Traffic stop leads OSHP to meth lab in Lancaster motel

LANCASTER — Four suspects are facing felony charges after an investigation following a traffic stop led authorities to a meth lab in the Casa Grande Motel in the city of Lancaster.

Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol initiated a traffic stop for a headlight violation on Memorial Drive and Sixth Ave. in the city about 1:53 a.m. Wednesday. During contact with the vehicle’s occupants the trooper subsequently observed evidence of a meth lab inside the vehicle.

Troopers from the patrol’s Office of Investigative Services, as well as task-force officers from the Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and Lancaster Police Department responded to the scene.

During questioning of the vehicle’s occupants, Joshua Lanier, 25, of Rockbridge, and Angela Ogg, 32, of Lancaster, investigators obtained information that led them to the Casa Grande Motel in Lancaster.

At the motel, officers identified two additional suspects, Tina Halter, 44, Canal Winchester, and Brittany Young, 21, of Lancaster. Officers discovered a meth lab, a 9MM handgun and other drug paraphernalia inside the motel room.

All four suspects were placed in Fairfield County Jail and charged with illegal manufacturing of chemicals, a second-degree felony. Lainer, the driver of the vehicle, was also charged with operating a vehicle while impaired.

If convicted, each suspect faces up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine.