METH LAB SICKENS FAMILY

An innocent family of three, including a sick child, had to be evacuated
from their apartment home Sunday due to a meth lab in a neighbor's
apartment, law officers said. Two persons were arrested.

It happened on McDuffy Lane about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a report
by Putnam Sheriff's Deputy Greg Whittaker.

When it was over, the following persons had been arrested:

* Chandrell Bree McCloud, 24, of 1015 McDuffy Lane, charged with
manufacturing meth and possession of meth.

* Lucas Samuel LeClerc, 20, of 132 Swallows Lane, Cookeville, charged with
manufacturing meth and possession of meth.

A family of three, including a 12-year-old boy who was sick, had to be
evacuated from their apartment below the McCloud apartment due to the very
strong presence of chemicals, the deputy said.

Deputy Whittaker went to the McCloud residence in the first place looking
for McCloud. He had a warrant for her arrest for failure to appear in court
on a driving offense.

On the back porch of the residence, the deputy noticed something he thought
might be connected to methamphetamine, a synthetic drug which is cooked
from dangerous chemicals and poisonous substances.

He saw plastic tubing and an empty lighter fluid can in an open trash can.

He knocked on the door, and McCloud answered. When she opened the door, the
strong smell of chemicals hit him in the face, he said.

He also noticed that Lucas Samuel LeClerc, also wanted on a court capias
for failure to appear on a driving offense, was in the apartment, the
deputy's report says.

Allegedly, McCloud gave Deputy Whittaker permission to search the place,
and in a back bedroom, he found "several glass jars with unknown liquids
and a large pile of matches."

"I removed the two people and myself from the residence," the deputy said.
"Due to the strong chemical smell emanating from the residence and
surrounding area, I decided to warn the occupants of the lower apartment."

He knocked on that door and found it was the home of a family of three.

"They advised me their son (age 12) had been ill for the past several days
and that the father had been running a temperature," Deputy Whittaker said.

He called an ambulance then and sent for emergency room physician Dr.
Sullivan Smith, "who is well acquainted with the symptoms of chemical
poisoning associated with crystal meth," the report says.

The family was then evacuated, and Dr. Smith advised them to go to the
hospital emergency room, Deputy Whittaker said.

Dr. Smith then checked the levels of chemicals in the air of the McCloud
apartment and found them to be high, even after the place had been
ventilated, the deputy said.

Drug Task Force agents and federal DEA agents came to the scene to
investigate, and hazardous materials cleanup specials also came.

McCloud and LeClerc were taken to jail. Bond for each was set at $50,000.
They are scheduled to go to court on March 11.

Among the other officers who worked the case was Deputy Denny Padgett.