TWO AREA MEN FACE UP TO 50 YEARS FOR METH LAB FIRE

PEKIN -- Two Pekin men are among the first in the state to be charged
under a new law imposing sentences of up to 50 years in prison for
causing fires or explosions while manufacturing methamphetamine.

Neal P. Wiedman, 36, of 2703 Pine St., Apt. 6, and Zahn A. Ogle, 39,
of 1020 S. Second St., were in custody at the Tazewell County Justice
Center this morning awaiting a bond hearing later today.

Wiedman and Ogle have each been charged with one count of aggravated
controlled substance manufacturing arson, a Class X felony with
enhanced penalties of 15 to 50 years in prison, according to State's
Attorney Stewart Umholtz.

The charges stem from a fire that destroyed a garage at 404 Crestlawn
in East Peoria Monday evening.

East Peoria Deputy Chief Dennis Reinhart said police were called at
7:25 p.m. Monday after a neighbor spotted two men throwing various
items out of the garage just before the garage erupted in flames. They
included a propane tank and other items that are used to manufacture
meth, Reinhart said.

The detached garage was "totally engulfed" in flames when firefighters
arrived, Reinhart said. No other buildings were damaged, he added.

Pekin police were notified that a black Ford Explorer sport utility
vehicle, registered to a Pekin resident, had been seen leaving the
scene of the fire, according to Pekin Police Officer Chris Bitner.

The vehicle was spotted outside the apartment where Wiedman and a
woman lived, Bitner said. Pekin police detained Wiedman, Ogle and the
woman, Jolene K. Thomas, 40, until East Peoria officers arrived, he
added.

Thomas was charged by Pekin police with possession of a small amount
of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was issued a
notice to appear in Tazewell County Circuit Court.

The controlled substance manufacturing arson charge was created by a
law that took effect Jan. 1. Umholtz was among those who proposed the
new law and testified for it as it passed through the General Assembly.

Umholtz said Wednesday that he proposed the law in part because of a
meth-related fire that destroyed an apartment complex on South 14th
Street in Pekin in 2003.

"After we received that case, we proposed that if a person
intentionally engages in the manufacture of a controlled substance and
that results in a fire or explosion, we can charge them with arson,"
he said.

"The thought behind this new law is that because manufacture of
methamphetamine is so inherently dangerous, any person who engages in
that ought to be held responsible for any fire or explosion that results."

The charge becomes aggravated if someone is killed or injured as a
result of a meth-related fire; if property damage results; or if
anyone -- including the perpetrators -- are present in the building
where the fire or explosion occurs, Umholtz added.

He said he believes Wiedman and Ogle are the first persons in Illinois
to be charged under the new law.