Police: Blue meth found in LaBelle duplex, resident charged with operation
A LaBelle man is in jail after state police said they found an operating methamphetamine lab and suspected blue meth in his duplex Friday.
Police said Donald Wayne Nichols Jr., 48, of 603 Riverside Dr. allegedly admitted to cooking meth in the residence for four months.
State police were called to the residence Friday after a man reported to police that Nichols may have been stealing electricity from the nearby ball field. Nichols said he was not stealing electricity and allowed the troopers to look around the residence. During a brief search, police said they found two 2-liter bottles with tubing coming from the top and a bluish substance inside, according to court documents.
He told police he was using the bottles to make meth, and that two more bottles were in another part of the house, state police said.
State police were granted a search warrant, and found four methamphetamine cooking operations, blue granulated crystals, three two-liter bottles containing white granulated crystals and additional materials commonly used to cook meth, according to the affidavit.
Meth lab operations have a high risk of explosion and releasing poison, putting others in the duplex at serious risk of death or serious injury, police said.
Nichols is charged with risking a catastrophe, operating a methamphetamine lab, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, possession of psuedophedrine for methamphetamine manufacture 鈥� all felonies 鈥� and misdemeanor counts of possession of ephedrine, possession of drug paraphernalia and recklessly endangering another person. Charges were filed Monday before Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr.
He was arraigned just before midnight Friday and lodged in Fayette County Prison in lieu of a $50,000 bond set by Magisterial District Judge Jennifer Jeffries.
His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 17 before Jeffries.