A suspect in the manufacture of meth Saturday in Texas County set ablaze a structure as he attempted to flee, authorities said.
Several Texas County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers responded to a Highway 137 residence at Licking regarding a report of a methamphetamine lab.
Upon arrival, a deputy peering through a window of a detached garage at the location and reportedly witnessed 31-year-old Elk Creek man in the process of cooking meth. When the officer told the suspect to stop and put his hands up, the man instead grabbed a can of liquid fuel, poured it around the garage and lit it with a propane torch.
The man ran from the building into an adjacent field and evaded capture.
Firefighters from the Licking Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. Numerous items associated with cooking meth were found among the burned materials.
Also at the scene were a 42-year-old Licking man, a 29-year-old Houston woman and a 45-year-old Raymondville man, all of whom were arrested.
The man who fled has been convicted of drug charges in the past and was recently released from prison. He remains at large.
A probable cause statement was sent to the county prosecutor seeking charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, resisting arrest and knowingly burning or exploding.