Law enforcement officials now believe that there was actual methamphetamine in a house at 9434 Route 19, where the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant at 2 a.m., Tuesday.
Initially, officials didn't believe there was any completed product at the house, though suspected precursor chemicals were found and Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster described the meth lab set up as particularly dangerous because of the use of batteries in the alleged process.
At a little after 1 p.m., investigators from the state police crime lab (pictured) arrived at the house to gather evidence and conducted tests on the chemicals and compounds allegedly found at the scene.
In a press release this evening, the Sheriff's Office announced that more than two ounces of suspected methamphetamine were found in the house.
A police officer on scene this afternoon said the room where the suspected lab was found, which he also described as potentially highly flammable, was right next to the bedroom of a 6-year-old child.
Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 2nd and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument were Christopher L. Williams, 31, of 8 Erie St., Le Roy, and Nicholas Patrick Sadwick, 23, of 354 Sandybrook Drive, Hamlin.
The two men were jailed on $32,500 bail each.
It's unclear who was living at the house. The residence was clearly occupied. Officials discussed the fact that a dog was picked up earlier in the day and two domesticated cats hung out near the front door. A neighbor said that new tenants had only recently moved into the house and that this morning, the school bus stopped at the house as it usually does, but this time, no little boy was there to get on it.
No other charges have been announced by the Sheriff's Office against any other individuals.
Tonight's press release said officials found "chemicals and equipment which are commonly used to manufacture Methamphetamine."
This is the fifth suspected meth lab found in Genesee County since Nov. 12, when suspected labs were discovered in Alabama and on Jackson Street in Batavia.
A member of the drug task force at the scene today said that media coverage of that first raid helped alert local residents to the problem and the dangers of meth labs, and the increased vigilance has led to more tips about these other suspected meth operations.
For previous coverage of suspected meth labs, click here.
I am so grateful to have
I am so grateful to have access to the Batavian. I grew up in Le Roy but moved away to join the Navy in 1982 and now live in Kansas City. The house where this meth lab was found was right across the street almost from the house I grew up in (on the corner of Perry rd). I really appreciate the fact that I can keep up with what is going on back home thanks to The Batavian. When I lived there an older couple and their 2 sons lived in that trailer and we used to play softball in the field directly across the street from it with them.
Love the Home Depot bag in
Love the Home Depot bag in the first picture. Maybe the sheriffs office could seek funding through corporate sponsorship...."Home Depot, official sponsor of the Genesee County Drug Task Force"