Staff report

Multiple people will be charged with manufacturing methamphetamine after the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office discovered multiple one-pot meth labs at a home on Cannon Street in Rockwell.

On Tuesday, deputies M.T. Poole, M.S. Murray and N.J. Plumley went to the home in the 1400 block of Cannon Street trying to find Betty Jo Linger to serve an order for arrest.

Danny Lee Logan, 46, met deputies at the door of the home and told them Linger was not there. Deputies searched the home, and Plumley opened a bedroom door and immediately smelled smoke and a strong chemical odor.

He opened another door in the bedroom of the trailer and found the source of the smoke in a small bathroom. It appeared to be coming from a black bucket just inside the bathroom door. The deputy said the bucket contained several two-liter soda bottles and he found plastic tubing on the floor. The sink was stained or had burn marks around it. Plumley felt a burning sensation in his nose and throat.

He closed the doors and told the other deputies what he found.

Plumley had experience with meth labs and recognized what he saw.

Deputies evacuated the home, removing Danny Logan, Michael Ray Logan Sr., age 56, Gary Lee Kelly, age 24, and Brittany Leanne Kelly, age 22.

When the four were questioned, all denied knowledge of what was in the bathroom. Michael Logan said his son used that bedroom but had moved out a couple of months earlier.

A certified Clandestine Laboratory Safety Officer from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and described it as a “shake and bake one pot” meth lab.

Deputies maintained the crime scene overnight and got a search warrant Wednesday morning for the home. The Sheriff’s Office, Granite Quarry Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Clandestine Laboratory Response Team searched and processed the crime scene for multiple hours.

Rowan County Emergency Medical Services and the Rockwell Rural Volunteer Fire Department provided site safety assistance.

There were 10 “one pot shake and bake” labs and two chlorine gas generators found in the residence. Evidence at the scene indicated that the manufacturing of methamphetamine had been ongoing for some time. Some finished methamphetamine was also discovered.

Multiple persons will be charged with manufacturing-related charges. The investigation is ongoing.