Valley meth-lab suspect also charged in La.


Staff report

NEW MIDDLETOWN

A man charged with operating a methamphetamine lab in the village was already on probation after facing charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in Louisiana, police said.

Joshua Jackson, 31, of Petersburg, Ohio, was arrested this weekend and arraigned Monday.

He faces felony charges of illegal assembly and possession of chemicals, a first-degree felony; possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; burglary, a third-degree felony; and possession of drug-abuse instruments, a first-degree misdemeanor.

His bonds total $66,000, and he’ll need to post 10 percent of that amount. He was arraigned in Struthers Municipal Court and will return to court at 9:30 a.m. next Monday for his preliminary hearing.

He had not made bond as of late Monday afternoon.

New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D’Egidio said police got a call Saturday evening about a meth lab at a house on Main Street. He said the caller was a relative of the homeowner, who was not at home.

When they went to the house, no one was there, D’Egidio said.

They got another call Sunday morning, he said.

Jackson “was in the residence,” he said. “We found him throwing stuff out the bedroom window, and getting ready to leave out the window.”

Among the items Jackson threw out the window were an electronic scale and syringes, D’Egidio said.

Audrey Clow, who lives and works on North Main Street, was at the Dairy Queen across from the house when five police cars pulled into the driveway.

“I saw him trying to go out the side window,” she said, referring to Jackson.

Clow said learning about a meth lab so close to her home was “unsettling” and that she “didn’t ever think that something like that was going on.”

Clow added she had never met Jackson, even though she lived and worked near the house where he stayed.

That isn’t too surprising, D’Egidio said.

Jackson “basically said, ‘I live where I live, I have no address.’ It’s anywhere he can find a friend or someone to stay with. ... He was probably in the village for the last two months,” he said, adding that Jackson was already on probation after facing charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in Louisiana.

D’Egidio said no one else staying in the residence, nor the homeowner, have been implicated in the suspected meth lab.

When Jackson was arrested, he had methamphetamine on him, along with jewelry that is suspected to have been stolen, the chief said.

He also had a large duffle bag that contained a portable meth lab, D’Egidio said. It held household ingredients such as batteries and over-the-counter drugs, mason jars, coffee pots and phosphorous.

The Drug Enforcement Administration came to the house and confirmed the duffle bag contained a meth lab, D’Egidio said. Agents put on protective gear and separated all the ingredients, which are flammable and toxic when combined, he said. The Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Identification came and took the items, he said.

Across the street from the house are a church and preschool, in addition to the Dairy Queen, D’Egidio said.

The investigation is ongoing, he said.

By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use.

» Accept
» Learn More