PLAINS TWP. - A married couple turned their room at the Melody Motel into a methamphetamine-making operation, authorities charged Thursday.
Their car was a mobile meth lab, too, police said.
Investigators uncovered the active meth lab in Room 6 at the Route 115 motel on Wednesday after making an undercover meth purchase from Jonathan Cole and then watching him return to the room, authorities said.
Mr. Cole, 25, and his wife, who is eight months pregnant, are accused of cooking large amounts of the drug in the small room, risking a potential disaster if the volatile chemicals exploded.
"It was a pretty dangerous situation," said John Soprano, regional director of the state attorney general's office, which spearheaded the raid.
After making the undercover purchase from Mr. Cole, agents conducted surveillance, Mr. Soprano said. They watched him leave his motel room, followed his car and eventually pulled him over on Route 11 in Hunlock Twp., he said.
As they took Mr. Cole into custody, authorities allegedly found 7 grams of meth in his pocket. Authorities then applied for a search warrant for the car and located multiple pots of meth still "cooking," Mr. Soprano said. The trunk was littered with meth-making chemicals and materials, indicating it was used as a mobile meth lab, he said.
A search of the room also yielded large amounts of meth-making items, police said.
Mr. Cole, 25, was charged with manufacturing meth, possession with the intent to deliver meth, possessing chemicals to make meth, risking a catastrophe, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal dumping of methamphetamine waste and conspiracy. He was arraigned Thursday morning by Magisterial District Judge Ronald Swank, who ordered Mr. Cole jailed in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $35,000 bail.
His wife, Jessica Embree Cole, 25, was wanted on theft and burglary charges by authorities in Columbia County and jailed in the Columbia County Prison, Mr. Soprano said.
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com