Utah meth lab law didn’t protect their babies

Utah meth lab law left Rachel and Adam Spencer and their babies unprotected from the health and financial consequences of renting a contaminated meth lab home. The heartache and suffering that they have been through, Adam says,  could have been prevented for $45. This is their story.

When Rachel and Adam Spencer rented an apartment in West Jordan, Utah, in 2006, no one told them it was a meth lab. Althought the apartment was dirty, it wasn’t beyond Read more

Renter concerned that neighbors are cooking meth

I recently began wondering if I was in fact living above a Meth Lab. Some of the behaviors are a little different than were described in the research here, but my father is a heavy meth user. He started by smoking it in the service then injected it when the result of inhaling massive Read more

Renter gets sick after living in bank repo meth lab home

My boys and I moved into a rental the end of June of this year.  The owner layed new carpet and new laminant (fake wood) flooring throughout the house except the bathrooms and Read more

Meth lab pictures for renters, realtors, home owners, home buyers

Pictures of meth labs can help renters and home owners can help them identify a meth lab home, just by observing the inside and outside of the home. Pictures are not the only way to identify a meth lab however, as there is no standard situation when it comes to meth labs. But, these pictures may help you to become familiar with some of what you might see inside and outside of a property that is being used or has been used to manufacture methamphetamine.

This is by no means a complete list and is only presented here as another tool to help you identify a “possible” meth lab scene. If you do not see any similarities between these pictures and your home, you should not assume that your home was never a meth lab. If neighbors tell you that they suspect that the previous occupants of your home had drug problems, listen to what they’re telling you! Also, call the police and the health department and ask them if they have any records about your home.

Keep in mind that meth lab clean up contractors say that very few homes that have been used to make meth have ever been busted and/or placed on a quarantined list.

Neighbors may, in fact know more about a house and its occupants, than the police or the health department.  Talk to neighbors who have lived in the neighborhood for a long time – the longer the better.

Lastly, know that the only way to positively identify meth contamination in your house is to have the home tested  for the chemicals used to make meth.

Chemical stains on flooring

Chemical staining on walls and floors often result when chemicals spill during the meth cook.  Floors and carpets are often stained or damaged by meth chemicals that can include liquids such as hydrochloric acid. A former meth lab may also have brand new flooring and carpets, which can signal that the previous flooring was damaged because of meth lab chemical spills.

Fixer-upper buyers beware! Also, keep in mind that meth lab homes may look brand new and not show any of the damages you see in the pictures listed here. Unscrupulous sellers who buy meth lab homes at rock bottom prices often cover stains with carpeting and new flooring and paint walls to minimize any questions or concerns about the home from prospective buyers or renters.

Burned grass or vegetation

Meth lab cooks may cook meth outdoors or burn empty pseudoephedrine packages or blister packaging for cold, allergy, and sinus medicines, to avoid raising the suspicion of anyone seeing the tell-tale meth signs in their trash. Cooking outdoors is remote locations in another way to avoid being detected by neighbors who may smell the chemicals they’re cooking. Cooking outdoors also keeps their homes from getting contaminated or exposing their children to the hazardous chemicals they’re cooking with.  If you see burn pits, stained soil or dead vegetation it may indicate areas where meth lab chemicals have been dumped.

Kitty Litter

Kitty Litter is often used by meth lab cooks to soak up spilled chemicals.  In the first picture, a meth lab cook uses this kitty litter container as part of their meth manufacturing process. Tubing is commonly found at meth labs, where it is often connected to a variety of containers.

Do you see kitty litter in unusual locations? It could indicate that someone used it to absorb a chemical spill.

Housekeeping

When someone is addicted to meth, meth is ALL THAT MATTERS.  The effect of meth on users makes it difficult for them to get organized and keep the kind of focus it would take to keep their house neat and tidy.

Renters who are using meth and/or making meth will try to avoid having their landlord come in to inspect their home, due to its condition and to prevent the landlord from seeing anything that might evoke questions.  Neighbors and other visitors are also avoided by meth lab cooks, for the same reasons.

Windows  are often  covered or blacked-out to keep prying eyes from seeing inside.

Strange Plumbing

Strange plumbing, vent systems, and/or  electrical connections in a house should make you question why someone would have a plumbing, wiring, or electrical system like that in their house, basement, attic, or garage. Could the plumbing be installed to make it easier to dump chemicals without being detected by anyone outside of the house?

Could venting systems be installed in basements to vent out meth lab fumes? Are electrical outlets or wiring found in weird places?

Glassware

Police often find different types of  glassware in meth labs, including glass bottles, jugs, and glass cooking containers.

Franklin, Indiana: Families with children homeless after neighbor makes meth

A meth lab bust in Franklin, Indiana had some of the classic signs of a meth lab. The meth cooks didn’t want anyone to know what was going on. Occupants of the building reported seeing their neighbor’s door covered with a blanket and a “do not disturb” sign displayed. But when Read more

Atlanta meth bust nets 351 pounds of ice hidden in the walls of 2 Duluth GA houses

Federal authorities found 351 pounds of meth hidden in the walls of 2 Duluth, GA homes on Wednesday, a drug stash that would have reaped tens of millions of dollars on the street. The recent meth bust in Gwinnett County is the largest seizure of Mexican crystal methamphetamine that’s ever been recorded east of the Mississippi River.

Rodney Benson, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta field reported that the homes were sparsely furnished, which he says is typical of homes being used by drug traffickers. No guns were found in the homes, that were situated in a quiet, Read more

Knoxville, TN: Homeowner faces cleanup charges after 6 men use home as meth lab

Six men were charged with the initiation of the process to manufacture methamphetamine in a West Knox County home on Wednesday, as Knox County deputies were serving an arrest warrant for one of the men. The suspects, who are assumed innocent until proven guilty, include Johnny Parker Lane, 43, Ron Walter Austin 32, Russell Lee Jarrard, 36, William Matthew Allison, 26, Aaron D. Lawhorn, 27, and Joe Akins, 29.

The arrest came as the result of deputies finding a meth lab located in the basement of the home located at 830 Kevin Road. The owner of the home does not live at the home, but will be responsible to pay a cleanup contractor, certified by the Knox County Health Department to test and decontaminate the home, as required by TN law.

Free on Bond

Lane, 43, was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

William Allison, 26, was released after posting a $4,000 bond.

Aaron D. Lawhorn, 27, was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Joe Akins, 29, was released after posting a $4,000 bond. His previous offenses involved burglary, theft, aggravated burglary, driving without a license.

Still in Jail

Ron Austin, 32,  is being held at the request of Anderson County. He has a previous record that includes theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Russell Lee Jarrard, 36, is being held on a $10,000 bond. He has previous criminal record that includes assault and vandalism.

Meth lab fire causes $100,000 damage and forces evacuation of 15 homes

A fire that caused $100,000 damage to a home at 1914 N. Park Ave at 8:30 p.m. Monday night started in a downstairs apartment, according to firefighters. Although, several cans of gas were found at the scene, arson investigators quickly decided that neither gas nor arson was to blame for the fire that forced 15 Read more

Dunlap TN meth lab explosion turns up third suspect

Juanita Gray has been arrested as the third suspect in the meth lab explosion and fire that occurred near Dunlap, TN over the weekend.  Gray has been charged with manufacturing meth and the initiation of a process to manufacture methamphetamine.  She has been named as the person who rented the trailer where Read more

Meth lab explosion spells disaster for both renters and landlord

In this video, a Littleton, Colorado family talks about how they lost everything when their neighbor’s meth lab exploded. Their elderly landlord will also pay a heavy price, as a result of the meth lab explosion that occurred on his property.

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