The Boone County Sheriff’s Department served a Boone County-issued search warrant for an address in Blue Acres Trailer Park on Oct. 26. The location was suspected of being used to produce methamphetamine.
“For any situation we generally get information from citizens: a neighbor, an ex-girlfriend … whoever,” Boone County detective Britt Shea said. “But with methamphetamine specifically we know what ingredients are used to make it and can track suspicious buying patterns.”
It is usually not “one big thing, but a bunch of little things” that allow the Boone County Sheriff’s Department to obtain a warrant, Shea said.
Numerous suspicious items were located inside the trailer home, including components of an active methamphetamine lab and finished methamphetamine, according to a news release issued by the sheriff’s department. One occupant of the trailer dumped parts of the lab into a toilet as deputies were entering the residence.
Two occupants of the trailer were arrested: Rusty A. Modglin, 40, and Jamie K. Davis, 28. Modglin was arrested for manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence. Davis was arrested for three City of Columbia warrants.
In situations such as this, there are often multiple adults in the vicinity who might not necessarily be involved with the illegal activity, Shea said.
“We can’t arrest everyone just because they were there,” Shea said. “We make an effort to figure out what belongs to whom and which person is most responsible.”
Missouri is the state with the most methamphetamine lab busts, according to a report conducted by ABC News earlier this year.
“I don’t think methamphetamine is a bigger problem in Boone County than it is in the rest of the state,” Shea said. “In fact, we’re pretty good and pretty successful at handling these cases.”
Compared to other counties in the state, the Boone County’s Sheriff Department is one of the best equipped to deal with methamphetamine cases because deputies have had a lot of training and experience, Shea said.
The sheriff’s department said it continues to think methamphetamine and the manufacturing process presents a significant risk to the citizens of Boone County and will continue to make these investigations a priority.
“Methamphetamine is an all-consuming and terribly destructive drug,” Shea said. “The manufacturing process is also very dangerous. There can be explosions, fires and chemical burns.”
The dangers of the manufacturing process pose a threat not only to those directly involved, but also to innocent people in the surrounding area, Shea said.
“A person walking past the methamphetamine lab or sitting in a car parked nearby are just as at risk as those manufacturing the substance,” Shea said.
Anonymous tips about methamphetamine activity can be submitted on the sheriff’s department’s website.
