Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
IRONWOOD FIRE trucks block off Sunset Road Wednesday afternoon, taking extra precautions in a methamphetamine lab bust that involved "active cooking" at the time of the raid. No injuries were reported. Two area residents werer taken into custody and charged.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood Township - The Gogebic-Iron Area Narcotics Team's discovery of an active methamphetamine lab while executing a search warrant led to the temporary closure of a portion of Sunset Road Wednesday.
Two people were arrested at E5193 Sunset Road.
John Raymond Davis, 41, and Sara Anne Harris, 31, were arraigned in Gogebic County District Court in Bessemer Thursday, according to a GIANT press release.
They are each charged with the same five felonies - two counts of operating/maintaining a laboratory involving meth, a felony with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or $25,000 per charge; two counts of operating/maintaining a laboratory near a residence, a felony with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or $25,000 per charge; and one count of operating/maintaining a laboratory, a felony with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or $25,000.
Both are being held on $100,000 bonds, of which 10 percent has to be posted to secure release.
The matter remains under investigation and additional charges and arrests are possible.
Authorities stated Thursday the combining of these substances emits dangerous gasses and can be a hazard to health.
As the lab was found in a building containing multiple residences, GIANT leader Hurley Police Department Sgt. Chris Colassaco told the Daily Globe Thursday those residents were evacuated.
While neighbors were warned, Colassaco said no other evacuations took place.
He explained while the team has encountered meth labs before, they generally aren't actively "cooking," hence the need to take extra precautions of calling in the Ironwood Township Volunteer Fire Department and closing down the street.
"No one ever wants to walk into an active meth lab," Colassaco said.
The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team was also on the scene, assisting with clean-up.
Colassaco said Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs is handling the cases.
