Men arrested for 92 meth labs

LEFT: Donald Wayne Clark, Jr. | RIGHT: Billy Wayne Clark

A community tip led to the arrest of two cousins last week after 92 meth labs were discovered in their possession, authorities said.

Donald Wayne Clark, Jr., 34, 18966 U.S. 43, Russellville, was charged with 92 counts first-degree manufacturing a controlled substance.

Billy Wayne Clark, 35, 400 Cotaco St., Russellville, was charged with 20 counts of first-degree manufacturing a controlled substance.

According to Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver, this is the largest number of meth labs found in one location in the department’s history.

Oliver said all the labs were one-pot meth labs, which are often referred to as “shake and bake” meth labs because the ingredients are mixed in plastic soda bottles.

Oliver said investigators with the Franklin County Drug Unit received information from concerned citizens who believed there was illegal drug activity taking place at the residence on U.S. 43 N in Russellville.

Oliver said when investigators made an initial visit to the residence, they discovered a one-pot lab on the property, so they obtained a search warrant to go back and conduct a thorough search.

“When the investigators returned to the residence, they ended up finding a total of 92 one-pot labs at the residence,” he said.

“No one was expecting it to be such a large number. This was the most meth labs we have ever found in one place.

“I’m thankful that we received this community tip and that we were able to get all of this cleaned up and out of our community.”

Oliver said it took authorities nearly six hours to clean up the property where the meth labs were found.

“Even just one meth lab can be extremely dangerous, so this was obviously a very dangerous situation,” he said.

Donald Wayne Clark, Jr. was released from custody on a $25,000 bond. Billy Wayne Clark was released on a $12,000 bond.