A raid conducted shortly after noon on Thursday, Oct. 15, exposed a home laboratory for creating methamphetamine and resulted in two arrests. Ashe County Sheriff James Williams said that the raid, conducted by the Sheriff’s Department’s Narcotics Division and the State Bureau of Investigation, located the meth lab at 206 Bower Calloway Road in Jefferson.

Williams said that the investigation had been “going on for some time.” Williams said that the owner of the residence, 26-year-old Kacha Lane Wood, was arrested, along with 38-year-old Michael Gwyn Mash of Jefferson. Both have been charged with felony manufacturing methamphetamine, felony keeping/maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of selling controlled substances and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Williams noted that despite the bust, meth labs are down in Ashe County.

“We’ve got as much meth, or more than ever, but the labs have slacked off a little bit,” he said, “maybe due to the fact that they’ve made the ingredients to manufacture the meth a lot harder to get to now, a lot harder to purchase, by putting the pseudoephedrine and other precursor chemicals (behind the counter) and limiting how much you can buy.

“It makes it a lot harder for them to get the stuff,” he continued, “but we still have a certain amount of people out here that have a lot of folks out shopping every day to get enough to make meth with. We still have a lab every once and a while.” He noted that much of the methamphetamine in the county “is being piped in here from Mexico and other places.”

Williams said that residents can keep an eye for several warning signs such as a lot of human traffic at a residence, people “up at all hours of the night” and strange odors (such as a sulfuric or rotten egg smells). Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers at (336) 846-4188 or the Sheriff’s Department at (336) 846-5600.

Williams also said that the arrests are another small step in fighting meth.

“Every time we make a bust like that, that’s less drugs in our county that’s ruining lives and going to the kids out here,” said Williams. “It’s just one step at a time, but we keep fighting it.”

Wood and Mash are currently being held at the Ashe County Jail under a $100,000 secured bond for the felonies and a $500 secured bond for the misdemeanor.

Eldridge Killed in Accident

An accident at the Riverview Convenience Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13, proved fatal for a Creston man. George Eldridge, 74, parked his vehicle by the dumpsters at the convenience center, located beside the Riverview Community Center, when the vehicle came out of gear.

According to a report filed by N.C. State Trooper Denny Parunak, Eldridge “walked to the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle came out of gear and rolled back, striking” Eldridge and pinning him between the truck and the dumpster.

Representatives from the Jefferson Police Department and the Creston Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. Eldridge was transported to Ashe Memorial Hospital, where he later passed away.

Ashe Trio Arrested in Boone

The Boone Police Department announced the arrests of three Ashe County men in connection to vehicle break-ins at shopping centers in Boone. Boone Police arrested Derrick Chad Anderson, 27; Anthony Shane Anderson, 28; and Austin James Morrow, 24. Each man was charged with three counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, three counts of misdemeanor larceny from a motor vehicle and three counts of damage to property.

According to the BPD, the arrests are connected to three vehicle break-ins at Shadowline Shopping Center in Boone.

Derrick and Anthony Anderson were also charged with one count each of larceny stemming from a similar incident at the Food Lion located on U.S. 421 east of Boone.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 20, all three men are being held at Watauga County Detention Center in lieu of a $13,000 secured bond. They are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 17.