12:27 pm 2 men arrested for entering quarantined property
Two men who were collecting scrap metal Wednesday in Roan Mountain have been arrested and charged for entering a quarantined property, the site of two methamphetamine labs last year.
Photo by Robert Sorrell - Two men have been arrested for going onto a quarantined property to retrieve scrap metal. Deputy James Stevens said the two men were charged with quarantine of property. The property had been quarantined last year after deputies discovered two clandestine methamphetamine labs.
Deputy James Stevens of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department said he was on regular patrol in the area of Holly Hill Road and Old Railroad Grade Road in Roan Mountain. At approximately 1:20 p.m., Stevens said he saw a black pickup truck backed into a garage at 127 Holly Hill Road, The property was quarantined on Aug. 5, 2011 by Investigator Travis Ludlow after two methamphetamine labs were found over the summer.
A yellow Notice of Quarantine sign remains visible on the front door of the building.
Two men there, James Douglas Jones and Robert Paul Gibbs, stated they were there to collect scrap. They had already filled the 1995 Nissan Frontier with scrap metal from the quarantined building, Stevens said.
Jones, 41 of 267 Buck Mountain Road, Roan Mountain, was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with failure to appear. Sgt. Harmon Duncan arrived and spoke to Gibbs, who stated that Eddie Elliott had given him permission to take scrap metal from the property. Gibbs, 49, of 3619 Greenwood Drive, Johnson City, said he did not read the quarantine sign, which Stevens said was in clear view of the entrance. Both men said another subject had brought them to the location and he would return to pick them up. The truck was registered to another individual and was towed by the Sheriff’s Department.
Jones and Gibbs were both arrested and charged with violation of quarantine of property. According to Tennessee code, it is a Class B misdemeanor to enter onto quarantine property without federal, state, county or municipal government authorization.
It is also illegal to inhabit a quarantined property, to offer quarantined property to the public for temporary or indefinite habitation or to remove any signs or notices of the quarantine. Each offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
The purpose of the quarantine is to prevent exposure of any person to the hazards associated with methamphetamine and the chemicals associated with the drug’s manufacture. Local law enforcement can quarantine any property where the manufacture of a controlled substance is conducted, according to the Tennessee code.
The law enforcement agency, such as the Sheriff’s Department in this case, is responsible for posting signs indicating the property has been quarantined and all parties associated with the property must be notified, including any lienholder.
The resident, such as Elliott, can file a petition in court in order for the quarantine to be lifted. Elliott must provide one of two reasons, that the property was wrongfully quarantined or that the property has been properly cleaned.
In most cases involving meth labs, a quarantine can be lifted if the property is properly cleaned, which means all hazardous materials be removed and that it is safe for human use.
On June 9 and Aug. 6, deputies from the Sheriff’s Department discovered and dismantled clandestine meth labs at the Holly Hill property, which features two buildings. During the first investigation, officers found “shake and bake” bottles at the property and about 10 gallons of waste was removed. No arrests were made at the time.
Then on the morning of Aug. 6, a mobile home on the property caught fire. A man who lived in the destroyed mobile home, Eddie Elliott, and a woman said they were inside the adjacent buildings, an old block school house and an attached metal building. Because investigators were at the property once before, they received consent to search the buildings.
Agents found several items associated with “shake and bake” meth labs, including several cans of fuel, bottles of pseudoephedrine and 20-ounce bottles. There was also a burn pile behind the buildings, which is typical for meth labs.
Elliott has been indicted by the grand jury for initiation of process to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is to return to Carter County Criminal Court on Feb. 3.
Gibbs and Jones are scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on Feb. 6.
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