Two Sentenced In Lake Meth Lab Case

July 11, 2011

Two Century men have been sentenced in connection with a case in which  meth — not fish — was being cooked at a Century lake.

Mitchell Herman Dunsford, 25, of Else Davis Road, was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for time served, 24 months probation and ordered to pay $1,143 in court costs. Adjudication was withheld after Dunsford pleaded guilty to charges of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Shaunathon Wayne Qualls, 26, of Campbell Road, was also sentenced to 24 months probation and 50 hours community service. He pleaded no contest to charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a listed chemical.

In early April, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered  an active methamphetamine lab in a wooded area on the shore of a gravel lake at the end of Cedar Street, just south of Old Flomaton Road. A portion of the meth lab — the bottle used in the actual manufacturing process — was tossed into a nearby stream.

Dunsford reportedly ran from deputies, leading to a brief, unsuccessful manhunt. While the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was working to test and remove the meth lab, Dunsford returned to the scene with a relative.

Along with the drug paraphernalia, deputies also discovered fishing equipment — rods and reels and live bait.

Pictured top: Deputy David Bashore works to remove a bottle that was allegedly part of a meth lab thrown into a stream that feeds a gravel lake in Century. Pictured inset: The alleged active meth lab. Pictured below: Some of the items believed to have been used in connection with meth lab. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Two Sentenced In Lake Meth Lab Case”

  1. Shaun Qualls on April 15th, 2013 8:22 am

    I really hope people can change there lives before it is too late I happen to and I am grateful now I live with epilepsy and pseudo-seizures all the time I don’t know if it was from the drug use from the past but I hope my story will at least change one person live, I seen several of my friends die, lie and steal and go back to prison for life just to get high I caused a bad name to myself and to society why it all starts with just a bad choice and then it will take you whole life, I know i had a bad one and changed my ways but for many its too late. please if u reading this don’t start with marijuana or pills cause it truly is a gateway drug. I am sorry to my community and to my family, I hope this will reach someone. I look back at all the mugshots and I am so sadden with myself. I use to want to be a preacher when I was little, maybe this was a wake up call to help someone or people to get off drugs.

  2. shaun qualls on January 6th, 2013 7:31 pm

    I am really sorry to everybody in my community I really have learned my lesson, I have been clean since 2011 I just wish I had someone there when I needed them, Drugs isn’t the answer, I look back and it turns my stomach. I am sorry EVERYONE..

    Shau

  3. Mrs. Stacey on July 12th, 2011 3:26 pm

    OMG! This makes me sick to my stomache. What kind of justice system do we have. We are no longer safe. Why do these people get away with cooking meth? Do people not realize what this drug does to people. What is it going to take for meth heads to get a real punishment?

  4. sick on July 12th, 2011 12:14 pm

    makes u wonder why they invest manpower to go find criminals like this if they are just gonna get probation. Why pay people to look for these kinds of people…concentrate on idiots like the guy at walmart holding the 2 women up with a gun…I’d much rather pay for that! You know, when a person holds 2 women up (or anyone else) with a gun, hopefully they won’t wonder why they will eventually get shot and killed!

  5. Angi B. on July 12th, 2011 11:54 am

    WOW! you mean to tell me, this is all they are getting for punishment? There are people that go swimming at these lakes, I would really hate to know that some innocent people went out there to take their children for a fun day out of swimming, and they all get blown away, from others stupidity of having a meth lab out there, which is highly explodeable. We’ll be reading about them again very very shortly, with the same crap; if not something else worse to go along with it!!!

  6. Kay on July 12th, 2011 9:56 am

    PROBATION

    That’ll teach em…………
    Bet they’re scared to death and they will never cook drugs again…..
    oooh Judge your so mean…..

  7. dad on July 11th, 2011 6:27 pm

    Wow! What a joke of a sentence. The woman up north is likely to get more jail time than them for planting a garden in her front yard. What a sad state of affairs.

  8. jcellop on July 11th, 2011 10:30 am

    dang!…in addition to the court costs, they BOTH should have been made to split the amount that it costs WE taxpayers to clean up THEIR meth lab area….believe me, it costs a bundle too!

  9. A Biased And Flawed Society on July 11th, 2011 7:56 am

    wow..THAT’S ALL??

    i know many young men (make your own assumption of their physical description) who have gotten 10 and 15 year sentences for marijuana only and were first time offenders..but we’ve seen lately, even with last week’s so called trial of the century, who the justice system is set up for and against…. who gets away with what and who does not get away with the same crimes…

  10. Bob on July 11th, 2011 7:49 am

    Sounds like a light sentence, but sooner than you think this will be a petty crime. If you were to round up all the 18 to35 year old people that are hooked on this poison, there would not be enough room in all the prisons in Florida to hold them.

  11. Tisa on July 11th, 2011 7:44 am

    That was a really light sentence. It was probably hard to give more because they showed up at the scene rather than being busted while cooking. The kids could have walked if not for confessing to the officers. And yes ,Meth makes you completely moronic. This drug has no prejudice. I seen adults and kid of all walks of life on this stuff. They function normally until there so bad off you start to plan there funeral. I hope the judge ordered extra random drug testing for these kids. Seeing that this stuff is out of the urine system within 48 hours, the normal once a month test from the PO officer wont work and they’ll be back at it again. I feel for there family.

  12. 429SCJ on July 11th, 2011 6:18 am

    What a pair of idiots! Dunsford escapes, then returns to the scene? That meth must really screw up a persons powers of reason and deliberation. I wonder what it is about those gravel lakes that attracts idiots?, magnetite Fe Q 3 4 ?

  13. Tracy on July 11th, 2011 5:49 am

    Seems like a pretty light sentence to me….wonder if they have “connections”..? If they are on meth we will be seeing them AGAIN in the news…stealing or cooking…

  14. EJ on July 11th, 2011 5:39 am

    That is what is considered a sentence for meth manufacturing with intent to distribute? They’ll be back in business before the ink drys.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News