subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Sun, Nov 08 2009 

Published: June 24, 2008 11:02 am    print this story  

Two charged following explosion at house near police, fire departments

By John Yates
Special Correspondent

Two men have pleaded not guilty to felony charges which allege they were attempting to manufacture drugs in a house across the street from the McAlester police and fire departments.

Jason Alan Morris, 24, of McAlester, and Colton John Courts, 18, from the Haywood area, were each charged Friday in Pittsburg County District Court with one count of attempting to manufacture a controlled substance.

Morris was also charged with a felony count of possession of controlled substance, methamphetamine.

Bond for each was set at $20,000. The bond was posted for Morris, but as of very early this morning, Courts was still being held at the Pittsburg County Jail.

Both men are due back in court July 11 for a preliminary hearing.

Police first learned of the alleged manufacturing plot when an explosion rocked a house in the 300 block of North First Street in the early morning hours on Thursday.

Firefighters didn’t have far to go when the report of fire and explosion was reported. It didn’t take long for responders to realize they were dealing with a suspected meth lab.

There is also a chapel and a church within 50 yards of where the alleged meth lab was located.

No injuries were reported from the fire and explosion, but personnel from the McAlester police and fire departments, plus the Drug Enforcement Agency, responded to the scene.

The house where the suspected lab was found is close enough to city hall that Fire Chief Harold Stewart can see it when he looks out his office window. Why hadn’t anyone at the fire or police department noticed the alleged activity? The fire chief said people who operate meth labs do so at night, not during the daytime.

One of the tell-tale signs of meth production is the acrid chemical smell. Did anyone at City Hall ever smell anything? Stewart said at this time of year, the prevailing winds are out of the south, southwest and southeast. That puts the police and fire departments down wind of the house in question.

print this story  



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Help wanted

See all ads

City Bits

Chicken Fried Steak Dinner $2.49 +tax.
Tuesdays at KFC. Cole slaw, mashed potatoes, gravy & biscuit included. ...>MORE

PACE AIR conditioning
sales and service. 426-4519...>MORE

SEWER & DRAIN Service
McAlester Plumbing 426-4519...>MORE

See all ads

Real Estate/Rentals

See all ads

Garage Sales

Garage Sale
Sunday only
606 Nelson Lane
Lots of stuff!
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index