If you get on Interstate 40 and drive west of Raleigh for about three hours, you’ll come to the small town of Vale, nestled into the North Carolina countryside. One of the few residents of the unincorporated village is a 39-year-old man, arrested two days ago and charged with manufacturing a controlled substance.
Law enforcement officials in Lincoln County say the man’s arrest was the 21st in the area this year involving methamphetamine.
During a search of the residence where the man was arrested, Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies said they found and seized lye crystals, lithium batteries and a cold pack: items that can be used to make meth, investigators said.
A state crime lab team arrived later to clean up the materials.
The suspect was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance and possessing and distributing a methamphetamine precursor.
You might recall a case reported earlier this year on our local ABC affiliate in which a man was pulled over on I-40 near Aviation Parkway for an alleged traffic violation.
A Wake County Sheriff’s deputy was writing the man a ticket for operating a vehicle without a driver’s license when the man apparently got out of his car and took off running. After a short chase on foot, the deputy captured the 26-year-old man.
When asked why he had fled, the man allegedly said he had drugs in his vehicle.
Inside the car, the deputy reportedly found 7.5 pounds of meth stored as bricks hidden behind the carpeting in the trunk.
Anyone facing charges of manufacturing or distributing methamphetamine knows they face the possibility of years behind bars. The process of protecting their freedom and rights begins with a conversation with an experienced criminal defense attorney.
Source: Charlotte Observer, “Lincoln makes 21st meth lab arrests,” by Steve Lyttle, Dec. 3, 2013