Drug activity in High Country increases

Jason T. Eldred, 29, of Deep Gap, and Kelly L. Tester, 22, of Mountain City, Tenn., did not depart from Room No. 107 of the Scottish Inns in Boone very often.

Leaving only for cigarettes or food from the Kangaroo Express convenience store across U.S. Highway 321, the two managed to stay clear of housekeepers and hotel management most of the time.

“They had only been here a week,” Scottish Inns Manager Mike Albert said. “Our housekeepers went in their room, but they didn’t see anything [suspicious].”

And as the SBI’s Clandestine-Laboratory Response Team began to remove the active methamphetamine laboratory from Eldred and Tester’s room April 15, the two probably realized they could be facing jail time a lot longer than their one-week stay in Room No. 107.

Eldred and Tester were given June 1 court dates by the Watauga County Magistrate and received $150,000 and $100,000 secured bonds, respectively.

The Scottish Inns meth discovery is the first in Watauga County this year, but meth dumpsites, or the locations where the materials used to make meth have been disposed, have been found on several occasions.

“This type of homemade meth is starting to come back,” Crawford said. “It’s not as common as marijuana or cocaine yet, but we are concerned, and we’re starting to see more precursor cases and people buying the items to make meth with.”

North Carolina’s experience with meth has fluctuated over the last 10 years.

After experiencing nearly a 900 percent increase in meth lab incidents from 2001-05, the state experienced a 52 percent drop in lab incidents from 2006-07, according to DEA.gov.

But from 2007-09 meth lab incidents grew 34 percent, with 206 incidents being reported in 2009.

North Carolina agents also seized the state’s first “super lab” in 2009, and seized 32.8 pounds of meth from the lab that could produce more than 10 pounds of meth at a time.

“It’s certainly not a hard drug to cook, which is unfortunate,” N.C. SBI Special Agent Wade H. Colvard said.

Colvard, who was part of the Clandestine-Laboratory response team during the Scottish Inns bust, said the “red phosphorus,” “one pot” and “shake and bake” methods are the most common meth manufacturing techniques.

“Your standard red phosphorus lab is going to use red phosphorus, iodine, a heat source, hydrogen peroxide, Coleman fuel, coffee filters and alcohol,” Colvard said. “A lot of people are going to have a lot of these items in their house, but it’s the combination of them that you see.”

The “one pot” or “shake and bake” methods combine the chemicals and gases used to make meth through one source such as a soda bottle, making it easier and quicker for manufacturers to produce the drug, Colvard said.

Carson Puckett, Boone Police sergeant and narcotics unit member, said blue-collared workers are the most typical demographic to make or abuse meth.

Meth is usually sold at $120 a gram on the streets, Puckett said.

Colvard said that children and the elderly are truly unfortunate victims of meth manufacturing and abuse.

“I’ve worked a few labs that do have children in them,” Colvard said. “The elderly and children are more susceptible to the inhalation hazards and becoming ill from these labs.”

As meth continues to make a resurgence in 2010, Crawford wants to spend more time and attention on preventing and eradicating meth from Boone.

“One of the things we’ve done in the past month is transition a couple of our patrol guys to give them some specialized training,” Crawford said. “Part of that will be working with the pharmacies and retailers [to find out] the types of equipment they’re getting, the tubing and precursor chemicals you can get from general hardware stores or retail outlets [to make meth].”

Back at the Scottish Inns, Albert said he wants to let future tenants know meth lab manufacturing will not be tolerated.

“The best we can do is try to make our housekeepers more aware of what to look for,” Albert said. “But you know, you can’t judge someone based off what they look like.”

Story: NASH DUNN, News Reporter