Speeding SUV had active mobile meth lab in rear seat

Published 12:30 pm Friday, January 30, 2015

An Indiana man was arrested Thursday afternoon after authorities stopped his speeding vehicle and found meth production materials in the rear seat of the vehicle.

According to police reports, Linton, Indiana, resident Jeffery S. Griffith, 38, was stopped by Indiana State Police Trooper Brent Robinson when his 1999 Ford SUV was clocked traveling 85 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone on Indiana State Road 54. Upon initial inspection, Griffith was found to be driving with an invalid state driver’s license.

It was later during the traffic stop just southeast of Sullivan, Ind., Robinson and a team including fellow officers Sgt. Tom Hannon, Timothy Henning and Byron Goodman discovered that Griffith was in possession of a small amount of suspected methamphetamine and had an active “one pot” meth lab running in the back seat area of the SUV. Following the discovery of the mobile meth lab, the unit was dismantled by the ISP Putnamville Meth Suppression Unit Troopers Adam Edwards, Shilo Raulston, B.J. Patterson and Erik Smith.

Immediately, Griffith was arrested and taken to the Sullivan County Jail on preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of precursors, illegal dumping of controlled waste, maintaining a common nuisance and reckless possession of paraphernalia, all felonies in the state of Indiana.