METH LAB TOOLS FOUND IN DORM

Two students and a young man were being held on drug charges Wednesday
after police found methamphetamine lab equipment in a University of Alabama
at Birmingham residence hall.

University police arrested Sarah Suzanne Forrest, 21, of Boynton Beach,
Fla.; Derrick Michael Vann, 22, of Trussville; and James William Phillips,
23, of Hueytown, Tuesday night on charges of possession of controlled
substances and drug paraphernalia. Police turned the case over to the Drug
Enforcement Administration on Wednesday morning. Forrest is a junior with
an undeclared major and Phillips is studying biology at UAB.

UAB police were alerted after someone reported Forrest smoking in her
non-smoking room. Birmingham DEA agent Greg Borland said the clandestine
response team found glassware, chemicals and other materials used in making
methamphetamine in the suite. Included were two three-neck flasks which are
illegal to possess and carry a minimum sentence of five years upon
conviction, he said.

The instruments appeared to have been used to make methamphetamine
recently, Borland said.

The DEA also found marijuana, cocaine, prescription drugs and other
controlled substances in the third-floor room at 1001 14th St. South.

"We take this matter very seriously," said Dell Turndough, spokeswoman for
UAB. "The safety of our students is our No. 1 concern."

Borland said the U.S. attorney's office will decide whether to prosecute
the case at the federal level. Vann has previous arrests for public
intoxication and drug possession, according to state court records.

Methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant, has grown in popularity
throughout Alabama over the last few years. One attraction is that it is
fairly easy to cook in a makeshift lab, using commonly found chemicals.

Borland said he doesn't recall any other cases of drug labs at area
universities.

"This is a couple of knuckleheads who had access to materials and a
recipe," he said. "The fact that they are students is irrelevant. They just
have a lot more opportunities in life than the average drug (maker)."

Students who live in the residence hall said they were shocked. The hall,
built in 2001, serves 114 students of all ages, said hall manager Phil Ford.

"It really scares me," said Roland Harris, 20, a sophomore who lives at
Blount Hall. "We think this is a safe environment."

Santeria Quinnie, 19, said she feels UAB gives students a false sense of
security. "They've got locks on the doors, but if the bad people are in
there with you, what's the use of the locks?" asked Quinnie, an education
major from Mobile. "We pay too much rent to have drug addicts here."

Steven Bolden, 20, a business major from Mobile, said the lab was on his
floor. He said there is no resident assistant on his part of the floor.

The students said they were surprised and upset by the drugs in their home.
"I mean, we have smoking rooms ..." Bolden said.

"But we don't have crack rooms," Harris said.