Arrest made in meth lab bust

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March 6, 2008

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Thu Mar 06, 2008, 09:41 PM EST

Somerset — Two children were rescued in a meth lab bust in northern Pulaski County late Wednesday night, resulting in at least one arrest so far.

Bige Baker, 35, of Cordell Drive in Burnside, was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. He was lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center.

Agents with the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force discovered a working meth lab operating out of a garage located beside a trailer on Dixon-Smith Road near Science Hill Wednesday night. The unattached garage had been damaged by a previous fire.

Baker was found inside wearing a respirator while pouring chemicals into separate containers when agents took him into custody. It was determined that Baker was involved in the production of anhydrous ammonia, a pre-agent used in producing meth.

The meth lab was very volatile due to the anhydrous presence. David Gilbert, director of the Task Force, said that this is the second most dangerous working lab he has been in during the past five years; to compare, another Science Hill lab discovered several years ago was extremely dangerous due to the enclosed space with no ventilation, but didn’t have the anhydrous production going on, which is extremely flammable and produces a high risk of kidney failure via its toxic qualities.

The occupants, Jimmy and Juanita Hafley, were inside the residence with two young children, ages 8 and 13. The children were turned over to the Cabinet for Families and Children at the scene.

A large amount of firearms — approximately 20 such weapons — were seized along with other evidence.

The lab was cleaned up and hazardous materials removed by agents of the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Eubank Fire Department, Somerset-Pulaski County Emergency Response Team and Emergency Management Services. The Somerset Fire/EMS Department also assisted at the scene.

Officers were decontaminated, along with Baker, by members of the Emergency Response Team and the Eubank Fire Department.

Gilbert said he was very grateful for the assistance from all of the professional responders assisting in this case.

“It was textbook, as it should be when dealing with hazardous materials,” he stated.

Baker was arrested by the task force in December of last year on similar charges.

More arrests are pending as the investigation continues. Gilbert noted that the Hafleys’ fate will likely be determined by a grand jury.

• The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force also reported the following individual arrests this week:

Shawn Boston, 29, of Monticello, was charged with two counts of trafficking in methamphetamine. Boston was convicted in connection with the dangerous Science Hill lab with no ventilation.

Eddie Latham, 32, of Tateville, was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine.

David Gregory, 33, of Monticello, was charged with two counts of trafficking in OxyContin and one count of trafficking in cocaine.

Billy Black, 20, of Somerset, was charged with one count of trafficking in OxyContin, a second offense in Wayne County, and one count trafficking in OxyContin, second offense in Pulaski County.

The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force is made up of federally deputized agents, including the Kentucky State Police, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and the Somerset Police Department, which are funded by Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and Byrne/JAG funding from the Kentucky Justice Cabinet, matched by 25 percent local government funding.

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