Man arrested for allegedly cooking meth in home where three children reside

Fri, 01/17/2020 - 6:15pm

    JACKSON — A Jackson man was arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine laboratory in a home shared by a woman and her three children under the age of 12, according to Waldo County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jason Trundy. 

    Jacob M. Webber, 29, has been charged with unlawful operation of a methamphetamine laboratory and endangering the welfare of a child following his Jan. 10 arrest. Webber has previously served time for operating a meth lab, according to Trundy.

    Trundy said the Sheriff’s Office had been asked by a worker with the Department of Health and Human Services to accompany them on a safety check of the three involved children. 

    After traveling to the home, the mother of the children denied that Webber was in the home or had lived there during or prior to the safety check. A safety sweep of the home was requested by the DHHS worker, which the children’s mother reportedly agreed to, though she denied anyone else was in the home, or that there was anything dangerous for children there. 

    While searching the home police narrowed in on one bedroom that reportedly held items that “could be” used to make meth, prompting law enforcement to investigate the room more thoroughly. Webber was ultimately found in one of the room’s closets, hiding under a blanket and in possession of suspected meth-making paraphernalia. 

    Trundy said deputies contacted the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with pictures of the suspected items, with MDEA agents confirming the items are used in the meth-making process, which is a notoriously unstable and dangerous process. 

    The presence of the equipment meant the scene had to be treated as a hazmat scene, requiring a special team to be brought in by the state to ensure the area was cleaned safely. 

    The three children that reside in the home were taken for medical evaluation following Webber’s arrest. 

    No charges have been filed against the children’s mother. 


    Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com