STAKES RAISED FOR METH LABS

Gerald W. Wilson, District Attorney for the Twenty-Fourth Prosecutorial
District has issued a policy change that he said will help effectively
fight the war against drugs. Wilson issued a press release on July 17
telling everyone in his district that the option of charging persons caught
with functioning methamphetamine labs with the B1 felony of Unlawful
Manufacture, Assembly, Possession, Storage, Transportation, Sale, Purchase,
Delivery, or Acquisition of a Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapon of
Mass Destruction in situations where a working or recently used clandestine
methamphetamine laboratory is discovered. In the past, the charge that
accompanied a working meth lab was the H felony for posessing the precursor
drugs and the H felony for manufacture of methamphetamines. The problem
facing law officers and prosecutors in the district has been the leniency
of the felonies that can be charged in association with a meth lab. The H
felonies carry minimal bonds and minimal, if any, jail time if convicted.
Wilson said in many cases, after being charged with the H felony of
manufacturing a schedule II controlled substance, the person would be
released on an unsecured bond and be back in a working lab by morning.
Martin Dwayne Miller, 24, of Boone, is one such case in point.

According to records on file at the Watauga Clerk of Superior Court's
Office, Miller was charged with the I felony of felony possession of a
schedule II controlled substance on Feb. 21, 2003. He was released on an
unsecured bond. On Feb. 28, Miller was charged with the H felony of
manufacturing a schedule II controlled substance.

He was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond. On July 9, Miller was charged
with the operation of a meth lab under the new policy.

He was charged with the B1 felony and is currently being held under a
$500,000 secured bond. According to Wilson, the difference in the charge is
substantial. Not only is the secured bond enough to hold the suspect, but
instead of facing a maximum of 30 months in custody on the H felonies, he
is now facing a minmum of 12 years in prison and a maximum of life in
prison. "We did not make any new statutes," said Wilson. "We changed the
policy of how we are going to charge the offenses." The new policy is the
result of the chemical by-product of the manufacture of methamphetamines.
Many of the toxic gases that are created from the manufacture process end
up in dumpsters, drains, septic tanks, ans simply dumped on the ground,
according to Wilson. Wilson added that the charges might not end there.

If a person is injured during a raid of a meth lab, or during the fire
fighting of an explosion, the person could be charged with an A felony
which carries life in prison if convicted. "Most labs move," said Wilson.
"It takes between four and 16 hours to go through the process." Then the
lab is picked up and moved to a new location.

Wilson said in most cases the gases are left behind or dumped on
unsuspecting people. "The by-products of the production of methamphetamine
are toxic and lethal and include such agents as phosphine gas, hydrochloric
gas, and iodized crystals," according to the press release. Studies have
found that for every pound of methamphetamine produced, five to six pounds
of toxic waste is left behind.

Most of the time, the cook then pours the waste product down a drain or
onto the ground. Every time one of these spills is found, a hazardous
material cleanup team must be called in to fix the problem.

The average cost of one of these clean-ups is $5,000 but the big ones cost
up to $150,000. Wilson said the new policy is an effort to make the
punishment fit the crime. Mitchell County Detective Shanon Smith said
Mitchell County has not actually seized a functioning meth lab, but he sees
it coming in the future. Smith said he is glad the DA's office took an
active stand in trying to help law enforcement deal with the meth problem.
"The former policy was not sufficient," said Smith. "This poses a lot more
of a deterrent."