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The Jackson County Sheriff Office seized several
items from a Savannah community home believed to be the first
residential crystal methamphetamine in the county's history. Danny
Wilson, age 40, was taken into custody Monday and charged with
a variety of drug charges and one charge of possession of a chemical
weapon. He was being held on $100,000 bond.
By Lisa Majors-Duff
The alleged operator of the first residential crystal methamphetamine
lab to be discovered in Jackson County was taken into custody
Monday.
Danny Andrew Wilson, 40, of 8310 U.S. 441 South, Sylva, was apprehended
after he returned from a weekend out of town, said Jackson County
Sheriff Jimmy Ashe. Seven of the eight felony charges he faces
deal with the possession and manufacture of crystal methamphetamine
and resulted in a bond of $20,000.
The eighth charge - manufacture, possession and storage of a chemical
weapon - resulted when officers found two chemicals that, when
combined, have the ability to cause serious injury and death,
the sheriff said. The charge is a violation of the newly-enacted
Patriot Act, which was adopted following the 9/11 terrorist attack,
and resulted in an additional $80,000 bond against Wilson, said
Ashe.
A search warrant for Wilson's residence was obtained after an
anonymous tip to the Sheriff's Office from a concerned citizen
who noticed unusual chemicals at the Savannah community home,
Ashe said.
"The combination of these chemicals led me to believe they
were used for the manufacture of crystal meth," he said.
At the sheriff's request, officers with the State Bureau of Investigations
and the Drug Enforcement Agency investigated the crime scene and
assisted with the cleanup.
"DEA called the bio-hazard cleanup crew out of Johnson City,
Tenn., to separate and store the chemicals," said Ashe. "This
could have been a big health hazard for the community, but since
the chemicals have been removed there is no longer any danger."
While the cleanup was under way, Sheriff Ashe requested assistance
from members of the Savannah Fire Department and West Care EMS
in case of a spill or illness of those at the scene.
"It took 16 hours to conduct the search and do the cleanup,"
he said, "and the investigation is continuing. There remains
a potential for additional arrests.
"This arrest is part of my stand against illegal drugs in
Jackson County," the sheriff continued. "This was a
pretty big operation, but it was only the tip of the iceberg."
Six crystal methamphetamine labs were dismantled in North Carolina
in 1999. As of the first six months of 2003, 116 labs had been
discovered by law enforcement, 26 of which were located in Watauga
County, Ashe said.
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