METH LAB HIDDEN IN HOTEL, POLICE SAY

Crime: The find leads to one arrest and the relocation of guests at a San
Clemente inn.

San Clemente -- A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of cooking up
methamphetamine in his upscale hotel room, after Orange County sheriff's
deputies knocked on his door.

It was the second methamphetamine bust in San Clemente this week, and it
forced more than a dozen patrons at the Countryside Inn out of their beds
in the middle of the night as deputies had them moved for safety reasons.

Dwight Wagle, 47, was arrested after he opened his door to deputies about
2:20 a.m., revealing a room full of equipment used to make the drug, said
Lt. Fred Lisanti. Officers found enough raw materials to produce two pounds
of methamphetamine, which would have a street value of $20,000, Lisanti said.

Deputy B. Dunham and several other officers acted on a tip from an
informant. When Wagle opened the door, officers smelled the strong scent of
ether, which is used to make methamphetamine, and saw the equipment,
Lisanti said.

Methamphetamine is usually sold for about $600 an ounce, officials said.
"This will have an impact on the local meth market," Lisanti said. "That's
two pounds of the drug that won't be sold on the streets."

A slew of emergency personnel responded to the scene, including a
hazardous-materials unit, Orange County Fire Authority engines and
paramedics, the Orange County sheriff's narcotics unit and the Orange
County Lab Response Team.

"The reason for the large response was because of the volatility of the
(chemicals) used to manufacture the drug," Lisanti said. "Initially there
was a very serious potential for an explosion."

About 15 to 18 sleepy occupants were transferred to rooms on the other side
of the hotel as a precaution, said desk clerk Damon Alford.

Early Sunday, Dunham arrested Beverly Greene and Roger Evans, both 35, at a
residence in the 200 block of Avenida Miramar on suspicion of possessing
methamphetamine for sale. Deputies seized 28 grams of the drug in that
arrest, officials said.

The lab found Thursday was the 97th uncovered in Orange County this year,
running far ahead of the number uncovered by this date in both 1996 and
1997, said Rick Lopes, a special agent with the state Bureau of Narcotics
Enforcement. Eighty-one labs were found in 1996, and 102 in 1997, he said.

Brea Detective Randy Smeal, a member of the Lab Response Team, said the
number of labs detected is believed to represent about 2 percent of all the
clandestine meth labs in the area. "I believe (the increase in lab
detection) is due to awareness," Smeal said. "(Police) are looking, and
they know what to look for."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski