A Pender County man pleaded guilty Monday to charges stemming from a meth lab bust in Hampstead.
Jeffrey Brown, 37, of Hampstead, pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in Pender County Superior Court. Superior Court Judge Doug Parsons sentenced Brown to 76 to 104 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections.
Brown was arrested March 21 in connection with an investigation by the Surf City Police Department into the manufacturing of methamphetamine at a home in Hampstead, according to Assistant District Attorney Tim Severo. Three counts of possession with intent to distribute a methamphetamine precursor were dismissed as part of Brown’s plea agreement, Severo said.
Officers with the police department received information that Brown’s co-defendant in the case–24-year-old Ryan Clark Haithcock–was going to bring chemicals that were going to be used to manufacture methamphetamine to a residence at 145 Edgecombe Community Center Drive, Severo said.
The police department, along with deputies with the Pender County Sheriff’s Office and members of the N.C. State Bureau of investigation, went to the home investigate.
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“When they approached they saw….a burn pit that had things that, based upon those officers’ training and experience, indicated that there had been previous methamphetamine cooks there,” Severo said. “Officers went to the front door, knocked on the front door–at one point they were greeted by the defendant, Mr. Brown.
“The officers would have testified that when they opened the door there was a strong chemical smell which they associated…with the manufacturing of methamphetamine. Additionally, besides that co-conspirator, there were two small children at the residence at the time.”
Officers searched the trailer and located pseudoephedrine along with other ingredients and items that were used to cook methamphetamine.
“Using some national databases that are designed to find out who’s acquiring Sudafed…this defendant was using several other people to obtain pseudoephedrine,” Severo said.
According to Merrit Wagoner, the attorney representing Brown in the case, Brown has had an addiction to methamphetamine.
“The way I kind of evaluated this case is all the folks that are involved, they’re not cooking meth to sell it–they are not dealing in methamphetamine–they’re all methamphetamine addicts. They’re all getting Sudafed together. They’re all using old soda bottles to ‘shake and bake’–is what it’s called–methamphetamine so they can smoke it and they can use it. They’re not making money on it,” Wagoner said.
Wagoner said the items found in the home were all consistent with using–not selling– methamphetamine.
“They estimated that–based on what they found–if there was a 100 percent yield, which you rarely ever get on a percent of any that you’re trying to cultivate or make, it would have been 3.9 grams of methamphetamine, which I think is consistent with user amount, not for sale,” he added.
In court, Severo used several pictures to show the crime scene and elaborate on the dangers of the meth lab, including a photograph of trailers located in the community on Edgecombe Community Center Drive.
“These are trailers that are all in close proximity and certainly this court knows making methamphetamine–especially this ‘one pot’ method–it’s like making a bomb,” Severo said. “Especially when those chemicals are only separated by a thin membrane of a 2-liter bottle.”
Severo also noted the two small children in the home, as well as the fact that many of the chemicals used in the process were disposed of outside and soaked into the ground.
“I was not a drug dealer….I did not cook with the children there,” Brown said as he addressed the court. “And I’m sorry for the things I did. I am sorry for the mistakes I made. And I know my punishment and I accept my punishment. But I am deeply sorry for what I have done.”
Haithcock, 24, of North Topsail Beach, is facing several drug charges including manufacturing methamphetamine, according to jail records. He is being held at the Pender County Jail under a $320,000 secured bond. He is expected to appear in Pender County Superior Court on the charges on Aug. 15.
