Deputies with the Texas County Sheriff’s Department arrested four people last week following the discoveries of two methamphetamine labs within a 10-hour period.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, authorities were alerted to a possible meth lab in the Tyrone area, according to Sheriff Carl Watson. Officers attempting to stop the suspects were led on a short pursuit on Highway H and onto Tyrone Road. The vehicle stopped in a private drive as another sheriff’s department vehicle approached head on.
The occupants of the vehicle – a male and female – were attempting to retrieve a meth lab they had stashed in a duffle bag alongside a gravel road when the pursuit began, Watson said.
The following morning, Watson said deputies observed possible methamphetamine contents being loaded into a car inside the Licking city limits. The sheriff’s department had been observing the residence located within 1,000 feet of government housing, Watson said.
Licking Police Chief Scott Lindsey stopped the vehicle around 10:30 a.m., and items used to produce methamphetamine were located in the trunk.
A passenger in the vehicle, John Michael Jacobs, 26, of Carbondale, Ill., was arrested on a felony warrant from Phelps County. The driver was also taken into custody.
Charges in both cases have been forwarded to the prosecuting attorney, Watson said.
“Meth and marijuana are our top priorities right now – taking them out and arresting the people responsible,” Watson said.