Two toddlers found in Sunny View home
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) uncovered the largest methamphetamine laboratory in Polk County’s history on Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The meth lab was discovered in the Sunny View community. Jessica Nicole Hardin, 22, of 3201 Hwy. 9 North, Columbus, was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine precursor, both felonies, according to Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill.
Jason Carroll Barnes, 33, also of 3201 Hwy. 9 North, Columbus, was initially on the run, but the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office arrested him yesterday, Aug. 25 in Spartanburg, S.C., Hill said. Barnes will also be charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine precursor.
Charges are also pending relating to having children in the home while manufacturing methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office. A 1-year-old and a 2½ -year-old were living in the home, according to sheriff reports.
The sheriff’s office investigated the home on Aug. 24.
Sheriff officials called the SBI, who classified the lab as “large,” with an ongoing operation yielding “significant” amounts.
Items found in the home included pseudoephedrine, sulfuric acid, acetone and sodium hydroxide, as well as various containers commonly used in manufacturing methamphetamine, according to sheriff officers.
A contracted hazardous material team was called in from Lenoir, N.C., to clean up the chemicals found in the home.
“Because of the two kids in the house, we had to move on this quickly,” Hill said. “There was a one-year-old and a 2½-year-old living there.”
The children were placed into the custody of the department of social services (DSS), Hill said.
It has been about four years since a meth lab was discovered in Polk County. The sheriff’s office’s first meth lab bust occurred in 2002, with another discovered in 2003 and two meth labs in 2004. The last meth lab in Polk County was discovered on Edgerton Road in November 2007.