Document text
Police bust working meth lab, arrest two By JILL BRISKEY GRANTS PASS � A traffic stop Tuesday led to the discovery of a working methamphetamine lab. According to Grants Pass police, Harris Dynamite Alvarez, 50, was stopped for a minor traffic infraction by officer H. Ray Myers on Tuesday afternoon. After Alvarez consented to a search of his vehicle, Myers reportedly discovered methamphetamine, syringes full of methamphetamine, scales and packaging material inside the vehicle. After contacting the Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team (JOINT), Myers drove Alvarez to his home at 708 SW Burgess St., where he lived with Jennifer Renee Johnson, 27, and her three young children. Both Johnson and Alvarez agreed to a search of their home by probation officers, according to police reports. After searching the home and surrounding yard, police discovered a methamphetamine "cooking" operation that included chemicals, glassware and other items used to manufacture meth. Police also discovered a large amount of chemical waste in the back yard � evidence that the meth lab had been in production for some time, police reported. JOINT detectives led officials from Services for Children and Families on a tour of the home, which was littered with razor blades, iodine, syringes and other items. "All of this stuff was down at ground level," JOINT Detective Pete Jenista said. "It was in the living room where they (the three children) could have picked it up." Jenista estimates that about 8 grams of methamphetamine were discovered in the home. That doesn�t include, he added, methamphetamine "in solution," waste products or drugs that Alvarez possessed before his arrest. "There is evidence that there was a significant amount of manufacturing going on at the residence," Jenista said. "We hadn�t really heard about it from any snitches." Alvarez allegedly admitted that he was cooking methamphetamine in the home, Jenista said. "They were admittedly producing meth to support their own habit as well as for sales," Jenista said, adding that each "cook" yielded about 5 grams of methamphetamine. That�s a conservative figure, Jenista added. During the search, police seized less than one ounce of marijuana and related paraphernalia from the couple�s home. Alvarez, who was lodged in the Josephine County Jail, was charged with possession, delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance, three counts of first-degree child neglect, three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, driving while suspended and driving uninsured, and probation violation. Jenista said charges were pending against Johnson. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.