Meth lab bust nets 2 arrests in Clark County

UPDATE 8/18 @ 5 p.m.- A man pleaded not guilty to drug charges after sheriff's deputies discovered him allegedly cooking methamphetamine in his elderly mother's home.

Michael R. Gilbert, 52, and his girlfriend, Melissa J. Keeton, 40, were arrested and charged Friday after deputies and a prison parole officer discovered a possible meth operation at the home in Bethel Twp., said Maj. Russell Garman of the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

Keeton was a wanted parolee who ran into the house and locked the front door when the officer of the Ohio Department of Rebabilitation and Correction's Adult Parole Authority and deputies got out of a vehicle in front of the home, the sheriff's report said.

"Once inside the house, they located a meth cook inside the house," Garman said.

Gilbert admitted to deputies he was making meth in the home. He was booked on suspicion of illegal manufacturing of drugs and illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for manufacture of drugs, both felony charges.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday morning in court and is booked in the Clark County Jail on $50,000 bond, according to court records.

Garman said the meth lab discovered wasn't a large operation, but that he was likely cooking drugs for himself, his girlfriend and perhaps some friends.

Keeton was charged by the prison officers with a possible parole violation, Garman added.

Earlier Story- An 85-year-old woman had to be removed from her home this afternoon after authorities found a suspected meth lab in her basement.

The woman's 52-year-old son Michael R. Gilbert and his 40-year-old girlfriend Melissa J. Keeton are in the Clark County Jail after deputies and a prison parole officer discovered a possible methamphetamine operation around 2:45 p.m. at the home at 516 Caldwell Circle, said Maj. Russell Garman of the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

Keeton was a wanted parolee, who ran into the house and locked the front door when the officer of the Ohio Department of Rebabilitation and Correction's Adult Parole Authority and deputies got out of a vehicle in front of the home.

"Once inside the house, they located a meth cook inside the house," he said.

They cleared the residence of its three occupants, including the 85-year-old woman in a wheelchair, and blocked the street until local firefighters and a federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force could dispose of the hazardous materials, Garman said.

Gilbert admitted to deputies he was making meth in the home. He was booked on suspicion of illegal manufacturing of drugs and illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for manufacture of drugs, both felony charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, according to online jail records.

Garman said it wasn't a large operation, but that he was likely cooking drugs for himself, his girlfriend and perhaps some friends.

Keeton was charged by the prison officers with a possible parole violation, Garman said.

The 85-year-old woman initially was taken across the street to a neighbor's house, where she waited until her daughter could come get her, Garman said.

Nearby homes were not evacuated, but deputies asked neighbors to stay inside during the investigation and cleanup.

This is not the first time deputies have busted a meth lab at the home, Garman said.

Gilbert in June 2005 was booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of illegal manufacturing of drugs, online jail records show.

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