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Show h fV t fed ' ! L fefe mx? i q .---V 'X'H IronGarfield Narcotics Task Force official Dave Excell and Garfield County Sheriff Than Cooper go through paraphernalia from a recent methamphetamine lab bust in Cannonville. The two were part of a By Nancy Twitchcll Garfield County News Editor CANNONVILLE Local law enforcement officers arrested four individuals, two males and two females, late Wednesday night, Feb. 10. All face multiple drug-related charges after officers found a methamphetamine lab where they were living. At the scene, officers seized approximately ap-proximately one and one-third , pounds of methamphetamine with a jC-eet value of $60,000 and about 10 grams of psilocybin mushrooms with a value of approximately $500. Taken into custody were Fran Barlow, 28, of Cannonville; Raymond Ray-mond Jessop, 25, of Hilldale; Hyrum Broadbent, 29, of St. George and Jodi Clark, 19, of Virgin. Vir-gin. No resistance was offered from the four, however, weapons were found at the scene. . Officers, expecting only to be dealing with the meth lab hit the jackpot when, in their search of the property, they identified stolen articles arti-cles from five or six area burglaries in Tropic and Hatch and from two burglaries in Kane County. After a hot tip received two weeks ago, Garfield County Sheriff Than Cooper spearheaded an intense in-tense investigation into the possibility possi-bility of a meth lab in the residential residen-tial area of this tiny Bryce Valley town. two-week long investigation which led to the arrest of four people for various drug and weapons charges, as well as charges for stolen property that was found on the premises. Four Arrested In Cannonville Meth Lab Bust The investigation started with Sgt. Brent Nelson of the Hurricane City Police Department. Nelson said "I immediately reported to Sheriff Cooper a law enforcement stop I made in Hurricane the night of Jan. 31." Nelson said he had "detained two individuals from the Cannonville area, after it was reported re-ported they had attempted to dut- (See CANNONVILLE on Page 6A) Cannonville Meth Lab Arrests From Front Page chase multiple packages of ephed-rine ephed-rine at a local store." He explained that often large quantities of the chemical are purchased by persons operating clandestine meth labs and store owners routinely report such purchases. Sheriff Cooper quickly started an investigation working on the case for some 10 days before the arrests were made. Based on alleged instances of narcotics distribution and the information in-formation from Hurricane, Sheriff Cooper obtained a search warrant from Judge David Mower in Richfield Rich-field on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Working closely with fellow officers, offi-cers, Sgt. James D. Perkins, Deputies Depu-ties Kevin Moore and John Niemann Nie-mann and members of the IronGarfield Narcotics Task Force and the Utah Highway Patrol, he executed the warrant at 10:30 that same night at 120 South Main in Cannonville. In all, five firearms were taken from the scene, two handguns, two rifles and a shotgun. One of those, a loaded handgun, was taken from the meth lab site. Officers noted that although guns themselves are not illegal, guns in the vicinity of a meth operation increase the severity of charges subsequently brought. "No neighbors or family living with the suspects were aware of the existence of the meth operation." Sheriff Cooper said. "No one noticed no-ticed out-of-the-ordinary comings or goings or any unusual smells generally gen-erally associated with a drug operation." opera-tion." Hazardous materials experts working at the scene the next day reported the lab as "larger than aver-age"after aver-age"after additional materials were discovered at another site some three miles distant. Cooper noted that when they entered en-tered the family dwelling one couple cou-ple was upstairs with grandparents and Barlow's three small children ages two, four and six. Barlow is expecting a fourth child in five months. The other couple was downstairs, apparently making an attempt to dispose of drugs on hand, Cooper said. Although small children were present in the home, because the meth lab was located in the rear of the yard and not operated in the home, their custody was turned over to the maternal grandparents grand-parents rather than to the state. After securing the home, offi-: offi-: cers, who had brought their own flood and search lights, went over the backyard fence and checked out each outbuilding and vehicle on ; premises. The meth lab itself was '. located in a camper sitting on jacks at the very rear of the property, well hidden by an outbuilding. Sheriff Cooper had notified the ; Hazardous Waste Division of Waste ,' Management, a private contractor, ', who sent out two field analysts, Rob Yarosik and Art Aragon, to safely breakdown the lab and analyze, ana-lyze, inventory and package its contents con-tents for disposal. He also notified the State Crime Lab with the Division Divi-sion of Public SafetyDivision of Criminal Investigation who dispatched dis-patched Criminalist John Gerlits who works for the state of Utah at the southern region crime lab located lo-cated at Southern Utah University. Law enforcement officers and task force personnel are routinely trained in handling and securing drugs and locations associated with these meth labs, however, the Environmental Envi-ronmental Protection Agency mandates man-dates how any drug scene or situa-. situa-. tion is handled. " Officers found that nearly a dozen vehicles were stored in the ;' side and at the rear of the home. : Each had to be inventoried, searched and in several cases tire prints taken 'r for possible linking of vehicles to burglaries committed in past .- months in the local area. After ; that, each was hauled off to an im-; im-; . pound lot for secure keeping. ; David Excell, with the ' IronGarfield Narcotics Task Force '-. was on hand for the entire operation and explained that "any items either ; used in the drug operation or 1 II :". gotten gain possibly associated ' from the sale of drugs or burglaries :- are subject to confiscation by the task force." : Additional chemicals and glass-'. glass-'. ware associated with the meth lab : were found in adjacent outbuildings. .- Several outbuildings at the site ; were packed solid with suspected - burglary items from residences and construction sites including hand ; tools, expensive power tools, com-" com-" pressors, propane heaters, saws, tires, stereo speakers, etc. Many serial numbers on those items were matching those of prior burglary - cases and burglary victims began ; showing up throughout the day to ; personally identify stolen items. : Officers brought along a 27 ft. U-.' U-.' Haul from Panguitch to load con-; con-; fiscated items once they were inven-; inven-; toried. ; Upon their arrest, both females f were transported to the Sevier County Jail where they were incarcerated incar-cerated and the male suspects were processed into the Garfield County Jail. On Friday, both female suspects sus-pects were brought back to Panguitch Pan-guitch briefly to join the two men for a first appearancebail setting hearing at 4:30 p.m. before Justice Judge John Yardley at the Garfield County Courthouse. , Garfield County Attorney Wallace Wal-lace Lee stated Friday he would file the same five initial counts against all four defendants. Raymond Jes-sop Jes-sop faces (1) operation of a clandestine clan-destine drug lab, a first degree felony; fel-ony; (2) production of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), a first degree felony and (3) possession posses-sion of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, also a first degree felony. Other charges included (4) possession posses-sion of a controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms), a first degree felony and (5) possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor. mis-demeanor. In addition, Jessop will also face five counts of burglary, all third degree felonies and single count of theft, a second degree felony. Barlow faces the same initial five counts, with no burglary or theft counts. She also faces charges of distribution of a controlled substance sub-stance (methamphetamine), a first degree felony and a single count of possession of stolen property, a second degree felony. Broadbent also faces the same initial five counts, the theft and burglary counts and a single charge of tampering with evidence, a second sec-ond degree felony. Clark will face the same initial five counts, without theft and burglary bur-glary charges, and will have one single count of tampering with evidence. Defendant Hyrum Broadbent was arraigned separately from the other defendants, because he had secured Attorney Barry Clarkson, with Allen, Al-len, Atkin & Wells, a St. George law firm to represent him. The other three defendants, Barlow, Bar-low, Jessop and Clark may each petition the court for a public defender de-fender to represent them, after completing com-pleting affidavits of indigency. All four suspects were advised of the charges being placed against them and they were informed regarding regard-ing counsel before bail was set. Garfield County Attorney Wallace Lee asked that bail be set for each at $100,000 because he felt the charges pending were serious and the defendants did not have regular jobs or own property locally which would preclude them from fleeing the jurisdiction of the court. The defendants were advised that Sixth Judicial District Court Judge K.L. Mclff would be in Panguitch on Thursday, Feb. 18 and they could inquire about a reduction in bail at that time. However, Judge Yardley agreed that the charges were significant enough to warrant a high bail setting. On the night of the drug bust, Sheriff Cooper was also assisted by the Utah Narcotics Task Force and the IronGarfield Narcotics Task Force personnel that included David Excell, Keith Millett and Lloyd Watkins; Utah Highway Patrol Troopers Gaylen Moore, James Keller and Paul Bailey; and local Garfield County Jeeps Posse members mem-bers and Tropic Fire Department volunteers. "The team of about 25 spent the next 12-15 hours securing the location and inventorying evidence evi-dence confiscated at the site," said Sheriff Cooper, "and they were very much appreciated." In addition Attorney Lee commended com-mended both the law enforcement and general public involved in bringing this case to court. He said it began with vigilant local Washington Wash-ington County store employees contacting law enforcement and the conscientious follow-up efforts of the Hurricane City Police. Lee encouraged all merchants to be wary of customers who attempt to purchase large amounts of ephed-rine, ephed-rine, pseudo-ephedrine, iodine or other chemicals and to report instances in-stances promptly to law enforcement. enforce-ment. Lee stated "clandestine drug labs are highly dangerous to those involved with them and also pose a substantial danger to innocent people peo-ple who live nearby, as they are highly toxic and explosive." |