Police bust meth lab across from Elkhart school

by Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)

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Police arrested 47-year-old Stacy Renee Dennis and 39-year-old Lisa Ritchie in connection with a meth lab found in a home across from Elkhart Central High School

Police arrested 47-year-old Stacy Renee Dennis (left) and 39-year-old Lisa Ritchie (right) in connection with a meth lab found in a home across from Elkhart Central High School on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. (Photos provided)

By Tiffany Griffin

Story Created: Apr 16, 2008 at 9:41 AM EST

Story Updated: Apr 18, 2008 at 10:09 AM EST

ELKHART — Elkhart County was third in the state last year for the number of meth labs dismantled by Indiana State Police. This month alone, they dealt with four in the county. That includes one found Tuesday night across from Central High School.

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"This is essentially a bomb waiting to explode,” said Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill as he stood outside a home in the 400-block of Goshen Avenue, across the street from Elkhart Central High School.

Tuesday night police went into the home armed with a search warrant. In the basement they found six separate meth labs. Three were in stages of cooking the drug, and three others were inactive.

“There was quite a haul in the basement,” he said. “It appears they're getting more and more bold to come in densely populated areas."

At the home next door they found a distribution center for the meth.

He says it is not uncommon to see many smaller meth operations like this in the city. He also says the price for meth brought in from Mexico has tripled.

“Which means it’s very, very scary,” Hill said. “That being the case we are seeing a rise in the so-called mom and pop operation when people are trying to cook their own because they’re having difficulty getting the meth from the traditional imported sources."

Even so, one neighbor was surprised the lab was found on his street.

"Yes, I was very surprised,” he told WSBT News. “I mean, I didn't know it was existing.”

Police say each meth lab was capable of producing up to $6,000 worth of meth.

They arrested 47-year-old Stacy Renee Dennis and 39-year-old Lisa Ritchie.

Police also found a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old who were being watched by Ritchie while their mother was at work. The mother was contacted and came to the scene to pick up her children.

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