Three people were arrested at an Eden Prairie Subdivision duplex this month, after police searched their home and allegedly found drugs and items commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Working on a confidential tip, Cuba police kept surveillance on a condominium at 201B Eden Prairie Court, executing a search warrant at the residence. According to Police Chief Paul Crow, officers from his department uncovered “finished meth product on a scale, possible synthetics, and a nonfunctioning lab out in the garage.”

Officer Adam Carnal stated in talking with the homeowner Greta Kay Ray, she denied any knowledge of methamphetamine production going on in her home. She told Carnal there was marijuana in the residence but did not know of any meth. However, in her bedroom police discovered a small baggy containing a white powder substance and several glass pipes on a nightstand next to the bed. Also found were several pills identified as Methylin, a Schedule 2 stimulant.

“In the kitchen area,” stated Officer Carnal in his probable cause statement, “was a scale with a baggy containing a white powdery substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, a plate with white powdery residue that field tested positive for methamphetamine, and a foil pipe. Two baggies containing a white powdery substance and a glass pipe were located in the drawer beneath the same area. Beneath the sink were three cans of drain cleaner, a bottle of Coleman fuel, and a bottle of muriatic acid. I also located several used coffee filters and several baggies with corners cut off in the kitchen trash can. In the cabinets a coffee grinder with a white powdery substance was located and a large canister of MSM believed to be used to mix with the methamphetamine. In the garage, a two liter soda bottle with tubing was located, a can of Coleman fuel, a can of Heet, a bottle of drain opener, and a gallon muriatic acid was located.”

All of the items mentioned by Carnal in his report are used in the production of methamphetamine.

Two others suspects were also detained and later taken into custody at the scene. Robert Paul Carey of Sullivan was found in the kitchen during the police search. Carey said the items in the kitchen belonged to him and he was not responsible for anything else found in the home. He told police he had not been manufacturing meth but had purchased an unknown amount from a truck driver at Midwest Petroleum. He would not provide any additional information about the truck driver.

Teresa Ann Lowder of Leasburg was found in the living room area. She denied any involvement in the meth production. Inside her purse, police found a cellophane wrapper with unknown white pills, a glass pipe, an inhalation device and cut piece of short drinking straw (also called “tooters”), and a pill bottle containing a Schedule 2 narcotic believed to be Oxycodone.

Ray faces charges of attempting to manufacture a controlled substance (meth) and possession of a controlled substance (meth); Carey faces charges of attempting to manufacture a controlled substance (meth) and possession of a controlled substance (meth); and Lowder faces one charge of attempting to manufacture a controlled substance (meth), and two counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine and Oxycodone).

“The family that lived next door to these people—they had no idea that this was going on,” said Chief Crow. “They have kids living there and here are these people next door, cooking meth. There’s a lesson here: Watch what goes on in your neighborhood. Keep an eye out for your neighbors and watch for suspicious behavior. We want to eliminate this kind of thing in our town.”

Crow praised his department and in particular officers Adam Carnal and Todd Hickey for their work in getting three suspects behind bars. “Both of our guys did a fantastic job of getting information together that led to our getting a search warrant,” he said.