Couple charged with third meth lab
A local couple faces federal charges after they were busted with a meth lab for the third time in a year Thursday morning.
The suspects, James Riley Stacy, 49, and his wife, Edna Elaine Stacy, 52, were reportedly in possession of their third meth lab when lawmen came to arrest them on federal meth trafficking warrants Thursday morning at their home on Greenwood Drive.
“We arrested them in August and again this January and that’s what brought the federal charges,” Matheny said. “Then we go back Thursday to serve the federal warrant and what do we find, another meth lab.”
Along with the lab, Matheny said officers found about 10 grams of finished meth on the premises.
“The smell was strong enough to knock you down in there,” Matheny said, adding the Stacys’ 10-year-old child was in the home and appeared to be suffering from health problems, possibly due to the meth production.
Matheny said child services was brought in and he anticipates the child will be removed.
“I read a report recently that said that of the 400 children removed from homes because of meth across the state, 120 of them, or about one fourth, were here in Warren County,” Matheny said. “I don’t know how to take it. In one sense it’s sad so many children are being exposed to this stuff but on the other hand, we’re able to get them out of that environment.”
The fact the Stacys were taken to federal court means the couple will likely face a much longer prison sentence if convicted than if they were tried here. Federal sentences tend to run significantly longer than state sentences and federal prosecutors do not offer early release through probation.