NEWS

Delaware County still leads in meth labs

Douglas Walker
dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
  • Delaware County led the state in the number of meth labs in the first 6 months of 2015
  • As of June 30,119 meth labs had been documented in Delaware County., followed by Noble with 35.

MUNCIE – Here’s some news that likely comes as little surprise: Delaware County, by an overwhelming margin, led the Hoosier state in the number of meth labs discovered in the first six months of 2015.

While Indiana State Police generally release meth-lab stats every four months — most recently those covering January though April — local law enforcement officials last week received a mid-year update that showed 119 meth labs had been documented in Delaware County as of June 30.

By comparison, the county with the second highest total in 2015, Noble in northern Indiana, had 35 meth labs through June. Eight other counties, none in East Central Indiana, had as many as 20.

As of April 30, Delaware County’s meth lab total stood at 68.

As recently as 2010, ISP stats reflected only seven labs were found in Delaware County. That total increased to 12 in 2011, than ballooned to 62, third highest in the state, in 2012.

In 2013, 109 meth labs were reported in Delaware County, second highest in the state. The county reached the top spot in 2014, with 148 labs, and seems certain to retain that dubious distinction this year.

Local law enforcement members have said the numbers, at least in part, reflect their aggressive pursuit of meth manufacturers.

The situation is such that most local officers, and even many private citizens, have become aware of the warning signs — and odors — associated with meth production, leading to many of the local raids and arrests.

And the state’s top meth fighters, an Indiana State Police team assigned to the Pendleton district, have done much of their work in the Muncie area.

Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold and Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler have testified before Statehouse committees, calling for pseudoephedrine, an over-the-county sinus medication frequently used in meth production, to be made a controlled substance. To date, representatives of pharmaceutical and physician organizations have managed to block such efforts.

Arnold has also frequently expressed concern about the health risks meth “cooking” poses to the children of the drug’s abusers.

In recent weeks, the impact of the local meth plague on the community’s youngsters has been made evident in other ways.

On July 9, Delaware County sheriff’s deputies, guns drawn, approached the van of a Muncie woman who had allegedly just sold meth to an agent.

They made the arrest, but the officers were stunned to find the woman’s 9-year-old daughter, terrified at the sudden appearance of armed men, in the vehicle with her mother.

Four days later, deputies arrested another Muncie woman, accused of selling heroin to an agent outside a westside pharmacy. Investigators said they also found meth in a plastic bag the woman threw from her vehicle as officers approached.

In that case, investigators were aware the suspect’s 4-year-old daughter was in her car, and they tried to make the apprehension in as low key a manner as possible, without weapons displayed.

They weren’t fooling the alleged drug dealer’s little girl, however. She kicked at the deputies and told them to leave her mother alone.

Another reality of the statewide rankings is that they appear to reflect that meth-related enforcement is not a top priority in some of Indiana’s larger cities, including Indianapolis, where police contend with gang-related violence and, in some weeks, more murders than Delaware County sees in a year.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.

Meth rankings

Indiana State Police ranking of counties by number of meth lab discoveries through June 30:

Top five

Delaware 119

Noble 35

Kosciusko 29

Miami 29

Tippecanoe 24

Other ECI counties

Blackford 7

Randolph 7

Henry 5

Jay 5