Another meth lab grabbed

A Troy couple is facing numerous felony charges related to the operation of a methamphetamine lab at a trailer home in the Falls Creek area.

Douglas Barry Dutton, 43, and Amy Lucille Bednarcyzk, 33, have each been charged with felony counts of production of dangerous drugs, operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory, possession of precursors to dangerous drugs and possession of methamphetamine along with misdemeanor counts of marijuana possession. Dutton is also charged with use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture, meaning his trailer home and the property on which it sits could be seized.

According to an affidavit filed in district court by a detective investigating the case, the Crimestoppers organization received a tip last March that Dutton was operating a methamphetamine lab at his home at 404 Falls Creek Road. The detective reported that he was told by an employee of a Troy store in July that Dutton had bought items used in the manufacture of the drug. The clerk described a woman who was sometimes with Dutton when he purchased the items and provided a description and license plate number of the vehicle he drove.

In November, a Troy police officer contacted another detective with the sheriff¹s office regarding additional suspicious purchases by Dutton at stores around Troy.

On Nov. 26, a sheriff¹s deputy contacted the detective who filed the affidavit and reported that Dutton had bought two boxes of matches and a bottle of ³Heet² - items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine — and that the receipts had been collected as evidence. Later on the same day, the detective saw Dutton go into the IGA grocery store in Troy. According to the affidavit, the detective asked a clerk at the store to save him a copy of Dutton¹s receipt, and the receipt showed that he had bought nasal decongestant — a key ingredient in methamphetamine — and matches. A few days later, another detective collected receipts from another store that showed Dutton had bought more cold tablets and lye, which is also used in the production of methamphetamine.

Dutton and Bednarcyzk were taken into custody when officers executed a search warrant at Dutton¹s trailer on Dec. 3. According to court documents, small amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana along with a glass pipe were found in the living room, various lab items including a cooler containing lye, a glass beaker, a propane torch and three plastic jugs containing layered liquids were found under the kitchen sink, and containers of various chemicals associated with methamphetamine production were found in a metal trunk in a shed.

Both Dutton and Bednarcyzk were jailed on $25,000 bond.