Meth lab found in barn

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

An active methamphetamine lab was discovered Saturday in an abandoned dairy barn in the Cedar Springs area. Four people were charged with making the powerful stimulant, police said.
According to Wythe County Sheriff Doug King, a report of suspicious activity at the barn on Pine Glad Road was received Friday. Surveillance was set up at the scene.
When officers entered the barn Saturday, King said, they found the operating lab. The Virginia State Police meth unit was then contacted, the sheriff reported.
Deputies caught two suspects inside the barn and a third suspect trying to leave through a side door, King said. They used thermal imagery to locate the fourth suspect who had escaped.
Arrested were Jason D. Boyer, 32, of Rural Retreat; James R. Davidson, 26, of Cedar Springs; Aaron Douglas Grubb, 19, of Crockett; and Jesse L. Jones, 27, of Crockett. They are charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of two or more ingredients for making methamphetamine, conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine and destruction of property. Grubb also was charged with possession of marijuana.
They are being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin.
The meth lab was the seventh one uncovered in the county this year, according to King.
In an unrelated case, a Rural Retreat man was charged with marijuana possession after his vehicle was stopped by a deputy Friday night on U.S. Highway 11 for not having rear lights. Jason H. Coleman, 22, was released on bond.
During a search of the vehicle, King said a pill bottle rolled from a hole in the seat of Coleman’s automobile. A pack of rolling papers and a clear plastic bag containing a substance determined to be marijuana also were found in the vehicle, according to the sheriff.
In another incident, Heather M. Rankin, 19, of Max Meadows was charged with forgery and passing a forged check. She was released on a $5,000 bond.
King said checks stolen from a residence on Fort Chiswell Road turned up with a forged signature on Saturday. An investigation, he stated, led to the arrest.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating vandalism to a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am at residence on Pump Hollow Road. The incident was reported Saturday morning.
The vehicle was spray painted purple, according to the sheriff.
In another case, the theft of a gun from a Pope Road residence is under investigation. The New England .22-caliber revolver with black finish and wood grain handle, valued at $140, was reported stolen Aug. 9 but could have been taken several months ago.
King reported there was no forced entry to the house from which the weapon was taken.
In an unrelated incident, deputies conducted a search early Monday morning for an 85-year-old man who wandered from his home on Peppers Ferry Road. They were assisted by a tracking dog from the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office.
According to King, the man was reported missing around 5:30 a.m. and was found less than an hour later some distance away on the road. He was treated by the Wythe County Rescue Squad for some scratches and abrasions and taken home.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or .