A routine traffic stop led to multiple arrests on methamphetamine manufacturing charges when Dothan police discovered the occupants of the car had been making the drug in a hotel room, Dothan Police Sgt. Rachel David said.
According to a Dothan Police Department press release, on Sunday Dothan police conducted a routine traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Matthew Swerengin and occupied by passengers Lindsey Ann Clark and Christopher Emery. During the stop, Swearengin admitted all three vehicle occupants had left the Knights Inn on Ross Clark Circle where a meth lab was located.
The release said a fourth suspect, Shaun Paul Davis, had rented the room and was still at the hotel. Police visited the hotel and smelled a strong chemical smell near the room. They obtained a search warrant and found samples of a bi-layered liquid, about two grams of meth, a bag containing chemicals used in the production of the drug, two handguns and scales.
Swerengin, Clark, Emery and Davis were all arrested and charged with first degree manufacturing, possession of precursor chemicals and trafficking methamphetamine. Davis was also charged with first degree manufacturing related to another incident of meth-making at the Westgate Inn. Police said Davis had rented a room there and was responsible for a meth lab fo u nd there.
According to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, the average cost to clean up a meth lab is around $5,000, but some can cost $100,000 or more to clean .
Copyright 2011 - Dothan Eagle, Ala.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
