prosecutor warned potential meth makers that he, his
colleagues in the DA's office and enforcement personnel are prepared to
"use the full force of the law" to track down, stop and jail them.

Far more than most other criminal types, Lee said, the nature of making and
using methamphetamine puts the perpetrators in a highly agitated, paranoid
state of mind.

"Cooks," as Lee called meth manufacturers, usually produce an ounce of the
stuff once or twice a week, either for sale or for their own use.

Both the process of making the chemical and the makers themselves, Lee
said, are dangerously unstable.

He said his department's experience has shown that meth lab operators are
inclined, like Bennett was, to use violence and weapons when faced with arrest.

"They are almost always armed," Lee said. "And these people will use their
weapons."

As for Bennett, Lee said, he "was determined, he had a weapon and he was
not going to go peacefully...He just didn't care. He was going to shoot it
out."

Lee said he was unsure of why methamphetamine causes the reactions it does
in users. Users may go several days without sleep, become paranoid and
prone to violence, he said.

"They tell you they are going to shoot it out with police," Lee said.

Lee said there is no particular stereotype or economic bracket that defines
manufacturers and users of methamphetamine.

Right now in Mobile County, Lee said, "there are $200,000 houses sitting
next to meth labs."