Three Children Removed from Home with Meth Lab in York County

After a child tested positive for methamphetamines on Tuesday, December 3rd, drug agents in York County removed three children from a home where three adults were accused of operating a meth lab.

This arrest makes the 19th meth lab bust in York County this year.

According to police reports, officers conducted a narcotics investigation at the home when they found Shealee Henigar, 24, Stephanie Summitt, 21, and David Lee Ray, 29, making meth while three children – ages 3, 2 and 9 months old – were nearby. All three suspects were arrested for their meth lab operations and charged with three counts of manufacturing methamphetamine in front of a child.

Two of the adults in the house, Henigar and Summit, used the one-pot method, a portable one-use meth lab made from a soda bottle that is easily disposable. Ray was not at home at the time, and warrants for his arrest have been issued.

Police say that Ray and Henigar are parents to the three children removed from the home.

Official reports state that agents seized .1 gram of meth, two meth pipes, marijuana seeds, a notepad, cell phones, flash drives and an unidentified white powder from the home.

The three children were placed in protective custody and taken to Piedmont Medical Center to be tested for exposure. The three-year-old tested positive. All three underwent a decontamination process.

Home-Based and Portable Meth Labs Becoming Common in South Carolina

An investigation reported by WIS discussed the prevalence of “mom and pop” meth lab operations in South Carolina. One law enforcement officer interviewed, Lt. Max Dorsey, says that meth labs operate in normal homes all over the state.

“All the cooks don’t have PhDs in chemistry,” said Dorsey. “Very few of them have high school diplomas.

“Meth in South Carolina is being manufactured in these mom and pop labs and they have been refined to these drink bottles. These two-liter, one-liter, or sixteen-ounce drink bottles, you put these ingredients in these vessels, you let the reaction occur, and you let it dry, and then you consume it, you smoke it, you snort it, you inject it.”

“You need some type of ether, whether it’s Coleman fuel or charcoal lighter fluid, ice packs, fertilizer, lithium,” said an undercover agent. “I mean these are all items that are fairly inexpensive and you can pick them right up at any pharmacy or Walmart.

With the rise of portable meth labs, which can manufacture a small amount of crystal meth in a soda bottle, drug criminals are becoming harder to catch. They leave evidence of their activities in the woods, in backyards, in homes that they do not own or live in, constantly. However, because these new forms of meth labs are so small, they do not have to babysit several reaction vessels and more often than not get away.

However, meth labs are a huge health hazard. Cleaning up after one costs $6,000.

“A lot of times these environments are just terrible,” said Dorsey. “They’re dirty, they’re nasty. You find the worst things you could ever imagine in these environments. Many times, well, sometimes you find children in those environments who have been abused, mistreated, not fed, sexually abused, and so it is some of the most horrific environments you could ever imagine.”

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Drug Crimes Charges for Meth Labs

Drug crime charges and meth lab busts in South Carolina are very serious. If you have been charged with possession, trafficking, or manufacturing drugs, including manufacturing at a meth lab, the attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today by calling (803)252-4800.