Two face charges in meth lab case

By ZACHARY FITZGERALD
zfitzgerald@daily-review.com
Two people were charged Sunday night, after an all-day investigation, with operating an active meth lab in the passenger seat of a vehicle they abandoned on a levee near the La. 317 Intracoastal Bridge, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said in a news release.
—Kevin Landry, 32, no address given, was arrested at 11:05 p.m. Sunday on a warrant charging him with operation of a clandestine laboratory, simple burglary, and attempted unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and on a warrant from the 32nd Judicial District Court charging him with two counts of theft.
—Melissa Tanner, 45, no address given, was arrested at 11:05 p.m. Sunday on a warrant charging her with operation of a clandestine laboratory, simple burglary and attempted unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.
At 8 a.m. Sunday, a deputy was dispatched to a report of suspicious vehicle parked under the La. 317 Intracoastal Bridge, Hebert said. The deputy observed a vehicle fleeing from the area at a high rate of speed, Hebert said.
A short time later, the deputy located the vehicle on a nearby levee. While checking the car for occupants the deputy observed an active methamphetamine lab on the passenger seat along with other items used in the manufacturing of meth, the sheriff said. The vehicle was unoccupied, Hebert said.
The deputy remained at that location in order to secure the active lab. Narcotics detectives were called to the scene and located items in the car identifying the occupants as Landry and Tanner. Crime and death scene cleaners, Xtreme Cleaners, were contacted to remove the lab, Hebert said.
While processing evidence at the scene, detectives spotted two sets of footprints leading to a bayou. As the search for the vehicle’s occupants continued, detectives learned that the two people had entered onto a business property and had also attempted to enter a camp, Hebert said.
At about 8 p.m. Sunday the Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a tugboat captain who advised that two people had been pulled from the Intracoastal Waterway, Hebert said.
The captain brought the two people to the Calumet boat landing where they were taken into custody by narcotics detectives, the sheriff said. Following the completion of the investigation into the clandestine methamphetamine lab, Landry and Tanner were booked on the warrants with no bail set.
Hebert reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:
—Tradasha Brooks, 19, of the 1000 block of Ciro Street in Siracusa, at 10:46 a.m. Saturday on a warrant for simple battery.
—Arielle Hunt, 20, of the 100 block of Yellow Bayou Road in Centerville, at 10:46 a.m. Saturday on a warrant for simple battery.
Brooks and Hunt turned themselves in at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center. The warrants stem from an investigation into a complaint of a battery that occurred on James Street in Siracusa in which Brooks and Hunt repeatedly struck a woman in the face and back, Hebert said. Both were released on $750 bail.
—Michael Nelson, 52, of the 200 block of Fandal Street in Gibson, at 12:50 p.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of disturbing the peace and remaining where forbidden. A deputy made contact with Nelson on La. 182 in Amelia and learned of the active warrant for his arrest, Hebert said. Bail is set at $1,000.
Morgan City Assistant Police Chief Mark Griffin Jr. reported the following arrests:
—Dava Leonard, 33, of Sixth Street in Berwick, at 2:20 a.m. Friday on the charges of reckless operation of a vehicle, improper parking, driving while intoxicated, hit and run driving and no driver’s license, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Officers responded to a complaint of a vehicle being operated in a reckless manner. Officers were able to locate a vehicle matching the description stopped in the roadway with no lights on, Griffin said. The driver, identified as Leonard, was found to be sleeping inside the vehicle.
Officers determined that Leonard appeared to be in an impaired condition, Leonard submitted to a field sobriety test, which she did poorly on, Griffin said.
Officers also found through their investigation that Leonard ran off the roadway and struck a garbage can, Griffin said. During the encounter, officers located drug paraphernalia inside Leonard’s vehicle, Griffin said. Leonard submitted to an Intoxilyzer 5000 test, which indicated a blood alcohol concentration of 0.27 grams-percent, Griffin said. She was jailed.
—Darbin Suazo, 20, of Chester Bowles Street in Morgan City, at 2:08 p.m. Saturday charged with hit and run driving, no driver’s license, no insurance, switched license plate, no registration and careless operation.
Patrol responded to a call of a hit and run accident. The victim of the hit and run followed the vehicle and alerted the officers to the location. Officers located the driver identified as Suazo. He was jailed.
—Peter Grogan, 37, of Railroad Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 1:53 a.m. Sunday on the charge of theft of goods (value $21.50)
Officers investigated a theft from a La. 182 business. According to the report, store employees witnessed the suspect, identified as Grogan, leave the store with merchandise he did not pay for. Grogan was stopped as he exited the store and was held there until the officer arrived.
Grogan was observed on video taking the items and after a short time inside the store, leave with the items. Grogan was jailed.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:
—Jacqueline Welsh, 42, of Short Street in Morgan City, at 1:34 p.m. Sunday on a warrant charging her with three counts of cruelty to an animal.
Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.