TERROR CHARGES FILED IN WATAUGA DRUG CASE

DA Hopes Law Will End Spread Of Meth Labs

BOONE-A prosecutor in Watauga County is using a law intended to combat
terrorism to fight the spread of clandestine methamphetamine
laboratories in Northwest North Carolina.

Jerry Wilson, the district attorney for Watauga County, has charged
Martin Dwayne Miller, 24, of Todd with two counts of manufacturing a
nuclear or chemical weapon in connection with a methamphetamine arrest
Friday.

Miller also is charged with eight other drug-related
offenses.

'This is a two-edged sword,' Wilson said. 'Not only is the drug
methamphetamine in itself a threat to both society and those using it,
but the toxic compounds and deadly gases created as side products are
also real threats. I feel that, as a prosecutor, I have to address
this. Something has to be done to protect society.

'These chemicals will stay around long after these labs are gone.'
Wilson said he decided to use the weapons of mass destruction law -
which carries a sentence ranging from 12 years to life in prison on
each count - while researching ways to slow the advance of
methamphetamine into the region.

The most serious drug charges related to methamphetamine carry much
lighter sentences.

The law reads, in part, that the term nuclear, biological or chemical
weapon of mass destruction applies to 'any substance that is designed
or has the capability to cause death or serious injury and ... is or
contains toxic or poisonous chemicals or their immediate
precursors.'

The chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine are toxic and highly
combustible.

Officials with the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts and the
N.C. Attorney General's Office said they think that the Watauga County
charges are among the first filed under the weapons of mass
destruction statutes.

'Attorney General (Roy) Cooper worked with the governor and the
legislature to toughen anti-terrorism laws, and he supports efforts to
use the laws of our state to protect North Carolinians from potential
terrorist activities and dangerous drug production,' John Bason, a
spokesman for Cooper, said yesterday.

Sheriff Mark Shook of Watauga County was pleased with Wilson's
decision to charge Miller under the new law.

'I love it,' Shook said. 'Now instead of laughing at you when you
charge someone, they're going to go 'Whoa.' This really gives us
something we can use.'

Small-scale methamphetamine labs began proliferating on the West Coast
nearly 25 years ago, authorities said.

Since then they have spread steadily, becoming a major scourge
nationwide.

In recent years, the problem has taken root in Tennessee and Georgia
and has been growing steadily in North Carolina, especially in
counties in Western North Carolina.

Watauga County has been one of the hardest hit -- 24 labs have been
shut down so far this year.

Miller was arrested Friday after Watauga deputies and agents with the
State Bureau of Investigation raided a house at 175 Little David's
Road in Todd. Methamphetamine and the chemicals used to manufacture it
were found, investigators said.

In addition to the two counts under the weapons of mass destruction
law, Miller was charged with one count each of manufacturing a
controlled substance (methamphetamine), maintaining a dwelling place
for a controlled substance, and possession of the immediate precursor
chemicals with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a controlled
substance in connection with the raid Friday.

Miller was also charged with one count of possession of a controlled
substance, one count of maintaining a vehicle for a controlled
substance, one count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction (an
automatic firearm) and two counts of possession of the immediate
precursor chemicals under warrants drawn earlier.

He was taken to the Watauga County Jail with bond set at
$505,000.

The sentences for the most serious of the drug charges filed against
Miller typically carry sentences of between six months probation to 30
months in prison, Wilson said. The chemical-weapons charge gives
prosecutors an additional tool to fight the proliferation of
methamphetamine.

The General Assembly passed the law in November 2001, two months after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

'This ups the ante quite a bit,' Wilson said.