KCSO: Meth lab discovered in E. Knox Co.
Save Email Print
Updated: 6:40 PM Mar 17, 2010
KCSO: Meth lab discovered in E. Knox Co.
New details are available about a meth lab bust Wednesday in East Knox County and the condition of a 2-year-old boy found inside the home.
Posted: 11:30 AM Mar 17, 2010
Reporter: Michael Grider
Email Address: michael.grider@wvlt-tv.com
width:250 and height: 171 and picwidth: 233 and pciheight: 159
Deputies say they discovered a meth lab at a modular home on Circle Rd. in East Knox County Wednesday, March 17, 2010. (Photo: Volunteer TV Photojournalist Daniel Beckner)
Font Size:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- New details are available about a meth lab bust Wednesday in East Knox County and the condition of a 2-year-old boy found inside the home.

The bust happened on Circle Road in Mascot around 11 a.m.

The toddler was taken to Children's Hospital to be checked out, but deputies say he did not look to be suffering from any health issues related to the meth making.

Two people, including the child's grandmother, were taken into custody.

Deputies identified them as 45-year-old Juanita Roberts and 47-year-old Wade Dickens. Both face meth and child abuse charges.

The discovery rattled neighbors, leaving many wondering about the dangers of a meth lab in a residential area.

Volunteer TV's Mario Boone found out that spotting a meth lab, even just next door, isn't easy.

Detectives say there's no sure way to spot a meth lab, but there are some signs that could keep you safe.

Drug officers in full Haz-Mat gear searched this home on circle drive in east Knox County.

Neighbor Cathy Mahaven said she'd noticed some odd things in the past.

"Just them burning a lot and smelling a lot."

Inside is what deputies call a suspected meth lab. Outside deputies carefully sorted out ingredients used to cook the powerful drug: extremely volatile chemicals that produce harmful vapors, and, if mishandled, could easily explode.

Neighbors are shocked it happened right next door.

"If this is a community, the community should've been warned," Mahaven said.

Police say the dangers of meth labs are very real. The problem for neighbors, though, is that there's no sure way to spot one.

"Here we are outside this mobile home and there's really nothing that would indicate that there was something going on inside," Knox County Sheriff's spokesperson Martha Dooley said.

So how do you spot one in your neighborhood?

"A lot of traffic, unfamiliar cars, traffic at all hours of the day and night," Dooley said.

Police say you may also be able to detect a smell around homes where people are manufacturing meth. It's a lot like finger nail polish, ammonia, or cat urine.

And, of course, if you suspect a meth lab, or any illegal activity near your home, you are encouraged to contact your local police department or sheriff's office.

Some good, at least about this bust, is that police say they expect the child to be fine. His biological parents are with him at the hospital.