Three arrested on meth charges in Red Bay

RED BAY – While serving warrants in an unrelated case, officers with the Red Bay Police Department discovered an active meth lab at a residence where they took three people into custody for their involvement.

Dennis Dewayne McCarley, 33, 751 Highway 72, Red Bay; Jamie Milam, 33, 1102 Meadow Lane, Red Bay; and Tobi Hall, 28, 146 Blue Grass Road, Hamilton were all charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance, drug trafficking and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, Red Bay Police Chief Janna Jackson said.

According to Jackson, the Belmont, Miss., Police Department had felony warrants in an unrelated case for a female believed to be staying at a residence on Meadow Lane in Red Bay.

Officers with the RBPD went with the officers from BPD to serve the warrants at 4:30 on Saturday, but when officers arrived on the scene, Jackson said they noticed several items that appeared to be drug paraphernalia.

“After officers got consent to search the residence, they discovered a meth lab in the dryer that was in the process of cooking off,” Jackson said. “This was a very dangerous situation, so we evacuated the trailer.”

Jackson said the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department sent a certified meth lab technician to safely remove the hazardous material from the residence while the RBPD and the Red Bay Fire Department assisted.

“This meth lab was at a very dangerous stage where the pressure in the bottle had to be released every so often or it would explode,” Jackson said. “Even the certified technician had to release the pressure before he could remove the lab from the residence. Several people could have been hurt in this situation.”

McCarley, Milam and Hall remain in custody at the Franklin County Jail on bonds of $4,500 each.