Investigations

Va. Deputies Stumble Onto Working Meth Lab

Feb. 17, 2012

An anonymous tip that a girl was being held against her will led Gloucester Sheriff's deputies on Wednesday afternoon to a small brick ranch-style home along a busy stretch of Route 17 across from the Farm Fresh parking lot.

Feb. 17--GLOUCESTER -- An anonymous tip that a girl was being held against her will led Gloucester Sheriff's deputies on Wednesday afternoon to a small brick ranch-style home along a busy stretch of Route 17 across from the Farm Fresh parking lot.

An elderly woman answered the knock on the door; she led the deputies out back to a detached garage, said Capt. Ryan Cookson of the Gloucester Sheriff's Office. The story about the girl proved to be false, but inside the garage the deputies noticed empty boxes of ingredients and other items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

They backed out of the building and obtained a search warrant to shut down the crude lab, where a batch of methamphetamine was being brewed. It's only the second working methamphetamine production facility found in Gloucester in the past seven years, Cookson said.

"It looked like it was a very active new lab," he said.

Ray Todd Lacks, 48, who lived at the residence and was in the garage when the deputies arrived, was arrested and jailed on one count of manufacturing methamphetamines. Lacks works as a drywall installer for a relative, according to documents filed in Gloucester General District Court. He is being held on a $5,000 secured bond.

Members of the Tri-Rivers Drug Task Force participated in the search and seizure of the meth lab. Gloucester County Sheriff's deputies, the Virginia State Police, Gloucester County Emergency Services, Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue and members of the Drug Enforcement Agency Clandestine Laboratory also assisted.

A private hazardous materials cleanup firm was at the property until 12:30 a.m., Cookson said. The typical clean-up bill for a working meth lab can run from $5,000 to $15,000. The homeowner is responsible for payment, he said.

Two weeks ago, Lacks visited the Gloucester Circuit Court Clerk's Office. He filled out and signed a petition seeking the restoration of his driving privileges. They were revoked in 2009 for repeatedly driving with a suspended or revoked license.