One man was arrested and police are considering two other people suspects after a meth lab was found inside a camper behind a Stoney Creek residence on Wednesday night.
Mark Stover, 27, of 539 Highway 91, was arrested by Carter County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Wayne Pritchard on an outstanding warrant from General Sessions Court charging him with violation of probation and an Attachment Pro Corpus out of Juvenile Court. Stover was additionally charged with initiation of methamphetamine manufacture, promotion of methamphetamine manufacture and possession of felony drug paraphernalia in connection with the meth lab which was discovered inside the camper.
According to a police report by CCSD Sgt. Nick Andes officers of the Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at 539 Highway 91 in order to recover evidence of meth manufacturing.
“At approximately 8 p.m. deputies assigned to Special Operations and S. W. A. T. (Special Weapons And Tactics) executed a search warrant on the camper behind 539 Highway 91,” states Sgt. Andes in his report, adding that prior to the execution of the search warrant Stover had been observed both inside and outside the camper by Narcotics Agent K. C. Huff who was conducting surveillance on the camper.
Sgt. Andes states in his report that just prior to the execution of the warrant Stover was seen leaving the residence with a female subject, identified as Tara Beth Carden, 29, of the same address. Stover and Carden left the area in a white vehicle headed toward Lynn Valley. A traffic stop was conducted on the vehicle in Lynn Valley while officers at the scene executed the search warrant.
Stover was taken into custody at the time of the traffic stop on the outstanding warrants.
Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said that the female subject was not taken into custody at that time due to the fact that she was in need of medical attention.
“During the search of the camper and the area immediately surrounding it, clandestine methamphetamine lab techs discovered remnants of several previous ‘cooks’ as well as a meth lab kit containing all needed ingredients except pseudoephedrine,” Sgt. Andes said in his report. “Deputies observed ‘gasser’ bottles and ‘cook’ bottles in plain view surrounding the camper.”
Officers on the scene also discovered drug paraphernalia used in the production of meth as well as items for using meth.
“This is the third methaphetamine lab Mr. Stover has been discovered at within the past two years,” Sgt. Andes states in the report, adding that Stover is listed on the state’s meth offender registry.
The investigation also revealed that Stover and the female were staying in the camper with a third subject who has also been identified as a suspect. Sgt. Andes states in his report that the third subject, who is identified as a male, did not return to the camper at any time during the several hours that deputies were processing the scene for evidence.
Additional charges in the discovery of the meth lab are pending at this time.