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Escambia Deputies Find Mobile Meth Lab In Walnut Hill Woman’s Car Trunk
May 25, 2010
An alleged mobile meth lab found in the trunk of a car has landed a Walnut Hill woman in jail.
Madeline Hope Johnson, 24, of Still Road was charged with attempting to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a listed chemical. She is being held in the Escambia County Jail on $75,000 bond.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, an off-duty deputy at a Circle K at 3109 North Pace Boulevard in Pensacola was tipped off by an occupant of Johnson’s vehicle that she had a meth lab in the vehicle’s trunk.
In the vehicle’s trunk, investigators found several chemical bottles, batteries, two boxes pseudoephedrine tablets and other items known to be used in the production of methamphetamine. Several lithium batteries were found in the glove box of the vehicle. The glove box also contained what deputies described an “owe sheet” — a list of names and monies owed.
In Johnson’s purse, deputies said they found several lithium batteries of the same name brand as those in the vehicle. Her purse, according to the arrest report, also contained a list of chemicals and items known to be used in the production of meth.
According to the arrest report, Johnson admitted to being a meth user, but denied ownership of the items in the vehicle.
Comments
29 Responses to “Escambia Deputies Find Mobile Meth Lab In Walnut Hill Woman’s Car Trunk”
As a hardware person I sell lye to individuals that I am sure are making meth. It is not illegal to sell, so i cannnot refuse. we do reqiure a id and an address. most of the time it is useless. we keep copies for the drug task force, but they rarely come by to get them. Then too, the prisons are full of (bad) criminals,so there is no room for common dopers. we can blame whomever we want, but until the consequences get tougher, these people will take their slap on the wrist
and go right back to (work). Yes we have talked about not selling the product, but there are legitimate uses. they are mostly agriculturely related. for you younger folks, worming hogs and putting around the driplines of fruit trees are two.
Is there a clear cut solution? Not likely. More jails, Harder judges. Parents that
pay attention to their children. All of the above. Just for starters.
Thank you Oakgrove Bud about the “faces if meth” website. It will make your heart hurt. And unfortunately what we are seeing with the majority of these attempted purchases are young people… Presenting drivers liscense from Ms., central Al, central Fl … Isn’t that a Bit weird? Sure is a long way to drive for “sinus meds”. If the info goes thru the methcheck system then ya gotta sell it to them but what about the other places not doing it or not following the law between Ms and here? That could b an awful lot of meth! Why should retailers, drug stores, dollar stores, grocery stores,etc all be required to use the FREE Database if they are going to sell pseudoephedrine?? Otherwise, it is helping some, but not near enough!
Teri if Walmart was selling one person six boxes of pseudoephedrine then they are breaking the law! There is a limit of a certain number of grams of product within a certain amount of time PER person. Nationally, per DEA, they also have to sign for the product. This is recquired. If the business is on the methcheck system or not, they still have to track the purchases and not make the sale if it exceeds the max allowble qty or max within the allowed time . Laws can be written all day long but they really should be enforced, ESP when u have sooo much deadly abuse of a drug.
The state of Mississippi is trying to pass legislation to recquire a rx for pseudoephedrine, so we are not alone in this opinion. There is a system available that retailers CAN be a part of which is a data base to scan the drug, I. D. etc…and flag or reject the sale IF someone has bought same drug at another participating retailer. Well it is not mandantory so unfortunately every retailer does not participate. We are in the program and YES it is a hassle but as a professional who happens to care about people… METH destroys Live and it’s worth the hassle to try to prevent the abuse. Making the med recquire a rx would allow the doctor to do due dilligence and in their exam would KNOW hopefully whether it is truly needed and treat the patient appropriately. The access is too easy and too few of controls to prevent the abuse= TOO much on the street= Too many lives ruined
REGARDING:
“The old Soviet Union didn’t have drug problems like we do. From what I’ve read, most of what their people needed was issued to them. ”
Taken from them and from others, then doled out as the officials saw fit. Much of it stuck in the hands of the officials.
Also, I know many do not consider alcoholism a drug problem but I do and under that definition, the USSR had a VERY bad drug problem.
They also had shortages of everything. Supply wasn’t tied to demand but to policy. Policy would set production goals and when those were met, government run businesses would shut down until the next production cycle–sometimes ten months away.
Some of the smartest people in the world got by on far less than our welfare recipients demand.
I was visiting the beach 17 kilometres south of Luanda with some Russian friends one Sunday afternoon many years back. They were staying in a little grass hut.
I asked who owned the huts.
They explained local fishermen owned them and that they rented them out to expatriates on weekends for money. Then Nadia da Assis explained much to me when she added, “But we are Russian. We take.”
National mindset.
David thinking we don’t need to “progress” to thugocracy
that the cure is worse than the disease
The old Soviet Union didn?t have drug problems like we do. From what I?ve read, most of what their people needed was issued to them. What they did buy was from the government store. They couldn?t just go out and buy all this stuff. I think we need to take good fresh look at how they did things back then. We could learn a lot and improve our system of government. All this stuff about crack labs would soon be just a bad memory.
Escambia Reader and WaterLady.
The world does not revolve around you both.
If requiring a prescription for meds would even SLOW down the production, isnt that worth it?
Even though it would not be as convenient for you to get your sinus problem meds, it could save lives.
Stop criticizing people trying to help. Try thinking about others, your son,daughter, grandchildren, co-worker, or friend could be the life you save by just a SMALL inconvience.
I am in favor of requiring a signature to buy this stuff. In fact, I think that we should be signing for everything we buy. The FBI could keep records of everything and then use it to enforce the law. For example, if someone used a milk jug purchased from the Piggly Wiggly to make a fire bomb, the FBI would know just who all purchased those milk jugs. They could check it out and get the bad guys. We would all be safer as a result.
how much lye does it take?
is the lye consumed in the reactions?
are they dumping perfectly good lye?
David thinking meth manufacturers should be more environmentlally conscious
To Terri, guess it is easier for a clerk to look away and ignore what;s going on, rather than get involved….sad, but true
I talked to a man who owns a hardware store in Pensacola the other day and he told me he sold a lot of lye, then made the comment that he knew everyone in town that bought lye and he knew what they were doing with it…didn’t matter to him as long as he was selling something. They shouldn’t be allowed to sell that type of stuff either, should make them present a drivers license so at least the cops could go check them out….you know when there are lots and lots of dofferent cars coming and going at all hours of the day and night at certain houses that that type of thing is going on. Sad thing is, a lot of cops KNOW where this activity goes on and probably know some of the people selling and ,making it, but they turn their heads the other way. This will always be a problem, especially when small, poor rural communities are concerned.
Just goes to show it does not matter how many laws are passed if they are not enforced it will continue. Control subtances are like weapons it only effects the law abiding citizens. Criminals will get what they want regardless of the law and control of what ever it is.
I was in Wal-Mart the other day at the pharmacy counter talking to a clerk.The clerk next to me was checking a guy out that had 6 boxes of that medication.I looked at my clerk and raised my eyebrows,she shrugged her shoulders and looked away.I bet the other clerk was benefiting in some way for selling that guy that much medicine.He looked like he had hada bad sinus headache for a ;life time
Geezzzz – Apparently you’ve never suffered with sinus headaches and problems.
I have, as well as my spouse, suffered with these problems for years. When you have a sinus headache, you need relief immediately. You don’t have time, nor do you feel like waiting several days, to see a doctor only to sit in the waiting room, waiting hours to get a prescription for a medicine that should have never been taken off the market to begin with. I totally agree with stiffer penalties for the people who make the poison to begin with. Just on this website in the last several weeks one there were two members of one family arrested for being in possession of ingredients to make the drug. I guess when the first person was arrested and let go with a slap on the wrist , the second person thought, Hey, if he can get away with it, why can’t I?, and so the cycle goes on and on. The problem with this is that the ones of us who try to live right and need meds for our sinus problems have to be treated as suspicious persons when we go to get the meds we need. When the people who make the illegal drugs are made to answer for their mistakes, then and only then, will those of us who truly need these legal meds are able to get them without any problems. I believe the problem falls at the feet of the judicial system.
geezzzz,
Again, adding more laws, restrictions, or red tape is NOT going to stop a drug addict from getting drugs, legally or otherwise. It’s the same as what another post said: should we do away with cars because some people choose to drive recklessly and harm others? I didn’t say we should look the other way. There are already laws in place to arrest and prosecute people who abuse drugs, whether they are OTC or prescription drugs. I completely support those laws and the prosecution of the people who break them. But, I don’t believe creating MORE laws that infringe on the legal activities of the average citizen will lessen the drug abuse problem, it will only make it more difficult for people who actually need medicine to get it.
How wonderful! Another addict locked up. I hope they go and arrest everyone on the owe sheet too! You know who you are. I’m all for the RX idea, but that just makes more $ for the Drs. who will write a prescriptoin for for anyone.
I hope they get the people who’s names are on that list too….they are just as guilty for buying it as she is for making it….that escambia county education she may (or may not have) came in handy for her career didn’t it?
Waterlady,
You feel it doesn’t matter how much time and money you throw at drugs,
ppl will do it anyway, so I guess we are just suppose to look the otherway,
do nothing, and continue to watch kids ruin their lives, and die.
As far as i’m concerned take the stupid drug off the market and I’ll just
put up with the headache and sinus problems.
Compared to that getting a prescription and standing in line would b e
a piece of cake.
Amen Century Pharmacy !
I agree with Waterlady. Regular Sudaphed works for me. I buy a box of 24 for a family of three; it lasts about six months.
Maybe we should require a prescription for table salt. Or lithium batteries. Or brake fluid. They are all used too.
To geezzzz,
It’s more than a matter of inconvenience. I agree with Escambia Reader–why should law abiding citizens bear the burden of more aggravation and expense to buy a perfectly safe medication (when used as intended by the manufacturer) because certain people decide to abuse the same medication? Please remember getting a prescription means you have to go to the doctor first, so that’s where the additional aggravation and expense starts. And it’s easy for you to say you’d be willing to stand in line for an hour to get medicine if it will save the life of a kid, but you haven’t actually been forced to do that yet. Standing in line is the least of the problems your suggestion would cause. And I disagree with your statement that “…anything is worth a try…” No, it’s not. With any plan of action, you have to consider the time and cost to implement it versus the benefits that will truly be realized. It doesn’t matter how much money or legislation you throw at the drug problem. People intent on destroying themselves will do it.
The facts are simply this. It’s easy to manufacture,easier to sell. Once a seasoned user gets a few youngsters hooked on this poison, a whole new round of dealers are born. It beats the heck out of working for a living.
reader,
well we sure wouldn’t want to inconvenience you
I have used sinus meds all my life too, but if making an rx out of that ingredient
would save some of the kids in this countries lives, i would stand in line for an hour.
I also agree with the pharmacy, i believe that just might help a little, anything
is worth a try.
Go to your web search and type in “faces of meth”. It’s a shame what some people will turn their life into. Maybe she can turn her life around before she becomes like the people in those pictures. Also, it seems to be quite a bit of this activity going on up here in the north Escambia area. What’s going to become of our country?
friends don’t let friends make meth
Pitiful, isn’t it! Here she is, 24-years-old looking like she’s 40 something, drug dependent, and on her way to jail. I bet her mama is real proud right now. Stupid is as stupid does.
“Century Pharmacy” – Your suggestion to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine makes about as much sense as saying ‘because some people speed in their cars, no one is allowed to drive and must ride the bus get where they need to go’. All requiring a prescription will do is create more hassle and expense for the legitimate users of the medicine and more money for the doctors and pharmacies. A person that is planning to abuse a medicine will find a way to get it. There is no shortage of stories of prescription drug abuse to support this.
I have sinus issues and use pseudoephedrine on a fairly regular basis. I should not be penalized for the actions of others. I agree that something needs to be done, but requiring prescriptions is not the answer. I do not know what will work. Maybe stiffer sentencing for convictions, maybe requiring those convicted to actually serve the entire sentence.
If you look at the list of ingredients use to make meth, most sensible people will agree that putting this in your body is stupid. One thing is for certain – you cannot legislate stupid out of existence.
It’s sure gotten hard to get, I used to get a pack of them for energy every now and then working doubles, and now I can’t find a single gas station that carries them anymore
Voters should call for pseudoephedrine to require a prescription! Just signing for it is not enough to stop the abuse. There is too much pharmacy hopping to buy boxes if the med from multiple sources. Recquiring a Rx would surely slow the meth problem down!