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Local
man misidentified
as suspect in meth lab bust
By Bill Johnson
of the Desert Journal
State police said Wednesday
that one of the two suspects in Sunday’s bust of a methamphetamine lab
in Truth or Consequences was misidentified as a local man who had nothing
to do with the felony manufacture.
Joyce Greene of Truth or
Consequences said the real suspect, whose true identity became public on
Thursday, apparently had taken some papers, including identification
cards, from the residence of her son, 43-year-old William McMahon.
She said the suspect had
stayed with her son for awhile until her son kicked him out of the house.
“The suspect has my son’s
date of birth and social security number,” Greene said. “The suspect
said he’s William McMahon.”
Greene said she became upset
Tuesday when she heard the news on KCHS radio station and read it later
the same day in the Sierra County Sentinel about her son purportedly being
arrested.
The criminal complaint filed
Monday by state police agent Greg Spain, however, identified the defendant
as William McMahon.
In a phone interview
Wednesday, state police personnel in T or C said, “The defendant is not
William McMahon. The suspect concealed his identification and falsely used
McMahon’s identity. We are still trying to find out who he really is.”
By Thursday, it became
apparent who the suspect was with the filing of an amended criminal
complaint that identified him as Terry Wayne Lawhorn, 38, of 407 Chico NE
in Albuquerque.
Besides Lawhorn, police also
arrested a second suspect, Gordon Allen, 31, while he and Lawhorn
allegedly were “cooking” a batch of methamphetamine at Allen’s
residence at 1605 Corzine Drive in T or C.
City police responded to a
911 hang-up call to find Allen’s two brothers, Griffin and Glen standing
in front of the trailer on Corzine.
The two brothers, according
to agent Spain’s affidavit for arrest warrant, told T or C police
officer Willy Kerin that he “better get back-up because there was
‘cooking’ going on in their trailer,” and that their brother,
Gordon, was inside with an “as-yet unidentified male.”
Police detected a very strong
odor of toxic chemicals as soon as Gordon Allen opened the door, according
to the affidavit. Officer Kerin immediately entered the trailer and saw a
gas can and two cooking pots on the stove along with a large glass dish on
the floor.
Police then put Allen and
Lawhorn, in the rear of police vehicles for their safety, “owing to the
potentially hazardous circumstances that were apparent to the officer at
the time.”
Glen Allen said he arrived
home at his mother’s house with $48 worth of groceries, wanting to cook
dinner. But brother Gordon told him to go away and return in about an hour
or so, according to the affidavit.
“The Allen brothers then
had a discussion in the front yard, after which Glen Allen went inside,
called 911, and hung up,” the affidavit said.
Glen Allen told Officer Kerin
that he had spoken to his brother Gordon while Gordon was seated in the
rear of the police vehicle. “Glen stated that Gordon told him that
‘the meth’ was in the bathroom under the sink. When the officer
assisted Gordon Allen with his handcuffs, he stated to the officer that he
was not the one cooking, but rather the other suspect.
After waiving Miranda rights,
Gordon Allen allegedly told officers they would find in the trailer the
various chemicals used in cooking methamphetamine including red
phosphorous, iodine crystals and burnt oil.
It was 5 a.m. Monday when
state police executed a search warrant signed by District Judge Kevin
Sweazea.
Agent Spain and other
officers with the New Mexico State Police Clandestine Laboratory Team
seized assorted chemicals, paraphernalia, a blender and glassware used in
the manufacture of methamphetamine, the affidavit said.
Charges filed in the Sierra
County Magistrate Court against Allen and Lawhorn include one count each
of trafficking methamphetamine, a controlled substance, by manufacture -
the crime being a second degree felony – and third-degree conspiracy in
which Allen and Lawhorn allegedly combined together to commit felony
trafficking.
In the amended complaint
filed Thursday, Lawhorn also was charged with concealing identity, a petty
misdemeanor.
According to a former meth
cook, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, it costs about $100 to procure
easily-accessible chemicals to produce one ounce of methamphetamine and
from six to 12 hours to cook it with unsophisticated equipment.
The street value ranges,
depending on the quantity sold – usually weighing one-sixteenth of an
ounce or slightly less than two grams - but meth or “speed” can sell
for as much as $20 to $25 per quarter gram to as little as $50 for the
“sixteenth,” depending on the source of the “crank” or
“speed.”
The reformed cook said a
single dose for him was on the high end, weighing about a half gram –
which could be deadly to the novice or inexperienced user - and that the
quality he was accustomed to would make his eyes roll to the back of his
head with the high lasting about an hour.
Meth users either snort,
smoke, or intravenously inject the substance. Meth’s long-term usage can
lead to a life of crime, primarily stealing or dealing drugs, to support
the habit. The meth cook said his habit had reached $1,500 a week - pocket
change compared to the $1,000 to $2,000 in daily sales.
Meth also has been known to
destroy families and healthy relationships. The reformed meth cook said he
left his wife and child after his wife became hooked again and it seemed
hopeless that she would rehabilitate.
The number one give-away for
any meth lab is the noxious chemical odors it emits. Such cases should be
reported immediately to law enforcement for further investigation.
Magistrate Tom Pestak set
bond for Allen at $50,000 cash or surety and set bond for Lawhorn at
$100,000 cash only during their first appearance Thursday morning. Both
are being detained in the Socorro County facility because of overcrowding
in the local jail, court personnel said.
Both defendants are
unemployed and were appointed attorneys Thursday. They entered no plea to
the charges.
The magistrate court set a
preliminary hearing for the co-defendants on a trailing docket for 9 a.m.
Tuesday, June 19.
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